NIHS Certified Fitness Professionals – You, as a member of the health profession, have an ethical and moral responsibility to your client, community, and other health professionals in all health and wellness related services.

The following ethical foundations for professional activities in the field of personal fitness training and health promotion serve as a Code of Conduct for practicing professionals. The Code implements many of these foundations in the form of rules of ethical conduct. Noncompliance with the Code may affect an individual's initial or continuing status as a recognized certified professional in the National Institute of Health Science and other certifications related to their field.

Ethical Foundations

I.                    The Trainer-Client relationship: The welfare and safety of the client is central to all considerations in the trainer-client relationship. Included in this relationship is the obligation of the trainer to respect the rights of clients, colleagues, and other health professionals. The respect for the right of individual clients to make their own choices about their health care (autonomy) is fundamental. The principle of justice requires strict avoidance of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or any other basis that would constitute illegal discrimination (justice).

II.                 Trainer conduct and practice: The personal fitness trainer should deal honestly with clients and colleagues. This includes not misrepresenting himself or herself through any form of communication in an untruthful, misleading, or deceptive manner. Furthermore, maintenance of professional competence through study, application, and enhancement of health and fitness knowledge and skills is an obligation of the practicing personal trainer. All personal fitness trainers certified by the NIHS are obligated to respond to evidence of questionable conduct or unethical behavior through appropriate procedures established by the NIHS Certifying Agency.

III.               Avoiding conflicts of interest: Potential conflicts of interest are inherent in the practice of the personal fitness trainer. Personal trainers are expected to recognize such situations and deal with them in accordance with the best interests of the client. Inherent in this regulation is the need to place the interest of the client over the interest of profit.

IV.              Professional relations: The personal fitness trainer should respect and cooperate with other personal fitness trainers, fitness instructors and allied health professionals regardless of their certification, affiliation or profession. This respect and cooperation does not supersede any obligations that the NIHS certified fitness professional has to protect the safety and welfare of the client.

V.                 Community responsibilities: The personal fitness trainer has a continuing responsibility to the community as a whole and should support and participate in activities that enhance the community. As a member of society, the personal trainer must respect the laws of their state. As professionals and representatives of the NIHS, personal fitness trainers are required to uphold the dignity and honor of the profession.

VI.              Client Confidentiality: The personal fitness trainer has the responsibility of securing all information of a personal nature, including health status, training programs, and measurements or assessments. Client information must be placed in a secure location only accessible to the trainer or other certified trainers. Fitness Trainers must consider the privacy of their clients before discussing client information with other health professionals. It is unethical to discuss such information in a public forum or in an environment in which others may gain access to that client information. Information may not be released to other entities, regardless of their intention without the written authorization of the client in the form of a release. It is further considered the right of the client to access and obtain copies of their records, including workouts and other information contained within their file. Any client information considered non-active must be maintained for seven (7) years then completely destroyed by shredding or fire whereby no other individual may view discarded information.

VII.            Use of Title: A trainer, unless licensed in nutrition, may not call themselves a dietician, nutritionist or imply that they are licensed or registered. A trainer may make nutritional recommendations as long as they do not use that recommendation to prescribe a diet in order to treat a medical condition.

VIII.         Medical Advice: A trainer is not permitted to give medical advice, including the diagnosis of health related conditions, their prognosis or recommendations for the treatment of such medical conditions. This is including but not limited to physical therapy, acute stage rehabilitation or the recommendation of any drugs, including over-the-counter medication.

Personal Code of Conduct

I.                   Client-Trainer Relationship

1.      The Client-Trainer relationship is the central focus of all ethical concerns, and the welfare of the client should form the basis of all judgments for program design and assessments.

2.      The Trainer should serve the client by exercising all reasonable means to ensure that the most appropriate training and fitness recommendations are provided to the client.

3.      The Client-Trainer relationship has an ethical basis and is built on confidentiality, trust, and honesty. The trainer must adhere to all applicable legal or contractual constraints while in the client-trainer relationship.

4.      Ethical misconduct on the part of the trainer is an abuse of professional power and a violation of client trust. The use of sexual or inappropriate contact, drug use or recommendations, practicing outside the scope of practice of a professional trainer including use of title, dietary advice in which such advise is for the treatment of a specific medical condition, and sexual relationships between a trainer and a current client is considered unethical.

5.      The trainer has an obligation to obtain the informed consent of each client. In obtaining informed consent for any course of physical measurement or activity, the trainer should present to the client, or to the person legally responsible for the client, in understandable terms, pertinent facts and recommendations consistent with good professional practice. Such information should include alternate modes of testing or physical activity and the objectives, risks, benefits, possible complications, and anticipated results of such activities or testing protocols.

6.      Exercise professionals must practice a standard of care that includes basic pre-screen or exercise readiness forms such as a Par-Q or other risk factor analysis on all clients.

7.      It is unethical to prescribe, provide, or seek compensation for therapies or products that are of no benefit to the client.

8.      The trainer should respect the rights of clients, colleagues, and others and safeguard client information and confidences within the limits of the law. If during the process of providing information for consent it is known that results of a particular test or other information must be given to governmental authorities or other third parties, that information should be explained to the client.

9.      The trainer should not discriminate against clients based on race, color, national origin, religion, or on any other basis that would constitute illegal discrimination.

10.  The trainer has an obligation to their client to provide services that have been agreed to by the client and the trainer. It is a violation of professional conduct to participate in practices that inconvenience a client including late session starts, overtraining of the client and no shows for sessions.

11.  It is the responsibility of the NIHS certified trainer to contractually agree to services with their client. Contracts are an agreement to provide services and lay out expectations, including and not limited to pricing and cost.

