The Exercise Physiology Leadership ChallengeTommy Boone, PhD, MPH, MAM, FASEP, EPCProfessor, Department of Exercise PhysiologyThe College of St. ScholasticaDuluth, MN 55811

It's amazing how many cares disappear when you decide not to be something, but to be someone.

-- Coco Chanel

EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY has often been referred to as a discipline within

exercise science. The argument is that exercise science is a profession, given

the number of exercise science departments and majors throughout the United

States. But, it is obvious that exercise science is hardly a discipline much less

a profession. There must be the intent to

professionalize a field and that simply

doesn’t exist in exercise science or one

of its 30 similar academic degree titles.

The interesting thing about

exercise physiology is that the American

Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP

or the Society) has developed the

professional infrastructure that is required to acknowledge exercise

physiologists as healthcare professionals. It is not a sub discipline of exercise

science by any means. Rather, it is the home to exercise physiologists. The

Society is not multi dimensional in membership. That is, it is not a generic

organization. If one just examines the ASEP web site, it points to the

1

Journal of Professional Exercise Physiology

ISSN 1550-963X

Vol 8 No 1 February 2010

The exercise physiologists that lead the profession into the next century will be those who can shift from thinking instructors and trainers based upon the sports medicine view to the capacity to think as a healthcare provider.

definition of “what is exercise physiology” and “who is an exercise

physiologist.” This is the sign of a change in how to think about exercise

physiology.

The Society’s future and indeed exercise physiology depend on the

exercise physiologist’s ability to adapt, change, and grow as professionals, not

as members of a discipline. The ASEP vision is highly focused as it must be to

move forwards with the professionalism of exercise physiology. The

leadership is interested in growing the Society by targeting the quality of the

membership. This goal requires that the membership become more active

participants in the professional development of all aspects of exercise

physiology. This further emphasizes the importance of ASEP accreditation of

academic programs, development of exercise physiology teachers, mentors,

and spokespersons for the profession and the Society of exercise physiologists.

Growth and Change

During the past several months, under the leadership of Dale Wagner, the

Society undertook the huge job of developing a strategic plan to help the

organization focus on the future. The process isn’t an easy one at all.

Determining ASEP strengths and weaknesses can turn heads and create major

internal issues. But, however gut

wrenching it is, it is absolutely

essential.

All exercise physiologists

must get on the same page if

they are to define themselves as

healthcare professionals. This

means that regardless of their own personal or professional niche that they are

comfortable with doing, they must move to build a consensus that everyone

can embrace. After all, the Society’s major responsibility is to the credibility

of exercise physiologists. This requires acknowledgment that growth and

change are necessary.2

The major issue that confronts academic exercise physiologist in America is whether or not they can transform the curriculum and create accredited programs that can successfully prepare our nation's students for life in the year 2050.

While most organizations have been around for 70 or more years with a

stockpile of financial resources, the American Society of Exercise Physiologists

was founded in 1997. The Society is just beginning its travels into the future

of exercise physiology in the United States. It is strange that so many people

and colleagues forget this point. No wonder ASEP is a small organization,

particularly given the leadership’s efforts to not allow unethical practices to

exist within its core.

Our meetings have attracted participants from different academic

institutions, primarily with an interest in presenting their research. While

research is important, simply repeating more of the same isn’t the answer to

internally shaping and changing a discipline to a profession. That requires

acknowledging other important areas of study, reflection, and implementation.

Those areas are ethics, professionalism, credibility, certification/licensure, and

standards of professional practice.

The April 17, 2010 strategic meeting of key exercise physiologists is

expected to expand on the issues and challenges faced by ASEP and the

students of exercise physiology. Efforts are underway to understand what

exercise physiologists want, need, and expect from the Society to move

towards professionalism in exercise physiology. The community of exercise

physiologists in attendance at Las Vegas will be expected to come up with

incentives for growth and change.

In fact, if the ASEP initiatives are to evolve, the leadership will have to

get more exercise physiologists involved

in the administrative function of the

organization. This will include making

more contacts with key exercise

physiologists within our educational

system, the publication of more

professionalism articles alongside research

articles, increased public affairs and education about the role of ASEP in

professionalism, communication with chairs and employers to educate them to 3

The definition of what it means to be college educated has changed. Providing students with the basic skills to prepare them to work in Society today and tomorrow has an entirely different set of requirements than students in the past.

the Society’s vision and mission, and the increase involvement of students and

the membership at the national meetings.

The Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline and the other ASEP journals,

the Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline and the Professional

Journal of Exercise Physiology have published articles from hundreds of

exercise physiologists since 1998. While JEPonline is regarded world-wide as

a credible exercise physiology research journal, both PEPonline and JPEP are

still slow to publish professionalism articles from more than a dozen different

authors. Clearly, exercise physiologist are either indifferent to their students’

issues and concerns or just don’t care.

