Online Certificates in
Personal Fitness Training
  and
Advanced Personal Fitness Training


Register for this Certificate Here!

The Online Professional Certificate in Personal Fitness Training (PFT) is  a  Web-based Certificate program with an optional field internship elective course. Content and curriculum within each course in the program is designed to present the student with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to implement a unique medically-based fitness model for their future or current clients. Students will learn how to apply their client’s health history, goals, and abilities integrating exercise science curriculum and practical training techniques into a systematic model that teaches students to progress their clients through different training levels and phases.

The program is offered in partnership with the American Council on Exercise® (ACE), IDEA Health & Fitness Association, and Personal Fitness Professional (PFP).

Click here to view the yearly course schedule-Spring, Summer, and Fall.
Click here to review a detailed Certificate Program Fact Sheet.
Click here for a list of CECs/CEUs.

Online Advanced Certificate in Personal Fitness Training
Students may also elect to register for the advanced certificate program courses. Students that have completed the core Certificate may then register for the advanced certificate which requires three additional courses. The advanced certificate is designed for students interested in furthering their personal training education by incorporating specialized resistance training, functional movements, and nutritional programs for their clients in partnership with RDs.


Each required course is $279
The Optional Field Internship is $379 
Estimated cost of required materials:  $265
Estimated cost of required materials-Advanced Program:  $195


Certificate Course Descriptions

Course 1: Introduction to Exercise Science-Level I
                    (Anatomy and Kinesiology)  
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
In this course, students gain an understanding of musculoskeletal and functional anatomy and the effects of exercise placed on joint structures during exercise movements. Emphasis is placed on learning about proper body alignment, joint range of motion (ROM), basic biomechanics, and kinesiological principles to the development of safe and effective exercise programs.

Course 2: Introduction to Exercise Science-Level II
                     (Exercise Physiology)
Instructor: Dan Ritchie, Ph.D, CSCS
This course is designed to teach the personal trainer how the muscular, skeletal,   and cardiorespiratory systems function with and without exercise conditioning. Additional topics include energy metabolism, neuromuscular function, and the physiology of exercise in relation to training programs and environmental considerations.

Course 3:  Health Risk Profiles and Fitness Assessment  Techniques    
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
This course teaches students how to assess and evaluate cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular testing techniques, joint ROM, flexibility, body-fat analysis, blood pressure, and body measurements based on ACSM guidelines. Topics include client screening procedures, medical and health history intake forms, identifying high-risk clients, determining the appropriate test, conducting the test, and evaluating the results.

Course 4:  Business Administration and Management Aspects for Personal  
                      Trainers
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
This course gives personal trainers a solid background in developing or starting a personal training business and prepares them for financial management,  marketing strategies, and business plan development. Techniques for effective management include standards and guidelines, facility/studio personnel management, and operational issues from a small personal training (PT) studio to managing a PT department at a large health facility.

Course 5: Designing Exercise Prescriptions for Normal/Special Populations
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
This course teaches how to develop an exercise prescription in relation to health implications for normal/special populations related to age, medical condition, and fitness level. Topics include cardiac conditions, diabetes, physical disabilities, HIV and AIDS, asthma, sensory impairments, pregnancy, and program design for children to senior populations. This course is designed as a research-based class    with emphasis on designing a step-by-step process to creating individualized   exercise programs.

Optional Field Internship in Personal Training
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
Prerequisite: 5 Core Courses and CPR Certification
NOTE: This course is an optional course and is not required to receive the Professional Certificate. Learn to work with professionals in the fitness and health industry for a hands-on experience working with members at fitness facilities and health centers. Students intern for 60 total hours in this course

Advanced Certificate Course Descriptions
    
Course 1: Nutritional Analysis and Management
Instructor: Melissa Halas-Liang, RD, MA, CNSD, CDE
Students will study the basic nutrition principles and how to apply them when designing structured nutritional programs for clients in collaboration with registered dietitians and nutritionists. The focus will be on vitamin, mineral, and supplement knowledge; the effects of nutrition on the exerciser and non-exerciser; strategies for successful weight management; and recognizing normal to     disordered eating patterns.

Course 2: Functional Flexibility, Core, and Balance Training
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
Students will study principles and techniques for evaluation and implementation of exercise prescriptions that include instruction in flexibility, core, and balance training. Students will learn how the beginning phases of an exercise program are based upon the starting point/level of the client based upon performance of initial assessments, neurological ability, and individual goals. In addition, students will learn to implement the Sequential Exercise Training (SET) Model to enhance posture, body alignment, stability, proprioception, and awareness to more complicated exercise movements or functional movements.

Course 3: The Science and Biomechanics of Resistance/Weight Training
Techniques
Instructor: Ken Baldwin, M.ED, ACSM-H/FI
This course teaches an educational systematic approach to teaching resistance/weight training movements. The practical application of anatomy, physiology, and body alignment is introduced to analyze weight training techniques, exercise equipment, and the risk/benefit analysis of a specific exercise chosen. Equipment modalities reviewed include stability balls, exercise bands, free weights, body weight, and commercial strength equipment.