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We are going to be going over the ACE Certified Personal Trainer program in detail to help you determine if this is the best personal training certification for you.

ACE CPT certification is very popular in the fitness industry, and that popularity is well deserved given how solid the CPT certification program actually is.

Topics covered in this top-notch ACE certification review include:

• The basics of the ACE-CPT certification
• Quality of the study materials offered by ACE
• Purchasing, preparing for, and passing your certification exam
• Comparisons with other top companies offering personal trainer certs like NASM and ACSM.

Upon reading this certification review, we promise that you will make a well-informed decision regarding if you should choose the ACE-CPT certification and the right way to begin studying for the ACE personal trainer course.

Let’s dive in and take a look at ACE and its program design in more detail.

We highly recommend that you take our helpful quiz to find the best personal trainer certification for you.

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A.C.E., or the American Council on Exercise, is one of the most prominent personal trainer certifying agencies globally. Ace is so wide-reaching in fact that the ACE personal training certification is offered in multiple languages including English, Arabic, Thai, Finnish, and simplified Chinese. The certification is even formally recognized in over 100 countries.

With a strong reputation in its native North American market, the ACE personal trainer certification is most often associated with the United States and Canada, where a large number of personal trainers certified through ACE build their careers.

Founded in 1985, it has a heritage that dates back to the dawn of modern fitness instruction as we know it today. This makes ACE two years older than NASM, another very well known certifying body for personal trainers.

ACE training gears their education towards preparing trainers to work with the average client in a way that meets them where they are at. Most clients will have difficulty staying motivated and generally want to improve their overall health and wellbeing, although they may have other more specific goals, like to build muscle. ACE strives to prepare trainers for working with these sorts of clients because it is what most trainers will actually do when they get out there to practice in the field. Trainers who want to work with a very specific type of client, such as athletes, would benefit most by getting a CPT certification that focuses more on that specific population, like the NSCA CPT. In line with what ACE emphasizes in their personal trainer education program, the organization itselfit broadly aims to help trainers impact the community they serve by increasing their overall health and wellness in as effective a manner as possible. This differs a bit from other certification agencies like ISSA that are more focused on optimizing training to accomplish discrete training goals like building muscle.

The ACE personal trainer certification program produces trainers who are well suited to improve the health and wellness of their clients. This prepares them best to work with adults 30 and older, who make up a majority of clients at the average commercial gym. 

That being said, ACE personal trainers are still adequately prepared to support the attainment of specific fitness goals independent of overall wellness. For example, ACE personal trainers can still modify acute programming variables in their client’s workout to shift its focus from strength to hypertrophy, hypertrophy to muscular endurance, or whatever other training goal the client may have. It’s just that ACE trainers won’t be the most well equipped to program at an advanced level, which is the sort of skill that is necessary when working with athletes or regular adults who are already very well trained. These sorts of clients are more likely to be found at a private gym than a commercial gym, which isn’t as relevant to newer trainers because many new trainers work at commercial gyms when starting out their fitness careers.

This doesn’t mean ACE fitness trainers are unable to work with other populations, though. Your certification is a starting point for your career and education as a personal trainer, not an ending point. The quality of education and resources provided by ACE allow trainers to have a solid foundation and starting point, from which they can branch their careers out from down the road.

Accreditation is one of the most important considerations when looking at what certification to get when you are becoming a personal trainer.

Accreditation is, simply put, a certificate of authenticity for a certification.

It validates that the content of the curriculum and delivery methods of knowledge and education administered by a certifying agency meet a minimum standard. This minimum standard is typically defined as the minimum level of proficiency required to safely practice within a field at an entry level. This minimum standard is not reflective of the average standard of practice in the industry, nor the average standard of practice that personal trainers should strive for. It reflects a minimum. 

