Safety Measures in Personal Training are Non-negotiable

Posted on: September 3rd, 2013 by Eric Lichtfuss

The Hippocratic Oath. Named after the Greek philosopher, Hippocrates, defines the medical ethics of doctors. The very short version of the oath is that a doctor will not knowingly do anything to harm a patient.

I think it shouldn’t be limited to the way doctors treat patients. I think it is an oath that we should all take with regard to how we treat ourselves. As instructors, this is most definitely a primary objective that we teach our students to practice…but folks get hurt when they exercise…it’s just reality, right?

ASM Wellness Personal Training Program

What can we do as fitness trainers to minimize the risk and occurrence of injury? Good coaching and observation are absolutely critical. Equally necessary are an understanding of the mechanisms of injury, and how to implement evidence-based systems to avoid these mechanisms.

ASM Wellness Catalyst Fitness Field Trip

To help minimize injury, the NASM Optimum Performance Training Model prioritizes stabilization strength before other strength and power development. Injury-free personal training is a critical standard for the Atlanta Personal Trainer Program, which utilizes the OPT method.

Recently I read The 3 Non-Negotiable Elements of Injury Prevention in MMA, an article by martial artist, Orion Lee. I found it interesting for a couple reasons:

First, I love the idea of safety measures in training being non-negotiable. In my opinion, they absolutely should be non-negotiable.
Second, I loved that this is an expansion on the basic notion of stabilization strength first, and that it considers other effects on stabilization, apart from strength.
Last, it seems to me that this article could have been written by an ASM student. The author is not a graduate, but he’s taken strong evidence-based information, thought critically about it, and expanded its usefulness not only for his target population of mixed martial artists, but for everyone – especially active people.

That marriage of knowledge, critical thinking, and identifying with one’s clients is something we should strive to instill in all our students and graduates.

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