There is a robust advocacy and professionalization effort underway in the exercise profession. Many groups, once siloed, have come together in an effort to advance the exercise profession, in order to make it an integral component of healthcare delivery. Much of this momentous effort has been undertaken with limited awareness from frontline exercise professionals and other critical stakeholders. This topic was explored extensively in the Sept/Oct issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal^®. The goals of this themed issue were to:

1. Create awareness and understanding of the multiple prongs of the ongoing professionalization effort.
2. Prepare exercise professionals for a future where they will be essential healthcare professionals.
   

The themed-issue brought together several of the top thought-leaders in the professionalization effort to outline the critical areas required for professionalization. Articles tackled topics such as programmatic accreditation and certification, building relationships with healthcare providers, program development and implementation, emerging health technologies, as well as complexity of payment and insurance reimbursement.

A common theme throughout the issue was the role of two collaborative advocacy initiatives; the work of Coalition for the Registry of Exercise Professionals (CREP) and the Physical Activity Alliance (PAA).

CREP’s mission is to secure recognition of registered exercise professionals for their distinct roles in medical, health, fitness and sports performance fields. Their vision is for consumers and other allied health professionals and policymakers to recognize registered exercise professionals for their leadership and expertise in the design and delivery of physical activity and exercise programs.

ACSM is one of six organizations that are members of CREP. Anyone who is currently a certified professional through one of the six CREP organizations is listed on their registry. Registration is a critical aspect of the professionalization effort as it provides a central database of exercise professionals who have passed an accredited credentialing examination. The registry can act as a source of certification verification for employers, but more importantly provide healthcare professionals and the public at large an independent mechanism through which they determine an exercise professional’s competency. 

The article in the themed issue that explores the role of CREP most extensively is entitled “Harmonizing Health and Fitness with Healthcare Through the U.S. Registry of Exercise Professionals.” This article explores how the registry is used in conjunction with a tool called the National Exercise Referral Framework to stratify, based on level of education and credentialing, which exercise professionals are qualified to work with a given segment of the population (i.e., apparently healthy, chronically diseased, athletes, etc.). Most importantly, this article highlights the necessity for collaboration to achieve the scale necessary to adequately address the physical activity and exercise needs of the population as a whole.

The PAA is the nation’s largest coalition dedicated to advancing regular participation in physical activity. ACSM is a critical member of the Alliance. The PAA uses its collective voice to lead efforts that create, support, and advocate for the policy and systems changes necessary to empower people to enjoy physically active lives. While the PAA is involved in many different aspects of physical activity policy and systems change, their It’s Time to Move Initiative is most germane to the professionalization effort.

It’s Time to Move is a multi-year project with the goal of empowering healthcare providers to make physical activity assessment, prescription and referral the standard of care in medicine. The PAA works in partnership with federal agencies (such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as Health & Human Services) to modify critical aspects of systems and policies that can facilitate professionalization in our field.

It’s Time to Move was touched on in two articles. In the “Emerging Health Technologies: Opportunities and Practical Applications for the Exercise Professional” article, the authors discuss the role Electronic Health Records (EHR) play in capturing data on physical activity and providing referral to trusted community-based resources. It’s Time to Move, is also referenced by the authors of the article entitled “Developing Trusted Collaborative Relationships between Healthcare Providers and Exercise Professionals.” This article points out how EHRs can be leveraged to further facilitate a trusted connection between clinic and community.

While the work of CREP and the PAA are critical to the professionalization effort, so is the work of grassroot advocacy. Indeed, all exercise professionals have a role to play in advocating for our industry. The Health & Fitness Association’s vice president of Government Affairs, Mike Goscinski provides a great roadmap for all exercise professionals to follow in his article entitled “Empowering Health and Fitness: Advocating for Industry Representation and Policy Influence.” While advocacy can feel intimidating to many, this article provides guidance to make it much more approachable.

The authors and the editorial staff of the themed issue had a goal of creating a single source of information on the professionalization effort that would provide a roadmap for the profession. It is incumbent on all exercise professionals to actively engage in the process of advocating for professionalization. Engaging in the content of this themed issue is a great starting point.

For those who are looking to dive deeper, ACSM is doing a special collaboration with the Wellness Paradox Podcast. The host of the Wellness Paradox, Michael Stack, was the guest editor for the themed issue. Each week this fall he will interview the lead authors of all the articles related to professionalization and advocacy. A new episode will drop every Monday starting 9/9/24. Listen here.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join the “movement for movement” that is growing in the exercise profession. Check out the Sept/Oct themed issue of the ACSM Health & Fitness Journal^® today.   

Michael Stack, B.S., ACSM-EP, ACSM-EIM, ACSM-PAPHS, CSCS, is the founder and CEO of Applied Fitness Solutions and Frontline Fitness Pros. He is a faculty lecturer for the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology as well as the creator and host of the Wellness Paradox Podcast, produced in conjunction with the University of Michigan. He is an exercise physiologist by training and a health entrepreneur, health educator, and fitness industry advocate by trade. He currently serves on ACSM’s Strategic Health Initiative Committee on Health Equity and as the Business Edge Associate Editor for ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal^®.