To that end, we highly recommend making the most of your study materials and study resources to learn as much as you can about becoming a personal trainer when you prepare for the ACE CPT exam. Even though earning a higher score than the minimum for the test won’t matter as far as the exam goes, because you’ll pass either way, it matters for how effective of a trainer you will become. Keep studying and do your best to truly learn and understand the materials. The passing score is a threshold for minimum competency, and if you invest in yourself in such a way that you far exceed that minimum, you will be setting the stage for a more successful and lucrative career.

Decisions about a certification are typically made by a board of experts with extensive practical experience and formal education in the industry. These experts operate on a board that is managed by an organization that specializes in education and testing, in order to make sure decisions reflect best practices in terms of content choice and exam design. If the process by which a certification is made and run meets the appropraite standard, an accreditation agency that involves experts in education fully accreddit the certification.

In the North American fitness industry, being the US and Canada, the gold standard for accreditation is the NCCA.

ACE is a NCCA accredited certifying agency. This means that having an ACE CPT means you will be regarded as legitimately having met a standardized minimum standard of proficiency as a personal trainer. This signals to employers that you are a safer hire than someone who did not receive a fully accredited personal trainer certification.

It also helps that ACE is a popular certification in general, since although being NCCA accredited is a gold standard, some fully accredited organizations are seen as higher quality than others. This naturally also impacts your early career prospects as well.

Going with a well known certification like the ACE CPT is also helpful because it can help protect you from getting a certification that is in effect almost meaningless. Some personal trainer certifications that are not accredited hold very little weight, to the point that employers at gyms will often completely disregard them. If you spend the money on a certification that does not help you practice or legitimize you as a full personal trainer, you will not see a meaningful return on your investment. If you don’t have enough knowledge about the personal training industry to discern which certifications are seen as more legitimate for yourself, it’s best to just go with one of the most well known ones out of the gate in order to stay safe.

How Long Does it Take to Get ACE Certified?

The ACE personal trainer certification usually takes 4-8 weeks to complete, depending on your background, time dedicated to studying, and how well you can learn, retain, and recall the information in the ACE curriculum. Naturally this can vary a bit, since if you just completed a Kinesiology degree you can take the exam with little to no prep. On the other hand, some people who prefer to study at a slower pace and really absorb the information take as long as 5 or 6 months.

On the note of certification options, keep in mind that just because a website says their own certification is legitimate, it doesn’t mean that it is. Always do your best to fact check by referencing a third party to see if the certification you’re looking at actually holds weight and can help you in your career. Many certifications out there that appear to be accredited are not actually accredited.

Fortunately, ACE CPT is a nationally accredited personal training certification and will likely remain that way for a very long time.

Gyms and other employers prefer to hire trainers with NCCA-approved certifications, so having one helps you get your foot in the door, so to speak. 

Check out other highly recommended certification programs in the links below.

• NASM-CPT
• ISSA-CPT
• NCSF-CPT

The ACE CPT basic package costs $850, the ACE Plus package costs $945, and the ACE Advantage costs $1,175. If you want to purchase the exam only, you can do so for $499, but this is not recommended.

These prices place ACE in the middle of the scale as far as the overall cost compared to other certifications.

Is ACE worth it?

The ACE CPT is worth it if you value a research-based certification with an emphasis on behavioral change and high quality study materials. ACE’s NCCA accreditation also helps your chances of getting a job after earning your certification.

ACE is able to charge as much as it does because it offers a personal trainer certification that is in direct competition with some of the other biggest personal trainer certification names out there.

With all things considered, what you end up paying, despite the high price tag, is totally worth it. Although its price point is middling, ACE often has sales that bring its study packages down to as low as 50% of their base cost. When this is factored in, ACE is one of the cheapest personal training certifications out there. You just have to time when you purchase their study packages to align with one of their sales. ACE is also known to change up their baseline package price pretty often, so its actual cost does fluctuate from time to time.

The ACE personal trainer manual, or study companion as it’s also called, is very useful in your studies.

Use the link here to get updated on the current price of the ACE personal trainer certification.

