Addressing the gaps in education
Working with industry
Raising the voice of qualified professionals
By industry we mean: practitioners; including personal trainers, fitness instructors, coaches; academic and vocational educators; professional bodies and business owners.
Fitness professionals work as employees, as self-employed and/or as employers across a variety of diverse settings. Some work in a physical space (a gym or a studio), some provide online services. While scope of practice and professional status is defined by professional bodies, who endorse academic and vocational courses, these currently remain unregulated.
At the same time, expectations within the industry are increasing. ʻExercise as prescription’ has been recognised within the context of health and in welfare economics for more than a decade. Professional bodies and the fitness industry are aware and increasingly concerned with ʻwork-force readiness’ and acknowledge that more needs to be done to ensure practitioners are adequately prepared, supported and accountable. This is where Ethical Exercise Lab seeks to inform and strengthen education through research-informed training, workshops and critical reflection.
The role of the fitness professional is shaped by industry standards, recognised qualifications, and legal frameworks designed to protect the public. Yet an increasing number of unqualified individuals offer training and coaching, both in physical settings and online. This not only places clients at risk but also forces qualified practitioners to continually justify their legitimacy.
Media platforms, especially social media, are central to advertising services, selling health and fitness products and providing advice. Within these spaces, authority is easily blurred, scientific evidence is frequently distorted or ignored, and financial gain may outweigh ethical responsibility. As a result, individuals must navigate conflicting guidance, competing opinions and moralising narratives about health in a largely unregulated environment.
Stronger systems of authentication, safeguarding and regulation are urgently needed to protect the public and uphold professional integrity. Our work supports qualified practitioners by improving understandings of ethical research, including sociological research, informing practice and promoting professional accountability.
If you are interested in our mission and our approach and want to get involved,
The core of our mission is to strengthen and champion ethical, relational and care-full practice across the fitness industry.
University-based degrees and vocational pathways in sports and exercise are often very effective at teaching physiology, biomechanics, programming, and nutrition. What is frequently missing, however, is adequate education on how to understand, and work with, people in their full depth and diversity.
Despite what many curricula imply, relational skills are not optional extras. The coach-client relationship is one of the most significant aspects of the job because no two clients are the same.
Further if progress is only measured with reference to the ‘ideal’ the result for many is stigma and shame as value is placed on appearance or short-term performance outcomes rather than long-term, person-centred health. In short people risk being treated as perpetual unfinished projects or products to be optimised.
Learning how to talk with clients, and importantly how to listen, is a core professional skill which needs to be central to education at all levels. Yet, in many exercise and nutrition courses very little, if any, attention is given to these dimensions of practice. In turn, fitness professionals may not be fully equipped to identify and appropriately respond to the often complex needs clients have. Only when they are will they be truly work-force ready.
