American Society of Exercise Physiologists was founded in 1997 in Minnesota. The founders of the ASEP organization are Dr. William T. Boone and Dr. Robert A. Robergs. Their vision for ASEP is to be the leading unifying force among exercise physiologists in the application of "exercise as medicine" to fitness, health promotion, and rehabilitation.[1] Of course, the scientific body of exercise physiology applies equally as well to athletics and sports training. At the time it was created and placed on the Internet as a nonprofit professional organization for exercise physiologists, it was unclear to many doctorate-level exercise physiologists why it was needed. However, after decades of membership in numerous non-exercise physiology organizations, academic exercise physiologists are becoming more aware that the students of exercise science and related programs of study (many, only concentrations) are having difficulty in locating credible career opportunities in the public sector.[2] The difficulty comes from the lack of a direct connection of a credible academic degree and recognized job opportunities. This is why the ASEP leadership created the first-ever Code of Ethics[3] for exercise physiologist, why they defined who is an exercise physiologist, and why they defined what is exercise physiology. They also developed the Board of Accreditation that subsequently accredited seven academic institutions along with the Board of Certification that has certified over 200 EPCs in the United States.[4] The ASEP leaders believe that exercise physiology is not defined by the research they do, but by the power of exercise as medicine. That is why they believe exercise physiology is the recognition of the physiology that underpins activity, the delivery of treatment services that may required the analysis, improvement or maintenance of health and fitness, the rehabilitation of heart disease and other chronic diseases and/or disabilities as well as the supervision of athletes and people with an interest in athletics and sports training.[5]
The ASEP leaders indicate that the professional services rendered by ASEP are especially important to the professionalism of exercise physiology. For example, the Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline is the official ASEP peer-reviewed electronic research journal that features original exercise physiology research, reviews, and editorials. The Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline is the first-ever journal that publishes articles about professionalism in exercise physiology. There is also the ASEPNewsletter, which is an official monthly newsletter. It keeps members informed of what is new and changing and upcoming events of professional interest in exercise physiology. There are other ASEP services, too, including the ASEP Directory of Membership, career opportunities and resources, Board Certification, professional networking and development, annual meeting opportunities, student support, and the opportunity to build an ASEP political support base.
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