“(An uncertified trainer) wouldn’t know the muscle groups, they don’t necessarily know all about when you’re doing a certain exercise, what muscle it actually targets. So the concern would be if there were a (pre-existing) injury, especially in the shoulder, where there are numerous muscles.” Exercises can be targeted to strengthen an injured muscle, the trainer said. 

The trainer has completed basic fitness theory with Fitness New Brunswick and courses with Canfitpro.

The trainer says there should be a minimum standard of training, such as the basic theory course, before someone can call themselves a personal trainer. 

Angela Marchbank, fitness and wellness coordinator at UPEI and a board member with Recreation PEI, said Recreation PEI will be spending the next two years considering changes to the industry.

But Meaghan Lister, owner of Atlantic Fitness East in Montague, said more regulations aren’t necessary.

Ms Marchbank said,  “right now we really need to look at letting the public know about what questions they should ask.

“The problem is, sometimes if you’re training with someone who isn’t trained properly you could be sustaining an injury.” 

She also said uncertified trainers may not know how to adjust training for healthy people versus someone with a chronic condition.

 When asked how she would evaluate the level of certification of instructors on PEI, she pauses.

“Let me put it this way. There are a number of people that do have the proper certification and maintain that. 

"But there are also a large number out there that don’t have certification and that’s where participants in gyms, open parks and municipalities should really pay attention to that.”

Recreation PEI also wants to make it easier for people to be certified on PEI, she said.

She recommends trainers be certified with the National Fitness Leadership Alliance - Fitness New Brunswick is a member - Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology or, to some degree, Canfitpro.

The Island Fitness Council, which used to handle certifications on PEI, went defunct about five years ago due to a lack of volunteers. Now Islanders are commonly trained through Fitness New Brunswick.

The different kinds of certifications out there are a problem, she said.

“If you’re just a normal person you’re not going to be able to decipher what is or isn’t (proper certification).

“They look the part, but they may not be the part.”

But Ms Lister said the differences are an advantage.

“Because there’s x, y and z offering personal training certifications, each of those needs to challenge itself to be better to compete with the other ones. I think some of the variety is improving certifications.”

The problem is with more informal community programs, she said.

“I think most of the facilities in the province are requiring certification or training of some sort. So they’re just not letting people walk in off the street because they wouldn’t have the skills to do that job.”

Ms Lister said her staff are certified to a variety of levels, including Fitness New Brunswick, Canfitpro and specialties such as kettlebell.

“What’s happening is, sometimes in the community people are doing things without training. If you go to a fitness centre, your fitness centre has insurance. But if you’re going to an individual who has fitness classes in the community, it would be important to ask that question.”

Ledean Cairns-MacLeod, owner of Total Assets Fitness in Montague, believes there should be more regulation.

“Simply because it’s like any profession. You have to have certifications to know you’re doing it correctly. 

“Anybody can go kick their leg over their head but you have to be able to tell people, some can start at a certain level.” 

But without any regulation, “people are going to get hurt. And the person who doesn’t have certification doesn’t have insurance.”

She said it’s important to ask instructors if they are certified and see certifications.

PEI isn’t unique in its lack of regulation. Jeff Angus of the Ontario Fitness Council said there needs to be more in his province and across the country. 

“I just feel there’s a lack of .... trainers who talk the talk, walk the walk, if you ask me. The more educated the trainers, the more inspiring a fitness leader is, they’re going to inspire more people to get out and be more active in Canada.” 

To help unmuddy the waters, the OFC has created an online registry with performance standards that lists a trainer’s contact information, qualifications and the insurance provider.

“If you’re on that registry it means you’ve reached the performance standards that are agreed upon across Canada with our organizations.” 

Ultimately, Ms Marchbank said Recreation PEI, in its eventual recommendations to the government two years from now, won’t be looking to stop people from being active or from running fitness businesses.

“We want people out there that are properly certified. Because going to a program, you finally made that decision to get active, and lead a healthier lifestyle. There’s nothing worse than going to somebody that doesn’t know how to properly train you and then you get injured. And that would either prevent you from doing that activity or would turn you off of participating,” she said.

“When we go down this path ... I’m sure some of (the fitness facilities) will be concerned about that because they’re not certified.

“I’m all for those businesses, but I think there should be some guidelines and certain standards that people follow.”