Best Fitness Organization

[SFT]

We always see the questions about the "best fitness certification". This topic has been beaten to death. My question is what is the best fitness organization in your opinion?

I'm approaching this question from thinking about who cares the most about professionals in the field. For example, physical therapists have APTA, the organization that represents them and fights for legislation in their favor. One of our better certifying organizations, the ACSM, seems to be primarily run by doctors. I wonder how much the organization really cares about the long term success of our field. Every other health based profession seems to have an organization that really pushes legislation that is beneficial for their career's existence. Think dietitians, massage therapists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists.

Although ACE is not necessarily the most well-respected organization, or at least it wasn't years ago, it seems as if they are heading in the right direction. For instance, they have a legislation action center on their website (http://www.acefitness.org/cp/legislativeac.aspx). I don't see anything similar for the ACSM, other than "Exercise is Medicine", which could be great for us, or a way for doctors to dictate what we do. Also, when I look at ACE's board of directors (http://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspx), I like to at least see some active fitness professionals in there. This is contrast to ACSM which are all PhD's working for Universities. They truly show that they are primarily concerned with research.

I pulled mission statements where I could, or the closest thing I could find to it from a variety of organizations:

ACE:

"The American Council on Exercise® is a nonprofit organization committed to enriching quality of life through safe and effective exercise and physical activity. As America’s Authority on Fitness, ACE protects all segments of society against ineffective fitness products, programs and trends through its ongoing public education, outreach and research. ACE further protects the public by setting certification and continuing education standards for fitness professionals."

ACSM:

"The American College of Sports Medicine advances and integrates scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine."

NSCA:

"As the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, we support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness."

NASM (best I could find):

"It’s true. We are the best of the best. Since 1987 NASM has been the global leader in delivering evidence-based certifications and advanced credentials to health and fitness professionals. Our products and services are scientifically and clinically proven. They are revered and utilized by leading brands and programs around the world and have launched thousands of successful careers."

ASEP:

"The Society of Exercise Physiologists is dedicated to unifying all exercise physiologists in the United States and worldwide to promote and support the study, practice, teaching, research, and development of the exercise physiology profession."

CSEP:

"CSEP is the resource and voice for exercise physiology and health and fitness, providing leadership in research, education and practice to improve health outcomes for Canadians."

So, brief summary that I get from all of that:

ACE - talks a lot about general public, what about its professionals? Perhaps I missed where they talk about us.
ACSM - cares about research, where are the fitness professionals in the organization?
NSCA - depsite the CPT and CSPS certifications, I believe that they are still very oriented towards athletics.
NASM - cares about making money from certifications
ASEP - cares about clinical exercise physiology, but really should include personal trainers to strengthen the organization
CSEP - sounds pretty good and what I wish we had here in the US

As far as I can see right now, ACE seems to be the best in my estimation, based solely on the organization itself, not the materials that they put out. ACSM has the most detailed information, but I wonder about how much they truly care about the field. I wish ACE would present themselves as an organization that promotes and advocates for their fitness professionals to provide the best service possible to the public.

Thoughts? Although this might fall on deaf ears, this is probably one of the more important things that is rarely discussed in this field. We really need an organization that will advocate us to progress our field.

[Endevorforever]

We always see the questions about the "best fitness certification". This topic has been beaten to death. My question is what is the best fitness organization in your opinion?

I'm approaching this question from thinking about who cares the most about professionals in the field. For example, physical therapists have APTA, the organization that represents them and fights for legislation in their favor. One of our better certifying organizations, the ACSM, seems to be primarily run by doctors. I wonder how much the organization really cares about the long term success of our field. Every other health based profession seems to have an organization that really pushes legislation that is beneficial for their career's existence. Think dietitians, massage therapists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists.

Although ACE is not necessarily the most well-respected organization, or at least it wasn't years ago, it seems as if they are heading in the right direction. For instance, they have a legislation action center on their website (http://www.acefitness.org/cp/legislativeac.aspx). I don't see anything similar for the ACSM, other than "Exercise is Medicine", which could be great for us, or a way for doctors to dictate what we do. Also, when I look at ACE's board of directors (http://www.acefitness.org/aboutace/board.aspx), I like to at least see some active fitness professionals in there. This is contrast to ACSM which are all PhD's working for Universities. They truly show that they are primarily concerned with research.

I pulled mission statements where I could, or the closest thing I could find to it from a variety of organizations:

ACE:

"The American Council on Exercise® is a nonprofit organization committed to enriching quality of life through safe and effective exercise and physical activity. As America’s Authority on Fitness, ACE protects all segments of society against ineffective fitness products, programs and trends through its ongoing public education, outreach and research. ACE further protects the public by setting certification and continuing education standards for fitness professionals."

ACSM:

"The American College of Sports Medicine advances and integrates scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine."

NSCA:

"As the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, we support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness."

NASM (best I could find):

"It’s true. We are the best of the best. Since 1987 NASM has been the global leader in delivering evidence-based certifications and advanced credentials to health and fitness professionals. Our products and services are scientifically and clinically proven. They are revered and utilized by leading brands and programs around the world and have launched thousands of successful careers."

ASEP:

"The Society of Exercise Physiologists is dedicated to unifying all exercise physiologists in the United States and worldwide to promote and support the study, practice, teaching, research, and development of the exercise physiology profession."

CSEP:

"CSEP is the resource and voice for exercise physiology and health and fitness, providing leadership in research, education and practice to improve health outcomes for Canadians."

So, brief summary that I get from all of that:

ACE - talks a lot about general public, what about its professionals? Perhaps I missed where they talk about us.
ACSM - cares about research, where are the fitness professionals in the organization?
NSCA - depsite the CPT and CSPS certifications, I believe that they are still very oriented towards athletics.
NASM - cares about making money from certifications
ASEP - cares about clinical exercise physiology, but really should include personal trainers to strengthen the organization
CSEP - sounds pretty good and what I wish we had here in the US

As far as I can see right now, ACE seems to be the best in my estimation, based solely on the organization itself, not the materials that they put out. ACSM has the most detailed information, but I wonder about how much they truly care about the field. I wish ACE would present themselves as an organization that promotes and advocates for their fitness professionals to provide the best service possible to the public.

Thoughts? Although this might fall on deaf ears, this is probably one of the more important things that is rarely discussed in this field. We really need an organization that will advocate us to progress our field.

You are missing ISSA.