The Personal Fitness Training (PFT) Program will help you further your personal training education. You'll gain the knowledge and skills to implement a unique, medically based fitness plan for your clients. You'll learn how to apply your client's health history, goals, and abilities into a systematic model that will allow each client to progress through different training levels and phases. You'll also have the unique opportunity to participate in an on-site, practical experience in personal training through an optional six-week, 60-hour field internship.

This interactive, comprehensive program is the result of collaboration between industry experts, internship affiliates, national organizations, and Educational Fitness Solutions, Inc., and their board of advisors. 

This certificate program includes:

• Career path development
• Study of the exercise sciences, kinesiology, and biomechanics
• A medically-based fitness model to use with your clients
• Business administration and management systems in fitness
• Training in conducting  health and fitness testing
• Information about the ACSM screening processes
• Analysis of exercise movements and performance
• Training in developing exercise prescriptions for all age groups

The program is offered in partnership with the American Council on Exercise® (ACE). Graduates of the Certificate Program will receive a preferred discount of 20% off the ACE Certified Personal Trainer® Certification Exam (an NCCA-accredited exam) and on study materials.

The program is offered in partnership with the American Council on Exercise® (ACE), the IDEA Health & Fitness Association, and Personal Fitness Professional (PFP). ACE provides graduating certificate students with a preferred discount on the ACE® Personal Training Certification Exam and study materials. IDEA provided content and curriculum for the program, and, as a student, you'll receive a complimentary six-month subscription to the digital edition of IDEA Fitness Journal PFP provides students with a free three-year subscription. The subscription includes nine print issues of their magazine per year, a monthly e-newsletter, a digital magazine, and access to an interactive Web site with blogs, polls, articles, and much more.
 
Continuing Education Credits/Units

The Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association (ADA), has approved the Certificate in Personal Training program for 50 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs) and the Optional Field Internship Program for 60 CPEUs for both registered dietitians and dietetic technician-registereds.

The following national organizations and associations have approved the Personal Fitness Trainer Program for CEC/CEUs:

• The American Senior Fitness Association (SFA): 2.0 CEUs per program
• The National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF): 10 CEUs per program
• The National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT): 1 CEC per program, equivalent to an entire six-month CEC requirement

Upon registering, you're given an initial six months to complete this program.  Should you need more time beyond the six months, an extension of six months is available with a fee of $300.

By completing the Certificate in Personal Fitness Training, you will:

• Prepare to work as a personal trainer in the health and fitness industry
• Learn how to implement a medically based fitness model and the ACSM Risk Stratification process for clients
• Understand the process of conducting a detailed health and fitness assessment
• Identify the business fundamentals of administration, marketing, and management in personal training
• Gain information about nutrition, exercise science, kinesiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, neurology, client testing and assessment, functional anatomy, and exercise programming
• Prepare to take personal training certification exams from ACE, ACSM, and other national organizations

1. Introduction to Exercise Science: Level I (Anatomy and Kinesiology)
   1. Define Kinesiology, Functional Anatomy, and Biomechanics
   2. Identify Skeletal Structures and Primary, Secondary, and Stabilizing Muscles
   3. Understand Terminology Used to Describe Body Part Locations, Reference Positions, Planes of Motion, and Anatomical Directions
   4. Understand Functional Anatomy, Muscle Contractions, and the Effects of Stress Placed on Joint Structures During Exercise Movements
2. Introduction to Exercise Science: Level II (Exercise Physiology)
   1. Understand the Reactions and Functions of the Muscular, Skeletal, and Cardiorespiratory Systems With and Without Exercise Conditioning
   2. Review Enzymes in Their Role as a Catalyst in Cellular Reactions and Nutrients Used as Fuels During Exercise
   3. Identify High-energy Phosphates and Interactions Between Aerobic and Anaerobic ATP Production During Exercise
   4. Understand Neuromuscular Function and the Physiology of Exercise in Relation to Exercise Programs and Environmental Factors
3. Health-Risk Profiles and Fitness Assessment Techniques
   1. Understand the Process of Conducting an Initial Health and Fitness Evaluation
   2. Define Client-screening Procedures, Medical and Health History Intake Forms, PAR-Q, Informed Consent Forms, and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Risk Stratification Process
   3. Learn How to Perform Fitness and Health Assessments, including Posture, Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Joint Range of Motion (ROM), Body-fat Analysis, Blood Pressure, and Body Measurements Based on ACSM Guidelines
   4. Understand the Goals and Objectives of the Client and Learn the Importance of Building a Long-term Relationship
4. Business Administration and Management Aspects for Personal Trainers
   1. Develop a Personal Career Track
   2. Analyze the State of the Fitness Industry and Personal Training Market
   3. Learn to Manage and Administer a Personal Training Department, Studio, or Business
   4. Learn Business Fundamentals in Accounting, Sales, Management, Marketing, and Business Plan Development
5. Designing Exercise Prescriptions for Normal and Special Populations
   1. Principles of Exercise Prescription Development, Including Resistance and Weight Training, Flexibility, and Cardiovascular Programming
   2. Review the Specific Physiological Reasons to Initiate an Exercise Program and to Discontinue an Exercise Program
   3. How Exercise Is Related to and Can Help Normal to Special Populations and Conditions
   4. Document and Report Your Client's Exercise Prescription Evaluation Results and Progress
6. Elective Program: Optional Field Internship in Personal Training
   1. Intern for a total of six weeks/60 hours with professionals in the fitness and health industry for a practical experience working with members at fitness facilities and health centers
   2. Network and interact with professionals in the health and fitness industry
   3. Develop a professional goal statement and review career opportunities
   4. Improve your ability to obtain employment or operate your own health and fitness facility