One strength of a

professional organization is the

appeal of its meetings and

conferences. This is a major

issue in the strategic plan. The

attendees to the April 17, 2010

ASEP Leadership Workshop will

be expected to address ways and

means to increase focus on

important issues of the day. Conference suggestions will still come from them,

which will then be presented to the ASEP membership.

The future of ASEP is in the hands of the members. It is critically

important that exercise physiologists come together and make a concerted

effort to involve and engage ASEP at several levels. This includes

participation and support of boards, committees, and conferences. As co-

founder, I call upon you to think seriously about joining ASEP and supporting

its initiatives. Everything that has been done within ASEP has been done on

your behalf. College teachers, in particular, can help by joining and supporting

the Society.

Mentoring students who want to be exercise physiologists do not want to

be fitness instructors, exercise specialists, or personal trainers. They want to 4

Exercise science, sports sciences, and kinesiology are academic majors that represent a rising tide of mediocrity that has resulted in an almost continuous series of reform efforts designed to "fix" the schools in the United States. This is no doubt why there are 30 or more undergraduate degree programs that were originally physical education.

be exercise physiologists, and the way to helping them is by encouraging their

participation in ASEP activities. Of course this means that teachers should do

the same. Regardless of whether you teach in an exercise science department

or a kinesiology department, if you are an exercise physiologist, then, you

should do what you can to encourage the development of exercise physiology.

After all, it is your profession.

Understand that this thinking is not unique. Athletic trainers work in

departments of exercise science and kinesiology, and yet they teach athletic

training courses to students who want to be athletic trainers. They are

responsible to their professional organization, not to some generic

organization. There is no reason

why exercise physiologists can’t

help initiate the transition or

conversion of exercise science

degree programs to exercise

physiology degree programs. This

thinking isn’t any different from what others have had to do to realize the

future they wanted for themselves and their students. Here’s an idea!

1. Why can’t the title of the degree be changed to exercise physiology?

2. Why can’t the courses be significantly updated as well as the students’

hands-on laboratory experiences?

3. Why not create a “professionalism” course at the undergraduate level

that addresses the necessity of a code of ethics, accreditation, and

standards of practice?

4. Why not accredit the exercise physiology degree through The Center of

Exercise Physiologyonline?

5. Why not expect the students to sit for the ASEP board certification just

before they graduate and leave campus?

If the “why not” questions come across as crazy to you or of having no value,

then, honestly there is a huge disconnect between you and me. To some 5

Non-exercise physiology degree programs and personal training have proven to be illusory. Thirty or even 40 years later what is clear is that little has changed.

extent, I don’t know what the answer is for coming together. I know it takes

two to shake hands. Unfortunately, I fear that many college teachers are

simply indifferent to professionalism more so than indifferent to ASEP. But,

since ASEP is all about professionalism and credibility of exercise

physiologists, they seem to have simply turned a blind eye to the Society. I

urge academic exercise physiologists to consider the work of the ASEP

leadership on behalf of all exercise physiologists.

Developing ideas and bringing forth improvement within any

organization is one of constant work and challenge. Take revenue stream as an

example. How should the Society go about helping to ensure that its financial

base is sufficiently large to maintain its present and future activities? Every

organization, including ASEP, needs a certain amount of money to carry out it

functions. As the Board of most organizations realize, running the internal

affairs depends on having sufficient funds. That is why ASEP charges a

journal publication fee for JEPonline. That is why it has advertisement fees,

membership dues,

accreditation fees, and EPC

fees. Any shortfall in income

from these sources can create

financial problems for the

Society.

The administrative

structure of ASEP has been in

place since shortly after it inception. For many years, the ASEP Presidents

followed the ASEP Leadership Manual to understand administrative

responsibilities and to assign tasks to boards and committee chairs. However,

during the past several years, ASEP has gotten away from the Leadership

Manual. This failure to consistently use the Manual has resulted in several

problems. There is a distinct loss of contact with the membership and their

participation on committees on behalf of the ASEP goals and objectives.

6

What is required is the fundamental transformation of how academic exercise physiologists think. Stated in the simplest terms America's universities, as presently organized, are incapable of providing the kind of education that exercise physiologists need to live in the 21st century.

One recommendation is to get back to using the Leadership Manual.

Another recommendation is to start where the Society left off regarding the

development of state and regional societies. The establishment of local

chapters will also help promote the profession of exercise physiologists who

are working in the field as well as help to encourage the involvement of

students in the Society.

