Physical therapy programs often don’t teach advanced strength and conditioning concepts. This leads to many PT’s obtaining their Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, or CSCS, certification through the NSCA.
While I don’t think you “need” this to work with athletes, here are some pros and cons to consider.
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#AskMikeReinold Episode 303: Is the CSCS Helpful for a Physical Therapist?
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Show Notes
Transcript
Student:
All right guys. So we got Kaylee from Dallas, Texas wanting to know, “Hey, Champion Team, I’m a third year DPT student and I’ve been contemplating taking a CSCS for a while. What are your thoughts on the certification? Is it necessary to work with sports/higher level patient populations. I’ve been doing CrossFit for a while and would like to specialize in these athletes eventually. Thanks.”
Mike Reinold:
Did I do that? Was that in good context? Am I overdoing that now? Sorry. It just fits. It just fits. Go to VRE.com/chasingscratch and, no, sorry. All right, so let’s start with this with this episode. How many PTs here in the room, because that’s the question for Kaylee, have a CSCS? Let me see. Or who doesn’t, right? Okay. So Kevin doesn’t okay.
Dave Tilley:
Mine is expired, so I’m kind of like half. My CU didn’t go through.
Mike Reinold:
So you certified, you just haven’t recertified with your CU.
Dave Tilley:
In a year, I will just be DPT.
Mike Reinold:
That’s one of the easier ones to maintain, your CUs by the way, Dave, no-
Dave Tilley:
Especially when you teach courses.
Mike Reinold:
I think you just have to click once or something, but anyway. So Kevin, do you have your CSCS?
Kevin Coughlin:
No, I have my CPT from ACSM.
Mike Reinold:
Oh, okay. All right, interesting. So that’s in that world. Mike, are you a CSCS?
Mike Scaduto:
No, I’m not. I was the same thing. I’m just a certified personal trainer.
Mike Reinold:
That’s interesting. So you guys got your CPT, is that because you worked as personal trainers at some point in life?
Mike Scaduto:
Yeah.
Mike Reinold:
Okay, that makes sense.
Kevin Coughlin:
I got that certification before I graduated undergrad and I think that’s the stipulation with CSCS.
Mike Reinold:
Right, right. I guess that makes sense, yeah. So you have to have a college degree to be a CSCS, right? Yeah, that’s interesting. I know I have it, Lenny has it, right, Dave has it. So it’s interesting, I think we just mildly answered your question right there, Kaylee. So half of us. Dan does have it, I believe, Dan Pope who’s not with us today. Half of us don’t have it. And I think to quote you is we are working in sports and with higher level patient population without it. I think we’ve answered your question that you don’t need it. Maybe we talk a little bit about the benefit of it, right?
Lenny Macrina:
Lisa, do you have it.
Lisa Lowe:
I don’t have it. And I was going to say, I would maybe consider getting it if I didn’t work with Jonah and Dewey and all the other strength coaches. Because they’re so smart, I’m not going to beat out their smartness by taking a test. So I just rely on them, which is maybe not the best, but also really great.
Mike Reinold:
Yeah, I would say though the majority of physical therapists, when you’re working within the realm of somebody at different phases in their recovery. And to get really deep into strength and conditioning concepts, I think it’s important that you understand them, but you could argue that we learn enough in physical therapy school to do the basics. But I think a lot of people want to work with more than just the basics than just the first three to four weeks after a surgery. We want to do a little bit more than that. I don’t know, maybe Dave or Len, maybe we hear from Len a little bit, what do you think? How has the CSCS helped you, Len? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on that as an experienced late career professional. Are you officially a late career, you must be right?
Lenny Macrina:
Yeah, I guess. Is it 20 years or is it 25, late professional?
Mike Reinold:
You’re old, but yeah. All right, so as a late career professional, how has the CSCs impacted your career?
Lenny Macrina:
I took it in 2004. I had just graduated PT school the year prior. And I just-
Mike Reinold:
Red Sox World Series, that was a good year.
Lenny Macrina:
Red Sox, was a big year. Big year for me. And I actually took it at UAB, Luke, and I just thought the information I was going to learn at the time, basically for me, I just bought the book that they recommend and read it from cover to cover. And at the summit in Birmingham, I used to go to the coffee shop there, and just read it at the summit.
Mike Reinold:
What was the coffee shop? I remember the one on the corner.
Lenny Macrina:
Yeah, I forget the name.
Mike Reinold:
I used to go there a lot too. That’s funny. Anyway, sorry, mmm.
Lenny Macrina:
I don’t know, I just thought I wanted to learn the basics of strength and conditioning. And it’s just like PT school, you get the basics of what you would need. And then I learned a ton from our coaches here, you know what I mean, from all of our coaches that we’ve had in our eight year history. So I got the basics of strengthening and conditioning, periodization and how to set up a gym and things of that nature, and it’s somewhere in my head. And then I’ve built upon that with patient experiences and client experiences, and talking to our strength coaches and hearing them speak.