ACE offers robust study packages that come with a variety of resources to help you succeed in your personal trainer exam prep. This is similar to most of the other major personal trainer certifying bodies out there, so you won’t miss out on much by going with ACE over some of the other choices out there. It does, however offer more hands on guidance than its competitors, so the overall studying process will feel pretty easy with ACE.

The lowest tier “Basic” package is pretty standard given that it comes with a textbook, study companion, a practice test, and exam date. But, it also comes with ACE University, which is ACE’s platform for guiding you from day 1 all the way up to your exam date. ACE University is especially helpful for you if you know that your study skills are a bit rusty or have any concerns about your ability to pass a personal trainer test by a major NCCA accredited organization.

What ACE offers in its Basic package is pretty standard for what you’d expect from a certification company, with the exception of ACE University, which helps ACE stand out from its competitors. But higher level packages offer even more support than this, even offering live webinars and facilitated study groups to really help you have the highest chance of passing your exam possible. ACE is more committed to helping its candidates pass than many of the other major organizations out there. You just need to be willing to take advantage of their study materials and to put in the effort.

As mentioned, the ACE personal trainer certification online program has done a decent job of providing good amounts of supporting study material to complement the standard stuff. 

Let’s take a look at what each package brings to the table!

Looking at this, it’s easy to see why ACE-CPT can be considered a top-tier cert.

The breadth and depth of the range of study packages will help you stand a fair shot, even with the Basic option. Many organizations structure their offerings so that their basic package is a home study solo option. ACE is similar, but ACE University will help you feel like you’re not in it completely alone.

The layout of the study materials and resources is also something to talk about.

The ACE student portal is immersive, interactive, and user-friendly with great videos which take you through the content.

This allows us to give ACE study materials a clear 97/10. It’s great for helping you pass the exam. 

Going a step further, I’ll be introducing to you the free ACE personal trainer cert study guide with its simplified method of learning and the practice exam to help you get a feel of the real exam environment.

Using a combination of study resources can help you pass the ACE exam in less time than you otherwise would. 

The ACE-CPT exam questions are as straightforward as they come.

It consists of 150 questions that span the various study topics. 25 of the questions are experimental, so you’re only graded on 125 questions. 

That score is then converted on a 200 to 800 scale. You will need to score 500 points on that scale to pass.

The exam will require you to focus on certain aspects more than others to really increase your odds of success.

Let’s have a look at which parts of the exam warrant more attention and which require less.

ACE, as we have previously discussed, is a general certification that will effectively prepare you to work with the average client at the average gym.

So compared to other personal trainers programs, the emphasis is on what is most healthy rather than what is the most effective way to achieve a specific training outcome that is tangential to health like building muscle or increasing strength. Though, the ACE CPT still teaches trainers to do this.

One area of focus for ACE is related to posture. It will cover topics like spinal lordosis and kyphosis, both of which are common postural issues that normal people develop by living modern lives and engaging with technology in the way that people most often do. Learning how to train a client who is dealing with either issue is important because it will come up fairly often. Most other major CPT exams will also test you on this information, but ACE will gear its education towards helping you better understand exactly what is going on with the client’s posture and why what you do helps. Although, this is something the ACE CPT is able to adequately prepare you for, it is worth noting that this is something the NASM CPT is the best at doing: addressing postural alignment and deviations through exercise prescription.

ACE also covers biomechanics to some degree, despite it not being a big focus area when compared to other certifications out there like the NSCA. Even though that is the case, many candidates tend to struggle in the biomechanics section. So it can help you to get ahead of this by making sure you really understand the fundamentals of biomechanics and functional anatomy before you actually sit for the exam. It can help you earn a few extra points which can be the difference between passing and failing.

Next, we look at a few things you should spend less focus on, not because they are not important for practice, but because they either make up a small portion of the exam or are easy to intuitively deduce the answer to on the test in real-time.

