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Education

bams_101

bams_101

New member
Hey all, I'm looking at doing some further education and just wondering what options there are for strength/performance training in Australia.

I think we all know the Cert 3/4 Fitness courses are fairly average at around 8 weeks Full Time. Then there is Human movement/Sports Science at Undergraduate level for about 3 years Full Time.

I've met trainers produced from both that are great at what they do and some from both that are downright horrible. Just because you get a piece of paper doesn't automatically mean you'll be a great trainer.

Ideally looking for something in between, but any ideas would be great. Thanks =)
 
Anyone who practices what they preach (as practicable) and furthers themselves through either formal or non formal education and simply by actually coaching people and learning from their experience will trump the person who thinks it stops with a certificate or a degree, any day.
 
I have a Diploma of Fitness, which was 2 years fulltime. I guess that fits halfway between a C3/4 and a B.Exercise Physiology.

ETA: Most of the people who did the course with me came out of it still incompetent on the basics, and I certainly wouldn't hire the Ryan that graduated from it. It took majoring in the minors to the next level. I think the minors do need to be properly understood, but if you know everything but how to coach a squat, I think you've done the ultimate in beating around the bushes.
 
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Bams and I have already done the strength and condition courses. The next one would be the professional l2 course but that may be a little while off
 
I would NOT recommend AIF or any other PT training organization. These courses are desgined to extort quick cash from your pocket and fail to deliver in critical areas.

ASCA Is an option, Level 1 is pretty crap, Level 2 ask me in a few months.

Sport Science/Human Movement Degree is a good way to broaden your understanding of human physiology and application beyond pigeon holed sports (just don't study through CDU, their sport and exercise science course is shit).
 
PTCPerth said:
Anyone who practices what they preach (as practicable) and furthers themselves through either formal or non formal education and simply by actually coaching people and learning from their experience will trump the person who thinks it stops with a certificate or a degree, any day.
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Don't you need a cert/degree to start your own gym or coach people?

Or is it just a matter of being insured?
 
0ni said:
Why don't you do a degree in something like endocrinology
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Surprisingly, I actually don't mind this idea. Thanks man. I had a quick look and the only good undergrad course is in Queensland. A couple in Vic are post grad.

PTCPerth said:
Anyone who practices what they preach (as practicable) and furthers themselves through either formal or non formal education and simply by actually coaching people and learning from their experience will trump the person who thinks it stops with a certificate or a degree, any day.
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Agreed, makes a big difference when you have a coach with hours in the weight room.


RyanF said:
I have a Diploma of Fitness, which was 2 years fulltime. I guess that fits halfway between a C3/4 and a B.Exercise Physiology.
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Going off what you know now, would you recommend someone doing it?
 
adamklam said:
Bams and I have already done the strength and condition courses. The next one would be the professional l2 course but that may be a little while off
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catastrophic said:
ASCA Is an option, Level 1 is pretty crap, Level 2 ask me in a few months.
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Yeah as Adam said, we both did the Lvl 1 last year. I agree it was piss easy. Coaching hours took a little while but not too bad. I liked it because if you went in with some prior knowledge it helped.

The Lvl 2 is definitely on the cards. Was going to do the one in April but the amount of hours to stay "updated" doubles with it and Lvl 3 isn't an option. So within a year or two I'll do the next course.

Looking into a Nutrition course as well.
 
bams_101 said:
Going off what you know now, would you recommend someone doing it?
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The information in it was definitely valuable, but it boils down to if you're going to use it, or are at least interested in it. Most of the content in the diploma dealt with rehab from injuries/musculoskeletal issues and training people with controlled health problems. If all you're interested in is getting big and strong/coaching others to get big and strong, then a lot of it is superfluous. The anatomy covered in it was great, though (and definitely relevant to strength and conditioning), and just as Cert IV in Fitness has a Strength and Conditioning elective, there was an Advanced Strength and Conditioning elective in Diploma which may be of use.

As a general guide, Cert IV in Fitness gives you a piece of paper that says you can train low risk clients. Diploma gives you a piece of paper that says you can train moderate risk clients. Bachelor of Human Movement gives you a piece of paper that says you can train high risk clients. That's where the focus will be in each of these courses. If someone wants to train moderate risk clients, or just get a better understanding of the human body and health-related fitness, then yeah, diploma might be for them. If not, I'm not sure whether I'd recommend it or not.
 
I didn't learn anything at uni (Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, U of Sydney) that I didn't already know from reading about training because I was interested in it. The focus was on rehab/cardiovascular training for the VAST majority of the course, strength training was maybe a couple weeks total. A $20,000 joke.

If you are truly interested in developing as a coach/interested in developing your training knowledge I would simply pursue it in your own time and practice on yourself/others. Talk to/discuss things with other like minded people.

(The above assumes you do not want to work as a personal trainer/coach at an organisation that will require formal qualifications such as commercial gyms/AIS etc)
 
What do they teach you with regards to lower back health while lifting weights?

Anyone got a cliff's notes? :P
 
joe said:
What do they teach you with regards to lower back health while lifting weights?

Anyone got a cliff's notes? :P
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Which "they" are you asking about?

Most Cert III-Bachelor courses seem to teach: if in doubt use neutral spine and abs. They tend to teach Pilates abs (ie draw abs in, rather than push abs out). They also tend to teach "breathe in on the eccentric and breathe out on the concentric" rather than using the Valsalva maneouvre -- relevant if you're there for general fitness and have high blood pressure; not so relevant for most of the members of this forum.
 
I'm currently doing Cert 4 (done 3) through Fit College and I'm quite pleased with the amount of stuff I'm learning. I didn't want to just get a piece of paper to be able to be a PT.

Also, doing the ASCA level 1 course in a few weeks.

Experience obviously trumps paper credentials though but you need the paper to get the experience.
 
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