As mentioned earlier, updating our educational programs is a key

element of the ASEP strategic plan. Most exercise physiologists are aware of

diversity in undergraduate academic degree programs. Frankly, it is

embarrassing. Students have no idea what to call themselves when they

graduate. This failure to come together to promote a single, unified profession

does little to help our students. In fact, most of them graduate to find out that

they aren’t exercise physiologists and there are no credible jobs waiting for

them. And, frankly, it is of little

service to the students of these

programs to simply say: “Well, now

you can go on to a graduate program or

make application for physical therapy

or nursing.” When parents hear

teachers speaking that way, they

should turn away and say to themselves: “You mean my son’s degree in

exercise science is useless? Are you telling me that there are no jobs for

students with his major?

Of course, parents have other questions and concerns too. In short, they

feel betrayed by the teachers and the institution. After all, they spent their hard

earned dollars either paying or helping to pay for their son’s tuition because

they felt he would be in a great position to get a job, move out of the house,

and get on with growing up and being a responsible adult. Instead, they are

told that their son is working alongside personal trainers without a college

degree! It is enough to make parents sick to their stomach. College is more

than the responsibility of teachers’ (and their administrators) to disseminate 7

The issue for academic exercise physiologists is to find a way to create the conditions that will encourage the kinds of risk taking that is needed to use the ASEP knowledge to transform exercise physiology.

knowledge. It is also about providing the graduates a significantly better

career option because they went to college.

Passion = Change

An area of extreme importance to the Society, to the profession of exercise

physiology, and to the students’ careers is the issue of public policy and

advocacy for professionalism. Everyone is aware of the current problems with

students finding a viable career in the United States. Advances in healthcare

are destined to improve the chances of all exercise physiologists to either

locate or create their own exercise physiology healthcare center. But, it is

important to point out that the careers of young (i.e., recently graduated)

exercise physiologists depend on their understanding of the “business of

exercise physiology.” That is why they need teachers to help them with the

business and entrepreneurship of

exercise as medicine. This thinking is

critical since it helps to ensure that the

essence of ASEP is realized in the

success of its membership. While this

may come across as intuitively

obvious, apparently, very few academic

exercise physiologists have taken the

time to be advocates of this thinking.

Interestingly, many organizations

are doing whatever it takes to capture

the niche, Exercise Is Medicine. It is

very unfortunate because members of other professions fail to understand that

they not qualified to safely administer an exercise prescription to a diverse

population. In other words, just as the physical therapist would object to the

exercise physiologist doing a PT clinical assessment, it is absolutely

appropriate that the exercise physiologist objects to a physical therapist doing

an exercise prescription. First, they are not educated in exercise physiology 8

Increased knowledge about the need for credibility is vital to making decisions about ASEP. However, as important as this knowledge is, educators also need an understanding about why change is needed. The best way of characterizing the need for understanding of the "current reality" is that until educators realize where their students are, there is little reason for them to be concerned.

contents, particularly as it relates to cardiovascular assessments and hands-on

laboratory evaluations. Second, they are not educated in matters of VO2 max

and central and peripheral contributions to designing an exercise prescription.

The American public strongly supports the idea of a professional having

the right credentials or, otherwise how would a person know if someone

standing in front of you is actually qualified to teach or lead others. The fact is

too many individuals are subject to poorly qualified instructors. This is

obviously evident today more so than 30 years ago. American’s health clubs

have infiltrated by 1000s of unqualified trainers. It is a huge threat to the

health and well-being of individuals who want scientific information to

exercise safely. The majority of personal trainers in gyms throughout the

United States should not be leading exercises.

Today, it is not going to be an easy process getting rid of so-called

fitness professionals. The employers don’t want to because they can pay them

relatively little money per hour without healthcare benefits. It is all about the

bottom line. The clients get lost

in the employers profit margin.

Maybe even worse yet, the

unqualified trainers continue

working day after day and year

after year without being held

responsible for their lack of

knowledge, hands-on scientific experiences, and basic information about how

to work with a client’s mind and body. Imagine the magnitude of the problem.

There are probably 200,000 or more personal trainers working in gyms

throughout the United Sates. That is an epidemic of failed rhetoric pushed

upon society by mismanaged organizations.

No one would take his or her car to a dealership expecting someone to

work on it who is not an expert (i.e., educated) in fixing cars. Yet, without any

hesitation, adults will place their body in the hands of a trainer who has “0”

knowledge about human biomechanics, applied anatomy, fitness nutrition, 9

What exercise physiologists must remember is that before the 21st century transformation of ASEP will become a reality the climate of the academic exercise physiologists must support the risk taking that supports such changes.

metabolism, substrate utilization, exercise physiology, cardiovascular

physiology, clinical rehabilitation, graded exercise testing, muscular and

flexibility testing, psychophysiology and stress management, and

electrocardiography.

