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FITNESS LEADERS CERTIFICATE VRE004

Duration (approx) 240 hours
Qualification

Make your passion for health and fitness your new career!

Have you always had a passion for sport, and feel you could motivate others to develop the same passion? This passion then leads to a healthier, more balanced life for clients of Fitness Leaders, and a greater quality of life overall.

This comprehensive Fitness Leaders Certificate is aimed at anyone who aims to work in a gymnasium or health club as a qualified Fitness Leader, and who wants to have an edge over other trainers in what they can offer clients.  

This course will provide credits towards other ACS courses, including the new Elite Fitness Certificate.

It's easy to enrol...

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Select a learning location:
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Select a learning method

Please note, choosing offline (USB stick) will attract a 5% surcharge on top of the course fee

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Kick Start an Exciting New Career as a Fitness Leader!

This course goes beyond the basics of what is required to become a Fitness Leader, so give yourself and your C.V. a competitive edge!

Our Fitness Leaders Certificate has more human biology than many other fitness courses available. We believe human biology knowledge is essential for Fitness Leaders and we've made it easily available to you as part of our course.  We know from experience how important it is for graduates to be armed with a range of knowledge to be distinguished in this career.

The aim of the Fitness Leaders Certificate course is to elevate the standard of core knowledge and competency for people working in the field of fitness.

On successful completion of the core modules students will develop:

  • Abilities in describing the nature and extent of the health and fitness industry.
  • Abilities in explaining exercise and its importance to health and fitness.
  • Skills in the preparation and delivery of basic fitness programs.
  • An ability to explain basic human anatomy and physiology.
  • The ability to describe bioenergetics and environmental aspects of human biology.

How does studying online through ACS work?

  1. Complete the Fitness Leader's Certificate Core Theory which incorporates key sections of Human Biology IA, Human Biology IB, and Health and Fitness I.
  2. Undertake 40 hours of practical at an approved fitness centre (under the supervision of a reputable instructor).
  3. Obtain a current First Aid Certificate from the Red Cross or St. John's Ambulance (or equivalent) that includes resuscitation.
  4. Sit and pass 2 examinations - one for each part of the course.

Lesson Content

There are 13 lessons in this course, each requiring approximately 15 hours of work including reading, additional research, completing the set tasks and assignments.

The content of each of the 13 lessons is as outlined below:

PART 1

UNIT ONE –Anatomy and Physiology and Exercise

Lesson 1. Introduction to Health and Fitness

Lesson 2. Exercise Physiology

Lesson 3. Exercise Principles and Cardio-respiratory Programming

Lesson 4. Physiology: Digestion, Excretion, Physiological Systems

UNIT TWO -Biomechanics

Lesson 5. Introduction to Biomechanics: The skeleton and muscles

Lesson 6. Biomechanics and Risk

Lesson 7. Aquafitness, exercise, routines, and equipment

PART 2

UNIT THREE –Program Design and Performance

Lesson 8. Fitness Program Design

Lesson 9. Delivering A Fitness Program

Lesson 10. Ergogenic Aids to Performance

UNIT FOUR –Safety, Injury, and Body Physiology

Lesson 11. Regulating Body Physiology

Lesson 12. Safety, Injury and General Wellbeing

Lesson 13. Fitness Programs for Special Groups

Lesson Aims and Subject Areas

Aims and a summary of main subject areas for each of the lessons are as follows.

LESSON 1 - INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH and FITNESS

Aims:

  • To explain the nature of the health and fitness industries.
  • To explain the human body at a microscopic level, including the structure and function of cells, tissues, and membranes.

Subject areas:

  • The components of fitness
  • Fitness
  • Physical fitness
  • Cardiovascular fitness
  • Muscular strength and muscular endurance
  • Flexibility
  • Motor fitness
LESSON 2 - EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

Aim

  • To explain the relationship between the body and health, fitness and exercise, with reference to physiological processes, including energy pathways during resting, work and recovery, and how energy is used in the human body to create work and power.

Subject areas:

  • The cardio-respiratory system
  • The heart
  • The cardiac cycle
  • The vascular system
  • Circulation
  • Energy systems
  • Energy
  • The ATP cycle
  • The phosphocreatine, lactic acid and aerobic energy systems
LESSON 3 - EXERCISE PRINCIPLES and CARDIORESPIRATORY PROGRAMMING

Aim:

  • To explain the relationship between the body and health, fitness and exercise, with respect to risk involved in exercise.

Subject areas:

  • The cardio-respiratory system
  • The heart
  • The cardiac cycle
  • The vascular system
  • Circulation
LESSON 4  - PHYSIOLOGY SYSTEMS

Aims:

  • To explain different physiological systems of the body.
  • To explain movement of materials in and out of living cells.