But first, let’s talk about a common misunderstanding that comes with preparing for the ACE CPT. Although there are usually only a small number of questions on the test that directly ask you about muscle actions, it is still important to understand them. This is because understanding muscle actions allows you to infer the answer to other questions on the test that indirectly rely on you having knowledge of muscle actions. This can help you better pick out the nuances of more complicated questions and boost your score.

Additionally, chapters 12 and 13 are ones to avoid spending too much time on. They are pretty dense with info in the textbook, which may lead you to believe them to be prominent in the exam. A lot of the information here requires you to strictly memorize a large number of facts. Although it helps to read these sections so you can pick out information that is familiar on the test, it is hard to memorize everything, especially when considering that a small number of questions will come from these sections.

You also don’t have to spend too much time learning about ethical practices and behavioral recommendations. A lot of this information is intuitive and can be learned somewhat quickly if you use the right tactics to do so. Focus on understanding the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ when it comes to these parts of the ACE CPT, since it helps you problem solve. This will allow you to apply those problem solving skills directly to the ACE exam when you take it, rather than having to spend the time to memorize a bunch of different facts that may or may not show up. That being said, it is still helpful to learn the proper names of psychological constructs and concepts, like the names of the stages of behavior change.

To simplify the study process for you, there is a premium study package from Trainer Academy that addresses the areas of concentration and guides you to the right topics to study, alongside the study technique to apply for better assimilation.

You won’t regret using the ACE MVP Study Package. Give it a try today! At Trainer Academy we also have some more ACE CPT Exam Info.

The ACE personal trainer test is no walk in the park; however, it’s not going to rattle your brain to the same extent as something like the NSCA CSCS certification.

Is the ACE Exam Hard?

While ACE is not the hardest personal trainer exam in the industry, it is still not an easy exam. You will need adequate preparation to ensure you can answer each exam question within the roughly 80 seconds allotted time per question.

With a pass rate of 69%, you stand a fair chance on the ACE certification exam, but you will be tested, so don’t take it lightly; a 31% chance of failure is no joke either! Most candidates who sit for the test have spent a long time studying for the exam and believed they had a shot at passing. The overall amount of time you spend studying, the way you study, and the study materials you use will be an important factor in determining which side of the pass rate statistic you will fall on at the end of the day.

But you also have to consider that the passing grade is a 500 out of 800 on a scale of 200 to 800, although you cannot calculate the number of questions you got right or wrong from a scaled score. Most other certification exams require between 70% – 75% to pass.

The scaled score allows for the pass rate to be matched to industry standards, which is why it hovers around 69% which isn’t too far off from many other big name personal training certification exams out there, such as the NASM CPT exam.

Focusing on the areas we highlighted can help give you a bi of an edge when it comes to preparing for the exam, but remember that it’s important to tailor your approach to your own personal weak areas. Be honest with yourself about  what you are good at and what you struggle with. Then take action to improve the areas you most need to improve. It’s the best way to increase your odds of success. 

But iIf you really want to boost your odds further, we suggest you grab some third-party study materials such as the ones we offer here at Trainer Academy. The more exposure you get to the information, the better you’ll do in the end.

That’s because these materials have been designed by an expert who has gone through the works, taken the exam, and passed with flying colors.  Experts who work on our products also have an extensive professional background and bring decades of experience working in the field that help inform the way our materials are made: to be practical, realistic, and efficient.

Who better to guide you on the difficulties of this cert exam than people who’ve already Aced ACE?

Use this link to access ACE MVP Study Package ASAP.

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Since your odds of failing the ACE-CPT exam are reasonably high, you might need to retake the exam if the results don’t go your way.

The retake policy will require you to pay a fee of $249 each time you fail and wish to try again.

Taking that into consideration, our advice is to prepare and study well so you can avoid hefty expenses by having to retake the final exam multiple times.

As we’ve already mentioned, the ACE-CPT program is one of the most popular fitness certifications out there. 

To illustrate this, let’s compare it to NASM, one of the most popular personal trainer certification agencies in North America.