Lenny Macrina:
And hopefully I continue to grow and can use those concepts when I’m programming for my eight month out ACL patients or my seven month out Tommy John patients who are looking for a full body workout if they’re not working out with our strength coaches, which oftentimes they are so I don’t have to, but a lot of times I am still programming. I don’t know, I recommend it. I think it’s good just to have those letters after your name and be able to attend those conferences and talk to strength coaches.
Lenny Macrina:
And sometimes people, believe it or not, sometimes people are like, oh, you’re a CSCS, what does that mean? Oh, you’re a certified strength coach, strength and conditioning specialist. And some people are like, wow, that’s a great check to have and they have a little bit more confidence in you to work with their kid or work with them to program for them to do higher level programming. I don’t know, I think there is a benefit and it’s not an expensive test. It’s not like a SES that’s going to be a couple thousand dollars. I think it’s a few hundred bucks and you get that information. And you sit for the test and you hopefully use that information well.
Mike Reinold:
I like it. I like it. How about from the strength coaches’ perspective? What do you guys think about a PT taking the CSCS? How do you guys feel that’s important? For you guys, there’s so much that you do that’s outside of that CSCS and beyond the CSCS, right? What are some of your thoughts on this question from Kaylee?
Diwesh Poudyal:
I think the CSCS does provide a decent intro to some of the concepts, like Lenny said, of strength and conditioning like periodization, programming. Even some exercise technique stuff that maybe involves stuff that you typically wouldn’t see in a PT setting, like the barbell and stuff. So I think it’s a great entry point. Now with that said, if you want to delve really deep into being this really amazing strength coach and PT or have a really good understanding of strength and conditioning principles, you’re probably going to have to do a little bit more work after you get your CSCS. But I think it does provide a good entryway. And I think Lenny’s definitely right, it definitely provides a pathway as far as your career goes. I think people do look at the CSCS still as a gold standard. I know certainly for working in pro sports or working in college athletics people prefer seeing that CSCS, even though you have your DPT already. And certainly on our end of the profession, if you don’t have a CSCS, you can’t really work in college or pro sports.
Mike Reinold:
Right. Yeah, I think they’ve used that as an entry level point. I know it’s like that in professional baseball too, where it’s required that you at least have your CSCS. What else, who else has some thoughts there? Dave, what do you think?
Dave Tilley:
Yeah, just to jump in on the back of Diwesh’s point, I took mine right after my SES. And I think that if I’d only read the book and taken the test, I’m not saying Lenny’s not good at strength coach, but if I’d only taken the test and read the book, I feel like I would’ve been overwhelmed in the clinic. I think that just like PT is both academic and clinical you have to watch people move and learn how to queue on [inaudible 00:09:48] so to speak. I think because I was around strength coaches like at Champion, but also I remember being the only PT at Cressey’s summer internships or whatever, his courses. So I think that watching people coach, watching people queue, seeing progressions, and watching people clean up movements on the fly is super, super important. And I’ve learned equally, I think that I’m a decent strength coach because I’ve done equal amounts of time in both, the academic world and also the really working with the people in front of you.
Mike Reinold:
Right, I like that. And I think that’s probably a good summary. I think put it all together for the CSCS, do you need it to work with high level people? Absolutely not. Heck, you could learn to be a really good strength, I know a lot of good strength coaches that do not have their CSCS and they’re still excellent strength coaches. But that being said, it’s almost like taking a class in college, the CSCS, should think that’s your strength and conditioning class, right? And you learn a lot about the background, the science of strength and conditioning, which I think is really neat, but keep that in mind. It’s almost like you’re just learning the science. Nothing beats actually getting your hands dirty and getting out on a gym floor and actually working with people.
Mike Reinold:
That’s why we have so many PTs that come through our strength and conditioning internship at Champion is because they want to immerse themself in that a little bit. And that’s a big part of it, right? The science is only a very, I don’t want to say small, but it’s only a portion of what it takes to be a good coach is understanding the science. There’s a lot of art. And a lot of that art is even just connecting with people and being able to adapt on the fly based on a response to something, right? So you’re not going to learn that in a textbook. So do you need it? No. But it’s such a low barrier of entry to give yourself a solid foundation of the science of strength and conditioning, it’s kind of like a, why not? You probably should do it, right? But just realize that, I think we’re saying do it Kaylee, but don’t then proclaim that you’re an amazing strength coach. You still have to get some experience on the floor with some people, I think would probably be very helpful.
Mike Reinold:
But anyway, hopefully that helped Kaylee. Again, good question. If you have a question like that, head to MikeReinold.com, click on that podcast link and be sure to head to Apple Podcast and Spotify to rate, review, and subscribe. And we’ll see you on the next episode. Thanks so much.
