Info I've Gathered About the AFAA Certification

I just finished teaching my morning Zumba class that started at 8 a.m. this morning. Can I just say that I love teaching morning classes? Actually I love morning workouts, but teaching is a sure motivation for me to make sure I'm there and ready to work first thing in the morning. I finish at 9 a.m. with my workout checked off my list and the whole day ahead of me.

I'll be honest. There are times I come home and fall asleep on my couch.

But I have that luxury and then don't feel TOO lazy.

I am now one week away from my AFAA certification date. For those of you who don't know, earning my AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) Group Exercise Certification offers me the next level of expertise in teaching classes and makes me a more qualified and marketable candidate for jobs. Plus it's a great way to open the door to teaching other formats.

There are a ton of great resources online to help prepare you for this certification. AFAA offers a study guide plus the opportunity to purchase a textbook, practice test, and DVD. I purchased only the textbook because I thought I'd like to keep it for reference. And I've heard that the all-day workshop (9 am - 6 pm) very thoroughly covers the material.

Since I have obviously not yet attended the workshop, here's what I've heard to expect:

The day will consist of a lot of note taking and demonstrations with the instructors clearly going over material we will be tested on. While some people arrive having done no previous study, AFAA STRONGLY recommends about a month of study for someone working full time.

Near the end of the day, the group will be tested together on our individual abilities to perform proper warm ups and cool downs. (I believe we'll have numbers and may be doing something completely different from our neighbor as we all do this at the same time.) We will also be individually tested on our ability to perform some basic fitness element in three levels.

For example, if I choose to demonstrate a squat, I instruct how to get start having your feet hip distance apart, abs engaged with a neutral spine, shoulders relaxed and back. As you bend your knees push your glutes back while keeping the weight in your heels and making sure your knees are behind your toes. That's level 1.

I'd then have to instruct how to move to level 2, perhaps by lifting the heel of your left foot and continue to squat to create a more centralized workout for the right foot. To move to level 3, we'd lift the left foot off completely for a single leg squat.

The other demonstration portion will likely include the instructor calling out a muscle and everyone (together again) performing an exercise that targets that muscle. If they say biceps, maybe we do curls. If they say hamstrings, maybe we do lunges. You get the idea.

The day will finish with a 100 question, multiple choice test. That's the part I'm most concerned about. Often I get into my head with this sort of thing and select very obviously wrong questions. These are the sections that are included in the study guide:

1. Essentials of Exercise (energy production, aerobic fitness, the cardiorespiratory system, the musculoskeletal system)
2. Essentials of Nutrition (general nutritional needs, dietary guidelines)
3. Safety Guidelines (common injuries in group exercise, how to evaluate risk, emergency response, how to take care of yourself as an instructor)
4. How to Teach (role as an instructor, monitoring intensity, building group choreography)
5. How to Teach—Multitrainings (basics for aqua, cycle, resistance, mat, and step classes)
6. Special Populations (how to adapt for those with chronic disease, large sizes, older adults, pregnant women, youth)
7. Business Skills & Legal Responsibilities 

Anyways, this is just an overview of what I think I know right now. I'll be studying a lot more this week in preparation and will for sure update you on my experience (and I'm hoping I pass!) Stay tuned on Monday for the study tools I recommend.