Let’s actually take a look at stats and see how ACE compares to NASM.

First of all, let’s look at enrollment figures. This tells us how many students actually sign up for the course and is a great metric for popularity, but it can be confounded by how widely available each test is and the specific regions they serve. 

For ACE, that comes to an average figure of 13,103 test-takers per year. It comes second only to NASM, which obliterates with an enrollment figure of over 22,000 candidates!

Still, this places the ACE exercise specialist in the top two when it comes to how many people end up buying the course and sitting for the exam. Although this is in large part due to how ACE and NASM serve over 100 countries each, which heavily skews their exam statistics when contrasted to organizations that serve less regions, such as the NSCA  which serves slightly greater than 70 countries, much less than ACE and NASM.

Another useful figure to look at to understand the popularity of different personal training certifications is google search data. This shows us what the popularity of ACE-CPT is amongst people just like you. People scour the internet for answers and guidance. This does highlight a difference between ACE and NASM, with the NASM CPT being searched for at approximately 300% of the rate of the ACE CPT.

One big advantage NASM has, which may also couple with its astounding enrollment rates, is the fact that it is a marketing juggernaut.

From the time you purchase your online personal training course to the time you write the personal trainer certification exam, you are granted 9 months to prepare for the exam.

This is the window in which you are expected to study, prepare for, and take the test.

However, it is by no means the amount of time necessary to successfully prep everything and pass. Many aspiring personal trainers aiming to get their first certification through ACE finish studying for the ACE CPT in much less time.

If you’re wondering how long it takes to become a certified personal trainer with ACE, the average candidate takes around 4-8 weeks if they are studying daily and have normal study habits. But the actual time you’ll need depends on you. If you are highly effective at studying and retaining information, you’ll need much less time. If you have some trouble with studying for tests, you’ll need much more time. Some people take the whole 9 months and that is perfectly fine.

That gives you a comfortable amount of time to live a normal daily life while also studying enough to retain information for a fresh, sharp take on the actual exam.

If you really want to optimize your study time with ACE-CPT, look no further than our amazing ACE MVP study package.

Our MVP package includes a study blueprint and cram guide, guaranteed to knock time off your study hours and improve your odds of passing drastically.

Don’t forget that it comes with a money-back guarantee offer.

You may also like an ACE personal training exam cheat sheet.

The average personal trainer income you can make from being certified is a very important metric.

After all, this is your career, and you are aiming to earn a living at the end of the day.

That means looking at salary potential should be one of, if not the first thing you look at.

However, such statistics are hard to come by, especially with an accurate and current take on the situation, as there are different ways to make money in fitness.

Fortunately, we did manage to dig up some useful stats with regards to ACE, and the numbers tell a positive story.

That’s because, based on our findings, ACE trainers sit in the top income bracket when looking strictly at personal training certifications. Although it is important to note that there are not any comprehensive databases on all major personal trainer certification earnings currently available that meet the rigor and standards imposed upon traditional research to the best of our knowledge. So data on earnings can be a bit fuzzy given we have access to some important information for some certifications, but not all important information for all certifications.

Of course, there are so many details to look at when it all comes down to it. 

The annual average earnings for ACE-CPT certified trainers is $52,537. Although this isn’t widely known, so it’s not likely a factor that normally influences enrollment, especially given that an ACE CPT doesn’t result in a trainer being more favored for a job at a gym that pays more than the average gym. Part of the reason that the average salary for an ACE CPT is higher than normal is likely because the ACE CPT attracts candidates who are disposed towards making a little more money anyway. It is also because candidates who fall into this category and go for other personal trainer certifications are more likely to have their sights set on other tangential positions later in their career.

For example, many who take the NSCA CPT aim to move from standard personal training to strength and conditioning coaching. What this does is remove late career trainers from being considered in the data if they have already switched out of traditional personal training. This creates a skew in the data that makes the ACE CPT seem a bit more lucrative than it actually is, because many ACE trainers aim to continue working as a general population personal trainer long term. This means that late career ACE trainers inflate the earnings of the overall ACE trainer group because they, like trainers with all certifications, naturally earn more money as they progress through their career. 

