Group Fitness Certification

Move Into An Action Career!

Experience a group fitness course like no other! 7- 9 weeks of intensive training will help you to develop skills for leading a group fitness with all types of exercisers. The group fitness program will include lecture that encompasses learning key aspects of the human body and the effects of exercise. The live hands on practical lab demonstrations will bring to life the qualities of a good safe group fitness leader. All aspects of leading a group exercise course are highlighted with interactive participation. Passing this group exercise course will provide students with a national group exercise certification and skill set for employment in private & public fitness centers. The written and practical exams are included in this course on the 9th week. A required internship will help you network into one of the biggest growing departments of the fitness industry.

This 62-hour certification program includes the following;

Career Enhancing Benefits:

  1. Master the skill competencies under the watchful eye of a professional faculty member.
  2. A student page with FREE study tools.
  3. Optional online packages with lectures and practical labs.
  4. Higher institutional learning with college classrooms for optional learning. (No weekend warrior courses in a hotel)

Want to know what you will learn?

  • Lecture materials will cover the essentials of group exercise history, music, choreography, safety techniques, as well as basic applied science specifically relating to group exercise cardiovascular, muscular, and flexibility health.
  • Practical hands on drills in labs will expand into skill development for functional training, sports conditioning, circuit, boot camp, dance, step, kickboxing, hi-low, aqua, indoor cycling, and equipment-based class techniques.
  • A mind body class overview in Yoga & Pilates will cap it off so you can incorporate this knowledge into sections of your traditional class formats.

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Discuss the evolution of group fitness.
  2. Conduct health-screening assessments appropriate for a group fitness environment.
  3. Determine appropriate and safe exercise movements & intensities.
  4. Apply principles of group cohesion to group fitness.
  5. Safely, incorporate music and sound into a group fitness program.
  6. Describe the basic anatomy as it applies to each class format.
  7. Discuss balancing body mechanics & musculature.
  8. Correctly cue, perform, monitor and design exercises for a group setting.
  9. Demonstrate warm up and cool down movements and stretches.
  10. Apply principles and methods of group exercise to alternative formats such as sport conditioning, functional training, indoor cycling, kickboxing, step aerobics, equipment-based classes, and lifestyle type classes.
  11. Demonstrate motivational strategies to encourage group fitness participation.
  12. Create, demonstrate, and lead a group fitness class with personality, safety, technique, & an expansive knowledge base.

Pre-Requisite
This is a beginner course for active fitness enthusiasts with little or no experience in the fitness field.

Completion Requirements
Students must earn a score of 70% or higher on the written and practical exams. Attendance is required and students are only allowed one excused absence. Students with an excused absence must schedule a meeting to discuss or make-up any work assigned. Adult CPR/AED is required.

Course Outline
8 Weeks of learning material

Occupational Credits
Approved for 36 WITS CECs and 3.6 IACET and BOC CEUs. This course is recommended for 3 undergraduate level academic credits by the American Council on Education.

Additional Resources
Registered students receive discounts for online study tools and practice exams. Students who do not pass the course the first time can retake the course and re-test for a reduced fee of $75 for the written or practical exam.

Two required textbooks are not included and additional fees may be needed.

Textbooks may be purchased via the W.I.T.S. Store Front

To supplement your text book, W.I.T.S. has compiled an additional resource from McGraw Hill Publisher.
This supplemental reading includes content from
Concepts of Physical Fitness: Active Lifestyles for Wellness
16th Edition by Corbin,Welk, 2011
ISBN: 9781121769243
$19.95 + $5.95 shipping

Reading Assignments Group Exercise Instructor

I. Resources:

  1. Carol Kennedy-Armbruster and Mary M. Yoke, Methods of Group Exercise Instruction, 2nd Ed., Human Kinetics, 2009.
  2. Concepts of Physical Fitness: Active Lifestyles for Wellness, 16th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2011. p.118-131-135.
  3. http://www.choosemyplate.gov,

1. Archived information for educators.
2. Let’s Eat for the Health of it.
3. 10 Tips Nutritional Education Series
4. Build a Healthy Meal
5. Use Super Tracker Your Way

D. Kohrt WM, Bloomfield SA, Little KD, Nelson ME, Yingling VR. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: physical activity and bone health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Nov 2004; 36(11):1985-1996.

E. Shaw JM, Witzke KA, Winters KM. Exercise for Skeletal Health and Osteoporosis Prevention, ACSM Resource Manual, 4th Edition, Williams & Wilkins Publishers, 2001.

II. Read the following assignments each week before your lecture session:

A. Session 1: Methods chapters 1 – 3; Concepts p.118-131-135.

B. Session 2: Methods chapters 3 & 7

C. Session 3: Methods chapters 3 & 4; http://www.choosemyplate.gov,

D. Session 4: Methods chapter 4.

E. Session 5: Methods chapters 6, 8, & 9.

F. Session 6: Methods chapter 7, 10, & 14; Kohrt WM et. al 2004; Shaw JM et. al 2001.

G. Session 7: Methods, chapters 7, 11-14.

H. Session 8: Methods, chapter 15 & all material from previous lectures.