Alfonso Jimenez, chair of European Health and Fitness Association's (EHFA) Standard's Council, has called for more emphasis to be put on psychology in the training of exercise professionals.

In an interview with Health Club Management

, Jimenez said that having frontline fitness staff that understands the mental state of customers is a crucial element of ensuring the effective delivery of a public health agenda.

"We need to modify our main skills and look for new competencies in our staff," Jimenez said.

"Physiological knowledge is important, but we need staff with psychological know-how too. We need people who can engage with individuals and lead behavioural change, and we need proper assessment and evidence-based programmes - not only for people who pay for personal training, but for everyone.

"People pay us for structured exercise, advice and expertise, and the quality of our product is not currently good enough. So we need to raise our standards, with a fundamental shift in what we are offering."

To read the full interview with Alfonso Jimenez, click here for Health Club Management, January 2012