There are no specific prerequisites to enter this program, other than an Internet connection, an e-mail address, and basic computer knowledge. Students do need to receive CPR certification and approval by the program coordinator prior to beginning the Optional Field Internship Program.

The Personal Fitness Trainer Program is for you if you're interested in starting a career in the health and fitness industry. This program is also suitable for registered dietitians seeking CPEUs and for allied health and medical professionals seeking to broaden their careers or become full- or part-time personal trainers or fitness instructors.

This program is compatible with the Windows XP and later operating systems and IE 7 and later browsers.

This program can be taken from a PC.  It is not recommended for MAC users. Technical requirements include, but are not limited to, having Internet access with a 56K modem (but it's highly recommended that you have DSL or high-speed cable Internet access), 64 MB system RAM, 200 MB free hard-disk space memory or sufficient storage; reliable e-mail account access, CD-ROM/DVD capabilities, and a reliable Internet provider. Some individual modules may have additional software and/or hardware requirements.

These items will be provided by ed2go:

• Manual of Structural Kinesiology
• Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance
• ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer, Second Edition
• ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Seventh Edition
• Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action

The items below are recommended, but they're not required. These items aren't provided by ed2go, but you'll be able to purchase these materials through a discounted bookstore, if you'd like to do so.

Textbooks/Materials

• Joint Structure and Function
• The Anatomy Coloring Book, Third Edition
• Kinesiology—Scientific Basis of Human Motion, 10th Edition
• Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy
• Illustrated Skeletal Muscle Flash Cards, First Edition
• Exercise Testing and Prescription, Sixth Edition
• Measurements of Joint Motion—A Guide to Goniometry

Fitness Equipment

• Posture and Body Alignment Grid
• Slim Guide Calipers
• Blood Pressure Cuff and Stethoscope
• Goniometer
• Spring-loaded Tape Measure

Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI, is the program coordinator and an instructor for the Personal Fitness Trainer and Advanced Fitness Trainer Programs. He is the former chair of IDEA's National Personal Trainer Committee and chair of the Senior Fitness Subcommittee for the Massachusetts Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports. Ken is the senior editor, content expert, and lead author for ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer Textbook, Second Edition. He continues to serve on national committees for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), AAHPERD, and the Medical Fitness Association. He has been honored with numerous awards, including IDEA's Personal Trainer of the Year Award, presented at the IDEA International Personal Training Summit.

Ken has been involved in the fitness, wellness, and education profession for over 10 years. His background includes operating and managing a personal training company; training many types of populations, from children to seniors and beginning exercisers to athletes; and lecturing and consulting at corporations, public events, national conventions (ACSM Health and Fitness Summit, Club Industry, IDEA, International Council of Active Aging, and the Medical Fitness Association, to name a few), and international conferences. In addition to his industry experience, he's actively involved in working with national organizations and colleges and universities to develop educational standards for those wishing to enter the personal fitness training profession.

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