Academician calls for agency to regulate industry
The Star Online, 19 September 2014
LOCAL sports science academicians concur that bootcamp instructors need to be certified.
Universiti Malaya Sports Centre deputy director Dr Lim Boon Hooi said fitness instructors played a critical role in the heath maintenance of their clients.
He reasoned that among their clients are physically inactive people and as bootcamps typically have a blend of military-style and athletic-performance drills, these unfit participants have to be closely guided.
Lim said instructors should have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science or Exercise Science, or a locally recognised certification from the American College of Sports Medicine, American Council of Exercise or National Strength and Conditioning Association besides CPR and basic first-aid training.
He said first-aid certification was the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) requirement for a bootcamp trainer, adding that those with the sports science degree must participate in a number of classes and then mentor under an experienced instructor.
Lim called for government agencies to take measures to regulate the fitness industry as currently there was no professional body in Malaysia to administer the registration.
Dr Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed from Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Exercise and Sports Science Faculty said it was a standard practice for fitness intructors to be certified when working in the fitness line.
“The type of certification varies depending on the type of programme that the instructor is handling and the background of the client.
“For example, if participants of the programme are within a clinical population, for instance those suffering from metabolic disease such as diabetes, dyslipidemia and/or obesity, the instructor would have gone through a certification programme that specifically equipped him or her to deal with training a clinical population,” he explained.
For bootcamps, he said instructors should be certified by reputable fitness organisations and that the certification should meet the requirement of the programme offered.