It is amazing to me that academic

exercise physiologists are hardly ever

heard talking about the problem of non-

qualified personal trainers. Even worse,

they appear not to get the work of the

ASEP leadership does to improve

professionalism in exercise physiology.

Isn’t credibility important, if not mandated by ethical and legal points of view.

College teachers cannot keep on writing and reviewing grants and manuscripts,

doing research, and teaching as little as possible and doing so without giving a

hint that they understand there is a problem.

It is unprofessional and unethical to turn one’s back to the problems

faced by the students of exercise physiology. Now, having said that: How

many college teachers write or call the ASEP Office or a member of the Board

of Directors of the Board of Certification

or the Board of Accreditation to thank

them for the work they are doing on

behalf of the profession? I’ll bet not

many, yet it is such a simple thing to do

and the returns can be enormous.

Educating exercise physiologists

on the value of professionalism and

professional development is equally

important as that of doing research. Hence, next time you find yourself talking

about exercise physiology, tell the person what it means to an EPC and what it

means to be able to place FASEP at the end of your name. The next time you

are asked to present to a lay audience or to your kinesiology students, tell them 10

What is needed in exercise physiology is leadership. It is a calling that has been overlooked too long now. This reality ought to be enough to sober even the most resistant exercise physiologist.

It is pathetic to watch what is happening in exercise science and kinesiology majors across the United States. Ineffective leaders who refuse to vacate the thinking of years earlier reveal their indifference to the change process that is akin to criminal activity.

you are a healthcare professional. When your colleague asks you to present to

the senior class of the local high school, talk about the EPC credential. Tell

them how honored you are to be a board certified exercise physiologist. Why

not write your first-ever article on the professionalism of exercise physiology?

Perhaps, it will be something to do with ethics or standards of practice. Just do

it.

It is easy to be cynical about the responses of academic exercise

physiologists being so slow to support ASEP, but our membership is astute

enough to read between the lines on this issue. They get that change is a very

slow process, not an event. The list of professional and policy issues that

require our attention is long. Ethics is important but so are accreditation

guidelines, the teaching of a certification linked to an exercise physiology

degree title, and what is the exercise physiologist’s practice as a healthcare

professional is long. The ASEP organization doesn’t have a public affairs

dimension to its National Office. It should

because exercise physiologists are big-time

responsible to the public.

Whether it is consciously or otherwise,

every exercise physiologist must learn to be a

voice for the ASEP organization. Professional

service is important for anyone interested in the

change process. If each member of ASEP

learns to perform this service, then singly and collectively the notion of

cultivating professionalism becomes acknowledged as a responsible and

necessary service to the profession. In other words, it is important to

demonstrate passion about professionalism and professional development just

as it is about research and publishing manuscripts. Why, because all

professional organizations are shaped by service as well as ethical and

professional concepts and ideas.

ASEP = A True Paradigm Shift

11

It seems to me that the hunger for one more research article can destroy the desire to help students get the right education so they can find the right career opportunity to financially survive.

It isn’t often that something great happens that can change “what is” to “what

can be.” The ASEP organization is such an event. It introduces the

opportunity of a lifetime to realize a paradigm shift. When this happens,

something new is born. That something is the profession of exercise

physiology. It is all about the 21st century view of a new healthcare

profession. New ideas, new thinking, new leadership, and new possibilities

represent something that has not existed before. Only now, even after 12 years

of existence, is it being deciphered for what it actually means.

Interestingly, ASEP exercise physiologists are recognizing that the

profession must embrace an integrative approach to applied physiology and all

the academic areas that undergird it. To the surprise of most, there is the need

to integrate at every level of client assessment the broader issues of healthcare

(e.g., sexuality, spirituality, etc). No longer should the exercise physiologist be

viewed as a specialist or as an instructor only. There are huge implications for

credible healthcare providers to integrate multiple facets of healthcare to help

ensure a healthier state of well-being. This

means that ultimately exercise

physiologists will need to consider

different things depending on what one

considers to be the important concepts in

healthcare.

This view of exercise physiology is

exciting but challenging. It is exciting because there is increasingly greater

emphasis on exercise as medicine, and the opportunity to embrace multiple

facets of healthcare and sports training. It is challenging because so few

academic exercise physiologists seem to get the big picture. In addition to

doing research, disseminating knowledge, and advancing education, they need

to take action as members of the Society to help all exercise physiologists

adhere to the highest ethical and moral practice of exercise physiology.

12

Good leaders never stop learning. They cannot afford to be intellectually lazy. Okay, why then the reluctance to join ASEP and support its vision?