Regardless, job reports for the future of personal training have often been positive given the growing elderly population in the US and societal shifts towards prioritizing health and physical fitness in a way that previous generations had not.

According to the majority of ACE personal trainer reviews, ACE’s primary focus as an organization is the improvement of public health.

They believe the most important step towards achieving this is through inspiring people to move, and this is achieved by resetting mindsets.

Their mission statement is simple: “To get people moving.”

Many people live sedentary lifestyles with little movement, which can meaningfully impact physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Over time, the lack of exercise can even lead to the onset of obesity, as well as other diseases like type II diabetes that threaten both your quality of life and your life itself.

Behavior change psychology is a big part of ACE’s focus because it is something most people struggle with for a variety of different reasons.

By focusing on getting people to change their habits around health and exercise, the rest will naturally follow.

ACE Trainers are equipped to deal with the general fitness concerns of the everyday person in the gym.

This is through using evidence-based, science-backed principles, so you can help your clients improve their health while supporting whatever their personal fitness goals may be.

While you can apply the principles learned in the coursework to plenty of different personal training settings, it’s always best to go with a certification specifically designed for your ideal work setting.

For example, NASM CPT would be more suitable for clients focused on performance who require specific emphasis on mobility than ACE due to the difference in their training programs.

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That’s simply because NASM and its OPT model hone in on the performance-optimizing methods necessary for athletic success. 

If you want to go even further in the direction of focusing on performance, like you would when aiming to work with professional athletes, the NSCA CSCS is the definitive athlete performance cert. Although, it can be a little daunting to learn all that information. So you will want to pick up a CSCS study guide and CSCS practice test to help you out along the way. The pass rate is super low for the CSCS, but we have got you covered.

ACE is primarily aimed at improving the quality of life both for individuals and for society as a whole. It is generally aligned with the aims of public health organizations in that regard. It is a prominent part of ACE’s ethos as an organization.

This is also why the way that ACE presents information to new trainers is so straightforward. They use good health communications principles to communicate information in a simple, effective, and accurate way. Trainers with any certification can do this if they’d like. But it is a bit easier to communicate in this way if that is how you originally learned the information. The major downside to this, however, is that you won’t have as in depth of an understanding of the underlying science if you only learned the simplified version of it during your own education.

Once clients change their lifestyle habits and choose healthier options, they can build a sustainable life, reduce stress and improve their overall happiness. 

People often concern themselves with “the ideal workout,” but often the best workout is the most sustainable one. You only see progress from workouts that you actually attend.

If you, as a personal trainer, want to focus on other aspects of fitness and health than what the ACE CPT focuses on, keep in mind that there are other certs out there  that may be better suited for your career goals.

For example, you may want to look into a nutrition certification if you want to learn how to become a nutrition coach. Although this is different than a licensed and registered dietitian and your scope of practice in nutrition will be somewhat limited, it can be a helpful option to have if you want to support clients in meeting their nutrition goals more than a standard personal trainer would. Nutrition is an important part of achieving most client’s fitness goals and improving their overall health. Look into our Precision Nutrition review for info on one of the better nutritionist certs out there, which is associated with high potential nutrition coach salary when contrasted to other options.

If you’re picking between ACE or NASM for training, know that NASM will have more detailed correctional exercise content for learners.

Using corrective movements helps prevent possible injuries to the knees, hips, shoulders, and the muscles around these joints. You can also fix posture issues in clients that are very common due to the way modern lifestyles are structured.

Is NASM worth it? Is ACE worth it?

If you compare NASM vs ISSA or ISSA vs ACE, you’ll see that the ISSA CPT teaches more about good business skills as a trainer.

ACE teaches you about anatomy and physiology, but not to the extent of other training courses. 

