ISSA Chapter 1: Health,

Fitness, and Personal

Training
Table of Contents
 Chapter Goals:
 The History of Personal Training
 The Future of Personal Training and Fitness
 ISSA Certified Personal Trainer Code of Ethics

Chapter Goals:
 Know what a personal trainer does and who they
may assist.
 Define the subject matter that a personal trainer
needs to be educated in.
 Discuss the general benefits of personal training in
physical activity and exercise.
The History of Personal Training
It is tough to pinpoint the exact start of personal training, but
the profession generally began in the 1950s.

This was around when the actual certification of trainers

began to come into effect.

The concept of health, which is the goal of personal training,

began much earlier in human history, as early as 400 BCE or
more.
Personal Training Defined
The job of personal training is somewhat new and always
changing and redefining the scope of the practice.

Nowadays, a personal trainer is defined as someone who

educates and trains clients in performing safe and appropriate
exercises to lead people to optimal health effectively.

Trainers may be self-employed or work in health clubs for

physicians, physical therapy clinics, wellness centers, schools,
hospitals, and more.

What a Personal Trainer Knows

As the industry grows and scientific knowledge on human
adaptation and response to exercise grows, personal trainers
will need to stay up-to-date in all of these primary topics:

 Exercise Programming
 Exercise Physiology
 Functional Anatomy and Biomechanics
 Fitness Assessments
 Nutrition and Supplementation
 Common Chronic Disease
 Basic Emergency and Safety Procedures
 Psychological and Physiological Challenges
Throughout Stages of Life
 Human Behavior and Motivation
The science of motivation and behavior change are some of the
most important aspects of a successful health and wellness
program.

As it turns out, not enough fitness professionals emphasize this

aspect, negatively affecting the ability to inflict change on
clients.
A plan based on the above aspects will educate and draw
clients into a fitness lifestyle and optimal health.

A training effect is the body’s adaptation to the learned and

expected stress imposed by physical activity.

When the body experiences these training effects, changes

start at the cellular level, allowing more energy to be released
with less oxygen.

Adaptations can be achieved with the help of educated trainers

who can make the right fitness and health plan for most
people.

For effectiveness, the designed plan needs to utilize the basic

principles of fitness: overload, specificity, individual
differences, reversibility, periodization, rest, overtraining, and
stimulus variability.

Plans also require understanding the body’s major muscles

and how they work, as well as things like metabolism and how
it plays in exercise.

Trainers must learn about the function and regulation of the

body’s systems at rest and during exercise.

The Current State of Human Health

The benefits of physical activity and fitness are touted and
reported, but the US is still undergoing an epidemic of obesity.

Around 25 – 35 percent of people are sedentary.

To worsen this, the federal resources and funding are far from
other aspects of health in the US.
Both physical activity and health are lower priorities, and they
are the first aspects to go when expenditures are cut.

Many reasons go into these issues with the united states and
the state of health.

The idea behind personal training is to reduce the factors and

increase the quality of life for clientele.

Personal Training Clientele

Health club memberships are constantly increasing, including
the number of personal trainers.

Some basic stats regarding clientele are:

 3 out of 5 personal training clients are women

 Clients report an average of 18 sessions with a
trainer
 Average personal trainers charge 15 – 100 dollars
per hour, with an average of 50 per hour
Benefits of Personal Training
Practically all studies have shown that a higher fitness level
relates to a lower death rate.

Essentially, exercise is medicine.

Exercise needs to be used to reduce the risk of medical

problems and decrease the rising healthcare costs for the
general public.

Let’s look at some of the common health concerns and how

exercise plays a role in these problems.
 Allergies: exercise is an efficient way to control
nasal congestion.
 Angina: regular aerobic exercise dilates the blood
vessels, which causes an increase in blood flow, thus
improving the body’s ability to extract oxygen from
the blood.
 Anxiety: exercise triggers the release of chemicals
that alter the brain.
 Arthritis: the skeletal system is forced to move, and
synovial fluid is introduced to help cartilage, which
forces it to circulate throughout the joint space.
 Back Pain: exercise helps the abdominal muscles,
lower back, and hamstring to strengthen.
 Bursitis and Tendinitis: exercise strengthens the
tendons, enabling more resistance to be taken
without injury.
 Cancer: exercise helps keep the ideal body weight
and helps keep fat levels low.
 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: exercise helps to build
up the muscles in the forearms and wrists, thus
lowering the stress on the hands, elbows, and arms.
 Cholesterol: the exercise may help to raise the high-
density lipoprotein levels in the blood and lower low-
density lipoprotein levels.
 Depression: exercise helps to speed up the
metabolism and give oxygen to the brain, thus
improving the brain’s circulation and increasing
one’s mood.
 Diabetes: exercise lowers blood sugar levels,
strengthens cardiac muscles, improves circulation,
and reduces stress levels.
 Fatigue: exercise helps with alleviating fatigue-
causing effects.
 Glaucoma: exercise will partially alleviate
intraocular hypertension.
 Headaches: exercise helps to force the brain to
secrete more pain-dampening chemicals.
  Heart Disease: exercise promotes many changes
throughout the body to lower the risk of heart
disease occurring.
 High Blood Pressure: exercise reduces stressful
chemicals in the blood and other hormones that
improve blood pressure.
 Knee Problems: exercise helps strengthen the
structures of the knee, facilitating the ability to
withstand stresses.
 Lung Disease: exercise strengthens the muscles
which help breathe and boost oxygen flow for the
brain.
 Memory Problems: exercise helps to improve
cognitive function by introducing better blood flow
and oxygen to the brain.
 Menstrual Problems: exercise helps control the
hormonal imbalances that come with PMS.
 Osteoporosis: exercise promotes bone density, and
this lowers the risk of experiencing a fracture.
The Future of Personal Training
and Fitness
The requirement for personal training is continuing to grow
and should continue to do so steadily as time goes on.

The evolution of recommendations for health and physical

fitness continues to change, and this requires professionals to
help keep the public knowing and following the current
science for optimal health.

Part of being a personal trainer long-term means continuing to

expand your knowledge through additional courses on topics
like corrective exercise, corporate wellness, youth fitness,
senior fitness, nutrition, and pre/post-natal specializations so
that trainers can serve their clients better.
Both collectively and on an individual basis, personal trainers
should positively guide and influence the health and fitness
attitudes of the people around them.

ISSA Certified Personal Trainer

Code of Ethics
Requirements for Certification
1. Certification is not going to be issued to any student
who does not complete all the qualifications or has
not achieved a passing score on the ISSA exams.
2. Certification will not be given to any student unless
they have successfully completed CPR and AED
certification and it is valid presently.
Code of Ethics
 ISSA-certified fitness professionals need to keep a
professional client-trainer relationship at all times.
 ISSA-certified fitness professionals cannot
discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, race,
religion, national origin, color, or any other basis
which is found illegal.
 ISSA-certified fitness professionals need to maintain
any and all main and supplementary certifications
needed to do their job.
 ISSA-certified fitness professionals need to uphold
their social responsibility to promote inclusion and
educate and inform within the scope of practice.
 ISSA-certified fitness professionals need to use their
best judgment to keep a safe training environment
for clients.