Subject areas:

  • Osmosis and Diffusion
  • Digestive system
  • Urinary system
  • Endocrine system
  • Respiratory System
  • Breathing action
LESSON 5 - INTRODUCTION TO BIOMECHANICS

Aim:

  • To explain features of the human skeletal system, and the human muscular system, in terms of structure and basic function.

Subject areas:

  • Bones and joints and Muscles and muscle actions
  • The skeleton: Four types of bone; Factors affecting bone structure; The three types of joint; Synovial joints; Joint movement terms
  • Muscles: Muscle group actions; Muscle group actions on the joint(s)
LESSON 6 -BIOMECHANICS and RISK

Aims:

  • To evaluate body movements during different exercises.
  • To explain the human nervous system, in terms of structure and basic functions.

Subject areas:

  • Nervous system
  • Training and risk
  • Injury prevention tips
LESSON 7 - AQUAFITNESS

Aim:

  • To develop an understanding of how aquafitness activities differ from other fitness activities.

Subject areas:

  • Physiology of an aqua fitness session
  • Stretching
  • Types of exercises
  • The components of a warm up
  • Components of a cool down
LESSON 8 - FITNESS PROGRAM DESIGN

Aim:

  • To design fitness programs, which are both safe and effective, to fulfil specified requirements of an individual.

Subject areas:

  • Design process
  • Developing Physique
  • Basic Conditioning Exercises
  • Cardiorespiratory (Aerobic) Endurance
  • Structure of an aerobic training session
  • Weight Training
  • Qualities of A Professional
  • Leadership Communication
  • Communication Barriers
LESSON 9 - DELIVERING A FITNESS PROGRAM

Aim:

  • To deliver a fitness program to a small group of clients.

Subject areas:

  • Customer service
  • Communication skills
  • Dealing with customer complaints
  • Self Esteem
  • Communicating for effective relationships
  • Key communication strategies
LESSON 10 - ERGOGENIC AIDS TO PERFORMANCE

Aim

  • Explain ergogenic aids to body performance during activity/exercise.

Subject areas:

  •  Ergogenic aids are substances which improve performance which can include: Drugs, Vitamins, Water, Warm up activity, and Motivational talks.
LESSON 11 - REGULATING BODY PHYSIOLOGY

Aim:

  • Explain body regulation processes

Subject areas:

  • The acid base balance
  • The effect of changing atmospheric pressure
  • Temperature regulation
  • Acid Base balance
  • Acidity
LESSON 12 - SAFETY, ETHICS, INJURY and GENERAL WELLBEING

Aim:

  • To manage the well-being of participants in a fitness program, including safety and injury.

Subject areas:

  • Ethical practice

  • Safety and injury

  • General wellbeing, which can cover psychological as well as physiological wellbeing.

  • Sample Screening Questionnaire

  • Sample Medical Clearance form

LESSON 13 - FITNESS PROGRAMS FOR SPECIAL GROUPS

Aim

  • To design fitness programs, which are both safe and effective, catering to needs of special populations (weight control programs, handicapped/disabled persons programs or for the elderly).

Subject areas:

  • Program management
  • Exercise variables (frequency, duration, intensity)
  • Four zones of training
  • Programs for weight control and evaluation of cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular strength and endurance

WHY STUDY FITNESS THROUGH ACS?

CONTENT: ACS courses are longer, more in-depth, and cover more than what is prescribed for Fitness Leaders. In particular we offer more Human Biological Science.

EXCEPTIONAL TUTORS: In other fitness courses you may find you are being tutored by a tutor who holds only basic qualifications, and may have very little industry experience. ACS tutors by contrast hold university qualifications, and have extensive industry experience.

SET YOUR SELF APART FROM THE COMPETITION: It is well known that the key to success in any career is to be different in some way to your competition. We offer just that to our graduates by designing a course that delivers to you a set of skills and knowledge that surpasses those of your “average fitness leader”. This course is for those who strive to be better than ordinary, and want to come out of their qualification with more specialised knowledge than other graduates. As with any career, a qualification will get you the interview, but it is your knowledge, attitude, capacity to do the job, and your uniqueness that will get you the job. Choose ACS and set yourself apart.  

Our Students Say

 "I have been involved in sport all my life and now have an in-depth look behind the scenes so to speak."
Judy, on studying the Fitness Leader Certificate

Choose Your Career Today

You can enrol on our courses at any time.

If you have any questions or need help in making course choices to reflect your career goals, then please get in touch with our specialist tutors today - they will be happy to help you.

Or, you can phone us on (UK) 01384 442752 or (International) +44 (0) 1384 442752.
Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!



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