II.                Trainer Conduct and Practice

1.      The trainer should recognize the boundaries of his or her particular competencies and expertise, and provide only those services and use only those techniques for which he or she is qualified by education, training, or experience to provide. A trainer may take blood pressure measurements to determine exercise readiness or eliminate risk.

2.      It is the responsibility of the trainer to ensure that their client exercises or participates in exercises that are appropriate to that client’s level of fitness.

3.      Should the trainer be qualified to work with physician referred clients, then they must follow physician recommendations. It is unethical and a violation of scope of practice to recommend programs, movement patterns or resistances not approved in writing by the physician.

4.      The trainer should participate in continuing education activities to maintain current scientific and professional knowledge relevant to the professional services he or she renders. The trainer should provide services involving new therapies or training techniques only after undertaking appropriate training and study. Continuing education through the NIHS requires 10 (ten) hours of continuing education per year beginning two years after the initial certification from NIHS. Continuing education may be obtained from any provider deemed professional in the health and wellness field. Qualifying entities including college and university courses, health, wellness and fitness and medical related conventions, medical and fitness journals and other certifications. The NIHS does not require continuing education in only NIHS approved courses. The NIHS recognizes any fitness certification or organization approved by other professional organizations including and not limited to: allied health conventions, dietitian education, higher education institutions and institutions such as NASM, ACE, ACSM, NSCA and many others.

5.      In any training environment, the trainer should exercise careful judgment and take appropriate precautions to protect the client's welfare with regards to equipment, facilities and environmental factors.

6.      The trainer should not publicize or represent himself or herself in any untruthful, misleading, or deceptive manner to clients, colleagues, other health-care professionals, or the public.

7.      The trainer who has reason to believe that he or she is infected with any communicable disease or virus not limited to the human immunodeficiency virus or other serious infectious agents that can be communicated to clients should voluntarily be tested for the protection of his or her clients. In making decisions about client testing and training activities, a trainer infected with such an agent should adhere to the fundamental professional obligation to avoid harm to clients.

8.      The trainer should not practice or attempt to provide professional services while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or physical or mental disability. The trainer who experiences substance abuse problems or who is physically or emotionally impaired should seek appropriate assistance to address these problems and limit his or her professional practice until the impairment no longer affects the quality of client service.

9.      The trainer may not imply NIHS endorsement for commercial venture. Disclosure of affiliation and/or use of the initials NIHS are not to be made as part of a firm, partnership or corporate name. Disclosure in violation of this article may be grounds for disciplinary action. A trainer may use the initials NIHS-CFP (certified fitness professional), CFT (certified fitness trainer) or any title provided by their certification

10.  In any testing or assessments, the trainer must follow an appropriate standard of care to include appropriate screening of a client, ensuring physician approvals or referring individuals to allied professionals when appropriate to do so. The NIHS does not consider the use of a one-repetition maximum strength test necessary or ethical; rather the use of a 10-repetition maximum or more is considered safe and appropriate.

11.  Trainers must maintain up-to-date continuing education, CPR certification and any liability coverage while practicing in their field.

III.             Conflicts of Interest

1. Potential conflicts of interest are inherent in the field of health and fitness. Conflicts of interest should be resolved in accordance with the best interest of the client. If there is concern about a possibly significant conflict of interest, the trainer should disclose his or her concerns to the client. If a conflict of interest cannot be resolved, the trainer should take steps to withdraw as a service provider for the client. If conflicts of interest are unresolved, the trainer should seek consultation with colleagues or an institutional ethics committee.
2. Commercial promotions of fitness or health related products and services may generate bias unrelated to product merit, creating, or appearing to create, inappropriate undue influence. The trainer should be aware of this potential conflict of interest and offer fitness advice that is as accurate, balanced, complete, and devoid of bias as possible.
3. The trainer should recommend nutritional modifications based solely upon health considerations and client needs, regardless of any direct or indirect interests in or benefit from a supplement company or other supplier.
4. When the trainer receives anything of substantial value, including royalties, from companies in the health-care industry, such as a manufacturer of supplements and fitness devices, this fact should be disclosed to clients and colleagues when material.

IV.              Professional Relations

1. The trainer's relationships with other trainers, fitness directors, physicians, physical therapists, and other health-care professionals should reflect fairness, honesty, and integrity, sharing a mutual respect and concern for the client.
2. The trainer should consult, refer, or cooperate with other trainers, health professionals, and institutions to the extent necessary to serve the best interests of their clients.
3. The trainer should respect all laws, uphold the dignity and honor of the profession, and accept the profession's self-imposed discipline. The professional competence and conduct of trainers is best examined by professional associations and peer-review committees; active professionals should remain in good standard with these groups. These groups deserve the full participation and cooperation of the personal trainer.
4. The trainer should strive to address, through the appropriate procedures the status of those trainers who demonstrate questionable competence, impairment, or unethical or illegal behavior. In addition, the trainer should cooperate with appropriate authorities to prevent the continuation of such behavior.

V.                 Community Responsibilities

1. The trainer should support and participate in those health programs, practices, and activities that contribute positively, in a meaningful and effective way, to the welfare of individual clients, the health fitness community, or the public good.
2. Trainers who provide expert testimony in courts of law recognize their duty to testify truthfully. The trainer should not testify concerning matters about which he or she is not knowledgeable. The trainer should be prepared to have testimony, given in any judicial proceeding, subjected to peer review by an institution or professional organization to which he or she belongs. It is unethical for a trainer to accept compensation that is contingent upon the outcome of litigation.