The ACE Group Fitness Instructor Exam Review Online Course is a valuable study tool to help you prepare for the ACE Group Fitness Instructor Certification Exam. The 5.5-hour online course is ideal for those who learn best on their own and in a self-paced environment, but also want the in-depth teaching and support of an ACE-developed curriculum. This version is based on the new 3rd edition of the ACE Group Fitness Instructor Manual.
Access pre-recorded lectures, complete learning activities designed to maximize your understanding of key principles and take interactive quizzes all in the convenience of your own home. Move step by step through the required knowledge and skill sets and gain a deeper insight into how to apply what you learn to your career as a fitness professional.
This online course includes six modules covering the key topic areas of the exam content outline. You can take the course all at once, or complete each module separately as your schedule permits.
Module 1: The ACE-certified Group Fitness Instructor and Pre-class Preparation, Participant Monitoring and Evaluation
First, you must start by defining an ACE-certified Group Fitness Instructor in terms of scope of practice, code of ethics and career-development options. You will learn about pre-class preparation as well as participant monitoring and evaluation during an actual group exercise class. The discussion of pre-class preparation includes guidelines for analyzing participants’ health-history information and disease-risk stratification, as well as making appropriate referrals. The focus during class is on ensuring a safe exercise environment and monitoring participants for signs of exhaustion or injury.
Module 2: Designing and Teaching a Group Fitness Class
Get to the core of what it means to be a group fitness instructor—namely, programming and teaching safe and effective group exercise classes for participants with varying levels of physical fitness, different skill sets and special considerations. After reviewing general exercise guidelines, you will discover the segments of a group exercise class, from warm-up through post-workout stretching. The module also covers many issues a group fitness instructor must consider when teaching a class, from a participant’s stage of learning and preferred learning style to equipment options and music considerations. In addition, you will review details surrounding important strategies for exercise selection and teaching.
Module 3: Participant Motivation and Program Adherence
Discover the most challenging aspects of what makes a successful fitness professional: How to effectively harness participants’ motivation and improve long-term adherence to an exercise program. You will begin by defining motivation and outlining many factors that influence an individual’s decision to start, and then continue, exercising. You will also learn the description of the “ideal group fitness instructor”, with tips to improve your professional performance. Plus, you will gain strategies to build adherence among your class participants, including effective goal setting, using exercise reminders and prompts and emphasizing an overall healthy lifestyle.
Module 4: Group Exercise for Special Populations
Learn to identify special population groups that group fitness instructors are most likely to encounter. After reviewing an introduction on each disorder, which includes a discussion of the impact they have on the body’s response to physical activity, you will uncover specific exercise guidelines that are directly applicable to the group setting (exercise guidelines are presented for children and older adults as well). During the second part of this module you will focus exclusively on exercise and pregnancy in which you will learn about the benefits and risks of exercise during pregnancy, physiological adaptations to pregnancy, musculoskeletal system imbalances and dysfunctions, and programming suggestions and modifications.
Module 5: Common Injuries and Emergency Procedures in Group Exercise
As a group fitness instructor, how will you prevent and manage injuries that you are most likely to see among your class participants? Further, how will you handle emergencies should they arise? After reviewing the general categories of musculoskeletal injuries, you will gain an understanding of the various causes of injury—from improper flooring to poor movement execution—detailing specific musculoskeletal injuries and the considerations for each in a group exercise setting. In addition, you will cover critical emergency procedures, from establishing emergency policies to activating emergency medical services. Moreover, you will learn to assess an injured individual and provide the appropriate initial response. And, finally, you will learn to identify and react to common medical emergencies and injuries, including soft-tissue injuries, head injuries, seizures and dyspnea.
Module 6: Business, Legal, and Professional Issues in Group Fitness
In this module you will determine aspects of a career in group fitness instruction that many newcomers to the industry unfortunately overlook. In the first part you will learn about the group fitness trifecta—education, teamwork and class value—plus how to use this construct to increase your impact on the success of a fitness facility and in your own career. Understanding such topics as liability and negligence, and an instructor’s areas of responsibility in terms of minimizing the risk of injury in a fitness facility is absolutely essential. The importance of having appropriate insurance cannot be overstated. You will also cover other key legal considerations, including contracts, employment status, copyright law and scope of practice.
Note: ACE-certified professionals who hold a certification other than Group Fitness Instructor and successfully complete this course will earn .6 Continuing Education Credits (CECs).