Press Room

ACE Helps Create Future Fitness Professionals with Educational Programming

Posted: Apr 04, 2011 in

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (April 5, 2011)—In an effort to mold the future of the fitness industry and inspire students to consider personal training as a dynamic and viable career choice, the American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s leading authority on fitness and the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world, is continuing to align with colleges and universities across the U.S. to provide classes and resources to interested students as part of its Educational Partnership program.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics, employment for fitness workers such as certified trainers is among the fastest growing occupations with an expected growth rate of nearly 30 percent between now and 2018.  The Council’s comprehensive college and university curriculum provides students a chance to learn fundamental skills needed to obtain a fitness certification and take advantage of the industry’s employment opportunities.

“We offer colleges and universities specially-designed programs that teach students at all levels how they can positively impact the health and fitness outlook of our nation while ultimately setting themselves up with a promising career path,” said ACE’s Chief Science Officer, Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D.  “Through ACE’s partnership with institutions all across the country, we have witnessed the development of highly trained, credentialed fitness professionals and afforded students a valuable skillset that can fuel a career in fitness and ensure an appreciation of healthy living.  We are very pleased with the curriculum’s success and the feedback we receive on a continuous basis.”

Below is just a sampling of the hundreds of ACE Educational Partners who are currently achieving success using the organization’s curriculum: 

• The University of Notre Dame: Shellie Dodd-Bell, Fitness and Instructional Program Coordinator and ACE course instructor, The University of Notre Dame, located in Notre Dame, Ind., says the University’s most popular ACE course is Personal Training, which it has offered since 2008.  Dodd-Bell feels that such programming has added a level of credibility to the university’s recreational sports offerings.  “It’s a rewarding experience teaching the ACE curriculum here because our students are very engaged and always ask a lot of questions, as they truly want to understand how the body works and what physical activity can really do for a person,” said Dodd-Bell.  “Many of the students who take the classes go on to teach or personal train while at school, and I feel very confident in their knowledge and ability to educate others on safe, effective exercise and fitness information.”
• Washington State University: For the past eight years, Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., has offered ACE’s Personal Training and Group Fitness Instructor courses to enthusiastic students.  “We recently began utilizing the ACE Personal Trainer Manual, 4th Edition study pack and available PowerPoint presentations,” said Jason Ruud, Assistant Director, University Recreation.  “Students appreciate the practical knowledge and experience, as well as the textbook’s general foundation of information.”  The university credits ACE’s reputation for offering trusted, unbiased and cutting-edge information to the success of the program and the growing number of students who take, and pass, certification exams.  The current ACE curriculum instructor was formerly a student in the class four years ago.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech): While Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Va., has been offering ACE’s curriculum for just over a year, the school has seen a huge interest from the start with nearly 100 students requesting to take each of the spring and fall courses offered.  “ACE does a really good job of giving us the resources we need to teach students with different educational backgrounds,” said Steven Trotter, Fitness Coordinator at Virginia Tech.  “The curriculum is very detailed but it’s formatted in a way that keeps students engaged and eager to learn.”  One student, in particular, signed up for the ACE course while finishing her Master’s degree and ended up becoming certified to help pay her bills while in school.  As her passion for fitness grew, she decided to change her career path to become a Fitness Coordinator in a university setting.
• Texas Tech University: Located in Lubbock, Texas, Texas Tech University proudly offers ACE’s group fitness instructor curriculum as a non-credit course to a number of students two out of the school’s three trimesters each year.  After completing the course, participants feel confident in developing unique exercise programs using ACE’s fundamentals.  Betty Blanton, Associate Director of Recreational Sports, shared, “The resources we provide students offer a solid structure we can rely on—we are confident that by providing the most thorough and up-to-date information from ACE, our class members can achieve an exceptional and reliable fitness certification.”

As an ACE Educational Partner, four-year colleges and universities, community colleges and vocational schools may teach the ACE curriculum, host an ACE certification exam and get their recreation center staff ACE certified.  For more information, please visit the ACE Educational Partnership Program section on www.acefitness.org.

About ACE
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s premier fitness education, certification and training organization, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting Americans against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction.  ACE sponsors university-based exercise science research and is the world’s largest nonprofit fitness certifying organization.  For more information on ACE and its programs, call (800) 825-3636 or log onto the ACE website at www.acefitness.org.

###