For those looking for the most complete pre-exercise assessments, most certifications do a good job, including ACE, but the NSCA CPT is one of our top picks. It provides in depth coverage of assessments for all major components of movement including mobility and agility.

Assessments covered by the average personal training exam help trainers determine what exercises are appropriate, where clients are at, along with forms that determine risk with things like the PAR-Q. 

Looking at ACE vs ACSM we see that ACSM contains in depth material on exercise research science, while ACE’s strength lies in the subject of exercise psychology and health behavior change. If you are considering a traditional exercise science career, then ACSM would be a great fit since it lines up with coursework in most college degrees pretty well.

All of these certifications give you a primer on how to train the muscles in the body through workouts using free weights, machines, and other equipment. 

ACE gives you the most coverage of motivation and behavioral coaching techniques.

So, your choice will depend on what you want.

If you do pick NASM make sure to get a personal trainer practice test and NASM flashcards to prep for the exam.

Back to ACE!

In a nutshell, ACE’s objective and impact are three-fold:

• Move The Profession: by equipping trainers and fitness enthusiasts with the right tools to grow their careers while being able to benefit the health of the clients they serve.
• Move Behaviors: by providing trainers with the tools to change the relationship their clients have with movement.
• Move The Public: by pushing ACE as a community-driven institution in collaboration with other sectors of public health and wellness to make a real, lasting, and widespread impact on public health.

These three aspects are implemented through ACE’s training model called The Mover Method. 

This method of training inspires clients not only to follow programming instructions but also to take the initiative for their health, increasing their agency when it comes to achieving their personal health and fitness goals.

ACE believes this is the best way to introduce changes or patterns of behavior that will ultimately lead to healthy habit formation.

The Mover Method is engaged through the A.B.C. model, which looks like this:

• Asking open-ended questions
• Breaking down barriers
• Collaborating.

This form of cooperative fitness instruction means your clients are not just recipients of a service; they are also the architects of their own success. Empowering clients to speak for themselves and collaborate with trainers increases their comfort with exercise, rapport with the trainer, and freedom to express their concerns. Trainers who take the antiquated approach of rigidly instructing a client often find much less success in real world practice since the way that it alienates many clients increases client turnover rates. 

Meeting the client where they are at helps the trainer get the client moving beyond wherever it is they are currently at.

Click the link to access these study materials and get started right away.

CEUs or continuing education units are time-based credits you need to renew your certification.

Every two years or so (depending on the certification), you will be required to renew your certification.

This is in an attempt to keep your knowledge and skills current with trends and advancements in research.

CEUs are earned during the validity period of your certification, to be traded in along with a recertification fee for you to renew your cert.

When it comes to ACE, you will need 2.0 CEUs, which is equivalent to 20 active hours worth of credits, as well as a fee of $129.

This is due every two years, meaning you can break down your CEU needs to 10 hours each year.

This should be fairly easy to manage as long as you keep it on your list of priorities.

But how exactly are CEUs obtained, you may be wondering?

CEUs are exchanged for time and effort used in the participation of academic or practical activities related to your field as a fitness professional and preferably by an approved provider. They show that you are focused on your development as a fitness professional.

Providers include educational institutions, classes, workshops, professional organizations, or any other relevant event.

These education credits give you new knowledge you can then use in applications with your clients. 

ACE has several CEU earning opportunities you can access directly through them.

You may also earn CEUs from obtaining other credentials, like a group fitness certification.

Many certifications offer continuing education units: everything from strength and conditioning, pilates, yoga, or corrective exercise specialization. 

Adding an extra certification or specialization to your belt provides numerous career benefits. With more knowledge, you can help clients reach fitness goals earlier, whether they want to focus on weight loss or strength training. This allows you to add more variation to a routine. 

An added certification means you can also work with a larger population, and balance your session time between different sorts of clients. 

You can even purchase CEUs on the ACE website for easy recertification.

