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The ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist Exam Content Outline is essentially a blueprint for the exam. All exam questions are based on this outline, which may also be found in the appendix of the ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist Manual.
Download the Exam Content Outline (PDF 110 KB)
The ACE Certification Candidate Handbook is your complete guide to being an ACE Advanced Health + Fitness Specialist, from information on certification exams to requirements for maintaining your certification.
Download the Certification Candidate Handbook (PDF 2.1 MB)
What Should I Expect on Exam Day?
The ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist Certification Exam tests a candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities to conduct assessments and design and modify exercise programs for clients with special needs relating to frequently encountered cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic and musculoskeletal disorders and diseases. In addition, exercise programming for 50+ adults, youth and pre- and post-natal women will be covered as these groups require specific program modifications.
What’s the exam format?
The ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist Certification Exam follows the same format as all other ACE certification exams with 150 multiple choice questions. The ACE-AHFS Certification exam does not have a written simulation exam; only the ACE Personal Trainer Certification has this second exam component.
What’s Covered?
The exam content outline for the Advanced Health + Fitness Specialist Certification is broken into four content domains, with a set percentage of questions falling into each domain as follows:
- Domain I: Assessment (26% of questions)
- Domain II: Program Design (26% of questions)
- Domain III: Program Implementation and Management (40% of questions)
- Domain IV: Professional Responsibility (8% of questions)
How is the exam scored?
Of the 150 questions, 125 are scored and equated to a scaled score between 200 and 800 points. Candidates who achieve a score of 500 points or better will earn the ACE Advanced Health + Fitness Specialist Certification. The remaining 25 questions are experimental to see how they perform prior to being introduced as scored items on a future exam.