Steven Turner
Biography:
We all have a story to tell, full of rich experiences and lessons learned. My interest in personal training/physical fitness developed through my own experiences in pushing my mental and physical boundaries in the military, sporting career and academia.
My Royal Australian Navy (RAN) experiences included completing the RAN Physical Training Instructors (PTI) course in 1977. To complete the Navy PTI course required 12 months of full-time academic studies and intense physical training.
The fitness required to complete the Physical Training Instructors course was the same level of fitness required of an Olympic Athlete. On completion of the PTI course, one of my main duties and responsibilities was to have the ship’s company at the highest fitness level for combat readiness.
I had instilled a work ethic of keeping fit, staying healthy, and emphasising the importance of teamwork, planning and commitment to meeting objectives. I represented the Navy in nine different interservice sports competing against the Army and RAAF.
Following the RAN military, in 1988-2001, I was employed as an Education Officer (Fitness teacher) teaching inmate’s fitness courses at Goulburn Maximum Security gaol – Goulburn NSW. I developed a fitness course for inmates called Fitness Lifestyle Attitude Recreation Education (FLARE).
This course was three months in length, where I would take 12 inmates through intense physical fitness and education courses. Many of the inmates I took through the FLARE program were considered the highest maximum-security prisoners in Australia. You could say that I had a captive audience. When I lived in Goulburn, I competed in Triathlons, winning four Australian age group Triathlons. I also trained amateur boxers for ten years at the Goulburn PCYC.
From 2001-2016 I taught full-time fitness courses at NSW Meadowbank and Gosford TAFE. I taught Certificate III in Fitness, Certificate IV in Fitness and Diploma of Fitness courses. The fitness courses at NSW TAFE were undertaken as six months of full-time studies for students.
During my time teaching at NSW TAFE, I taught hundreds of students with many students going on to have successful careers in the fitness industry as personal trainers and gym managers. Several students also went onto to be strength and conditioning coaches for professional sporting teams.
Since 2016 I have taught fitness courses with Mark McGaw Institute of Sports Science (MMISS). MMISS has developed a very successful online learning platform for Certificate III in Fitness, Certificate IV in Fitness and Diploma of Fitness. MMISS had developed online learning fitness courses before the Covid-19 pandemic, but MMISS has greatly increased student numbers with many people wanting to move to online learning during the pandemic.
MMISS has students from all over Australia, from the Northern Territory to Western Australia and every other state and territory in Australia. MMISS provides students with excellent ongoing support from the time of enrolment to the completion of their course.
When students undertake a course with MMISS they are not treated as “just students” they become part of the MMISS family with many great and illustrious members. All MMISS students are provided with reasonable adjustment during the assessment process, personal and individualised tuition, flexible learning and flexible assessment drawing from various assessment methods.
I consider MMISS fitness courses to be the best fitness courses developed and delivered in over forty years. I have been involved with teaching fitness courses.
I have worked my way up from the RAN Physical Training Instructors (PTI) course to a Bachelor of Social Science (Recreation Major) and Vocational Education Training Diploma. Fitness, Certificate IV in Fitness, Certificate III in Fitness, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
I have many more short fitness courses, boxing trainers’ certificate, coaching courses, strength and conditioning certificates. My fitness and health goals have changed over the years from achieving sporting and athletic success at the highest level possible to stay fit and healthy. I stay physically active strength training/weights, regularly walking and swimming.