With all that considered, recertification happens in 3 simple steps.

These are:

1. Log in to your My ACE Account
2. Complete required CECs
3. Click on the RECERTIFY NOW button and follow the on-screen prompts

The following are the overall pros and cons of the ACE-CPT certification.

What we like:

• Accredited and popular certification internationally
• The mover method and ABC model make studying effective
• 3 Study packages to suit any student’s needs

What we didn’t like:

• The retake fee is higher than other companies
• Not as much of a focus on non-behavioral technical knowledge, like biomechanics
• Business and nutrition skills are lacking compared to the competition

ACE certification reviews tend to always be positive, as the ACE-CPT is a highly recommended certification in our books!

And what’s great is that someone can easily obtain this personal training certification online!

Its reputation precedes it, and its trainers often go on to have meaningful and lucrative careers as practicing personal trainers. ACE’s group exercise certification is also one of the best out there, so if you want to become a group fitness instructor in a class setting, ACE is definitely the way to go.

The study materials included with ACE are also the cream of the crop, easy to comprehend and cover all the necessary basis as far as good study prep is concerned.

Make sure to look into the ACE fitness coach webinars and ACE CPT practice exam, too.

At face value, it is a somewhat pricey certification when there are no active sales running, but with all things considered, it is most certainly worth every penny.

References

1. Ahmed S, Rashid M, Sarkar A, et al. Fitness Trainers’ Educational Qualification and Experience and Its Association with Their Trainees’ Musculoskeletal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study. Sports. 2022;10(9):129. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10090129
2. Jones AM, Dalleck LC, Weatherwax RM, Ramos JS. Changes in Fitness-Fatness Index following a Personalized, Community-Based Exercise Program in Physically Inactive Adults: A Randomised Controlled Trial. International journal of exercise science. 2022;15(4):1418-1429. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797002/
3. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Hourly Rate | PayScale. www.payscale.com. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Certification=American_Council_on_Exercise_(ACE)/Hourly_Rate
4. Seward S, Ramos J, Drummond C, et al. Inter-Individual Variability in Metabolic Syndrome Severity Score and VO2max Changes Following Personalized, Community-Based Exercise Programming. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019;16(23):4855. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234855
5. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Fitness. Certification Exam Candidate Handbook. March 2024.  Available from: https://acewebcontent.azureedge.net/assets/certification/pdfs/Certification-Exam-Candidate-Handbook.pdf 
6. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Fitness. Exam Registrations. March 2024.  Available from: https://www.acefitness.org/faqs/#Exam%20Registrations
7. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Fitness. Personal Trainer Certification. March 2024.  Available from: https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/personal-trainer-certification/default.aspx 
8. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Fitness. ACE Salary Survey. March 2024.  Available from:  https://acewebcontent.azureedge.net/assetportfoliodownloads/ACE_SalarySurvey.pdf 
9. American Council on Exercise (ACE) Fitness. Recertification. March 2024.  Available from: https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/recertification/
10. Cieslinski, Q. (2016). Comparing Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning Certifications Across Multiple Organizations.
11. Robinson, E. M., Graham, L. B., & Bauer, M. A. (2006). THE NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION IS THE PREFERRED CERTIFICATION FOR PERSONAL TRAINING EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 20(2), 450-451.
12. Herrmann, L. K., & Blackstone, S. (2021). Public Health and Health Promotion Knowledge among Certified Exercise Professionals and Health Coaches. The International Journal of Health, Wellness and Society, 12(1), 27.
13. Cardinal, B. J., & Cardinal, M. K. (2015). Regulating Physical Activity Education for the Public’s Health and Safety, and the Field’s Continued Relevance and Survival: Licensure for Exercise Leadership—It’s Time!. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 86(5), 3-5.
14. Berry, R. B., Neric, F., & Dwyer, G. B. (2020). The state of clinical exercise physiology in the United States. Journal of Clinical Exercise Physiology, 9(4), 148-154.