ACE Study Guide 2023 - [Ace the ACE Exam With Ease]

Welcome to the Best ACE Study Guide available online. Trainer academy is the place to be for studying to become a Certified Personal Trainer.

This is the up-to-date 6th Edition of the ACE material.

With our ACE study guide you will:

Learn the Ins and Outs of the ACE textbook.
List item
Pass the ACE exam after using this page.

We promise that you will benefit from our free study guide on this page, and you will breeze your way through the exam when the time comes. So make sure to bookmark this page.

Don’t forget to download our 16 step ACE CPT exam preparation checklist to ensure that you pass the test.

Check out our premium ACE CPT MVP study materials here. Reduce your study time by half and receive an exam pass guarantee.

Let’s go ahead and dive into the information!

Best Fitness Certification Quiz
Best Fitness Certification Quiz

The free ACE Study Guide is split into four main domains of study covering all parts of basic exercise science. We then break down the domains into their main sections.

The entire A.C.E. or the American Council on Exercise, certification study guide is located on this one page for better consolidation. Make sure to bookmark this page for future studying and test prep.

We use this as an ACE CPT exam prep tool, and it pairs well with the ACE exam practice page as well.

The ACE test is one of the more challenging personal trainer certification exams, but not quite as hard as the strength and conditioning training certifications. The easiest CPT exam is the ISSA personal trainer certification and the NASM CPT certification is similar in difficulty to ACE.

The ACE fitness certification is also a nationally accredited personal training certification, which means that when you pass it, you can take your certification to any gym and they will know that you have the requisite knowledge to work there and start earning a personal trainer salary.

This guide can also be a great starting point for anyone looking for an ACE certification outside of personal training, like if you are considering a health coach certification or a group fitness certification.

Because this page is is a monster of information we have added dropdowns that contain the answers to each section. This makes it much easier to scroll.

We have also added a handy table of contents to easily help you jump around the page to find what you want. You can access the menu button at all times on the right-hand side of the page.

This ACE certification exam study guide is a best friend for future test takers or anyone getting into fitness training. Use it often.

Be sure to go over the overall domain goal and the goal of each section prior to diving into the studying. The sections are made up of subjects, ranging from 2 to 7 per section.

When studying, the goal is to read the subjects for each section and answer them all on your own. For these, each of the subjects will have the page numbers or the general chapters that we found the information in and used to answer the subjects.

You should then come back, use the orange accordions (they expand when clicked on) to show the drop-down information for each subject, and compare your answers to the ones we have.

At the end of the subjects, utilize the black accordions, and see the skills you should have mastered and grasped throughout the studying of the book’s domains.

Ensure you have mastered these skills, by comparing them to your answers and searching the text for any you are unsure about.

This style of the ACE personal training study guide will allow you to have a general sense of the main subjects required to score well on the certification exam and should serve as a great study guide when followed in these steps.

Remember, the exam will use multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge.

There are many ACE exam prep tools and ACE study materials for use at Trainer Academy. We definitely recommend this and the other ACE certification study materials to ensure that you pass the exam like our ACE practice exam.

Also, it would be helpful to read our ACE CPT Exam Info article, which will give you an overview of the actual test.

How long to become a personal trainer and pass the exam will vary from person to person, but using these guides will drastically improve that time.

Best Fitness Certification Quiz
Best Fitness Certification Quiz

Domain I: Interviews and Assessments

Overall Domain Goal: When you are learning how to be a personal trainer you need to be able to create rapport with your clients in order to learn the relevant health and lifestyle information that is needed for an exercise program to be designed effectively.

Section 1

Get the comprehensive health, medical, exercise, and lifestyle information through the use of questionnaires, interviews, and the right documents for finding risks that may come with participation in exercise, find the need for clearance from a medical professional, and facilitate the design of a program. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 2

Be able to understand the client’s readiness for various changes in behavior and look into the exercise attitudes and beliefs with effective communication for building rapport and setting the right goals. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 3

Find and understand the movements that are considered to be foundational through the observation and implementation of assessments so that the trainer is able to develop the right exercise programming to enhance the client’s function, performance, fitness, and health.

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 4

Choose and be able to utilize the baseline physiological assessments based on the client’s interview, their questionnaires, and the protocols that are standardized for the facilitation of safe and effective programs and monitoring changes in clients in the long term. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Domain II: Program Design and Implementation

Overall Domain Goal: The creation of individualized programs for the promotion of behaviors considered to be healthy through exercise, nutrition, education, and coaching.

Section 1

Be able to establish the right functional, performance, fitness, and/or health goals through the interpretation of the client interview and the assessment data to assist in designing the programs of exercise.

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 2

Be able to make exercise programs that are personalized to clients by applying the right principles and guidelines of exercise for the enhancement of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance and strength, and flexibility. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 3

Find the right exercises and equipment and then be able to integrate them into your client’s program in accordance with the research based on evidence for the improvement of function, health, performance, and fitness.

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Best Fitness Certification Quiz
Best Fitness Certification Quiz

Section 4

Give instruction to clients on the effective and safe use of equipment and techniques to exercise with the use of verbal, visual, and kinesthetic cues for achieving program goals. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Domain III: Program Modification and Progression

Overall Domain Goal: Modify, monitor, and evaluate the programs to promote client adherence and make sure progress is made for the goals that are set.

Section 1

Promote adherence to exercise programs with the use of motivation, education, and modification for the achievement of goals.

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 2

Be able to recognize and respond to the lapses in program adherence through the identification of barriers and the provision of solutions to ensure clients are consistently engaged. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 3

Routine evaluation of progress for clients by use of data, observations, and feedback from clients in order to modify the exercise programs when needed.

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Domain IV: Professional Conduct, Safety, and Risk Management

Overall Domain Goal: Complete the professional responsibilities through continued education, collaborating with the allied health professionals, and adherence to the standards of the industry and practices needed to protect the clients, facility operators, and the personal trainer. 

Section 1

Use the strategies of risk management in accordance with the recognized standards, regulations, laws, and guidelines to protect the client, personal trainer, and any of the other parties that are relevant for the minimization of liability. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 2

Document and secure the data of the client, the communications, and progress while following the legal and regulatory requirements for maintaining the confidentiality and minimizing liability. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 3

Enhance the competency with the use of credible resources in order to stay current with the practices, theories, and evidence-based research. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Section 4

Be able to prevent injuries by identifying and reporting the possible hazards while following the recommended industry and facility rules and protocols. 

This section looks to employ the knowledge of these subjects:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The ACE certification exam is one of several possible options you can pick when choosing a cert. We have comparisons between ACE or NASM, NASM vs ISSA to help you pick the perfect organization for you.

If you look at ACE vs ACSM or the NCSF certification you can see that ACE is not the cheapest CPT certification, but it is one of the most popular.

The most well known certs tend to lead to an easier future personal training, because gyms know and trust the quality trainer they produce.

If you decide to pick the NASM exam instead of ACE, there’s a complete NASM study guide and NASM practice test.

We also have study tools for the very challenging NSCA CSCS exam, including a CSCS study book and a practice CSCS test.

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