If you live in the New York Area and are interested in attending a conference this fall, the folks at Town Sports International are hosting the TSI Summit the weekend of October 10 & 11.  I used to work for TSI, which owns NYSC, and I attended the Summit as an NYSC employee.  It was a great learning experience and they had an excellent array of sessions.  Although I haven’t been to a Summit in 5 years, I would still recommend it based on my previous experience.  They’ll be offering opportunities to earn CEU’s for ACE, ACSM, AFAA, NASM, NCSF, NFPT, NSCA, and W.I.T.S. as well as Spinning^® star points.  Check out their website for registration and to see who’ll be speaking and what workshops are available: Summit 08.

I just came across this excellent file which provides a side-by-side comparison of six certification options: Fitness Resource Associates (FRA), National Exercise Trainers Association (NETA), American Council on
Exercise (ACE), Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).  This document is a great resource if you are struggling to determine where to go to get certified to teach group fitness.  It is just a reference, and does not include every certifying body available.   But it is a great way to see you major choices in an easy to read format.  Bonus if you live in the Boston area — it includes reference to when these companies are offering workshops in your area! 

http://www.ultimatebootcamp.com/static/contact/UBC_certification_review.pdf

If you haven’t checked it out already, AFAA APEX’s weekend for this fall has been announced.  This year, it will happen September 19-21.  You can’t find a better deal on a group fit certification , so it is worth it to take a peek:  http://www.afaaapex.com.

And once you get registered, don’t forget to check out the guide to surviving the Primary Group Cert process! 

1. http://groupfitpower.com/blog/2007/09/25/steps-to-getting-afaa-certified/
2. http://groupfitpower.com/blog/2007/09/26/steps-to-getting-afaa-certified-post-2/
3. http://groupfitpower.com/blog/2007/09/27/steps-to-getting-afaa-certified-post-3/
4. http://groupfitpower.com/blog/2007/10/29/steps-to-getting-afaa-certified-post-4-the-practical-exam/
5. http://groupfitpower.com/blog/2007/10/30/steps-to-getting-afaa-certified-post-5-practical-exam-part-ii/

AFAA is having another APEX weekend in February.  Its a great way to get certified, recertified or earn CEU’s for cheap.  If you live near or can get to a city where they’re hosting, it’s definitely worth it.  Even if you spend $100 on a hotel, you still get a cert for $100 less than the usual cost!  :) 

Here’s a list of the cities they’ll be in February:

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Finally!!  The last post in the AFAA certification series.  If I’ve been a little long-winded, I apologize, but you never know what piece of information will be helpful to which person.  Thanks for making it this far in the series.   If you’d like to check out the previous posts, they are here:  Post 1,  Post 2,  Post 3,  Post 4.

MUSCLE GROUP DEMONSTRATIONS

This topic is covered in great detail during the workshop.  A presenter will take you through each muscle group and demonstrate several options for exercises you can perform for the demo.  You can also come up with a game plan prior to the workshop and use that opportunity to confirm that your choices are acceptable.  Here, we won’t discuss exercises you’ll do for this group, only what is expected during testing. 

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Here we are with another installment of the AFAA Certification series.  We’ve discussed the whole workshop from registration to completion, but in this post we’ll give a little more attention to what you should know about the Practical Exam.  This is a long one, so we’ll cover the cardiorespiratory demo here and the muscle groups + individual presentation next.  If you are interested in the previous posts, here they are: Post#1, Post #2, Post #3

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We’re still discussing the AFAA Primary Group Certification workshop.  You can check out the prior posts here:  Post 1 and Post 2.  In this post, we’ll get into what happens the day of the workshop.

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This is the second post in a series discussing the AFAA Primary Group Certification.  In this post, we’ll examine steps to take before the Workshop, including registration, studying, getting your CPR and checking in. 

<<Read the previous post.

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