CSEP Professional Standards Program® recommendations on a client-centred approach to training and gender

June 25, 2019

Some fitness and lifestyle assessment protocols vary according to gender and many of the Health Benefit Ratings in the CSEP Physical Activity Training for Health® (CSEP-PATH) are age and gender-specific. Both sociocultural and biological differences between males and females, and across age, can influence activity behaviour and physical fitness. The CSEP-PATH® process is a client-centred approach, and as such, Qualified Exercise Professionals (QEP) should work with all clients in the context of the age and gender with which they identify.

Gender identity is not always binary; if a client has identified as a particular gender, the QEP should assess that client using the protocols specific to that gender. If the client has not identified as a specific gender, the QEP should explain the differences in testing protocols, confirm the client’s preference for the purposes of fitness assessment, and interpret results accordingly.

For all clients, program design should be based on current fitness, activity level, and health and fitness goals.

Should clients require testing for the purpose of meeting occupational fitness standards or elite athlete performance standards, these typically require scores not Health Benefit Ratings (eg: maximal oxygen uptake in ml·kg-1·min-1 or number of push-ups or number stages in a shuttle run). As part of our client-centred approach, the QEP should always report assessment results in the context of the age and gender with which an individual identifies; employers and athletic organizations will have their own policies and procedures that are beyond the scope of the QEP to administer.