ACE Advanced Fitness Specialist Certification

Because this directly affects us as an ACE-certified Clinical Exercise Specialist, you are the first to learn of this change and the introduction of the ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist Certification. Beginning February 2008, all currently certified ACE Clinical Exercise Specialists will be awarded the credential of "Gold Certified" ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist. Daniel Houston of Houston Fitness Consultants is one of the premier trainers to be awarded the designation. The following information provides the rationale for these decisions and explains how they will be beneficial to us and our clients.

Why is ACE moving away from CES?

The number of overweight and obese individuals in the U.S. continues to increase at a time when our population is also getting older. Coupled with inactivity, poor dietary choices and other factors, the result is an ever-increasing number of individuals who are at risk for or recovering from cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and a variety of orthopedic issues. The advanced fitness professional plays a crucial role in the allied healthcare continuum by helping these individuals to decrease risk factors and improve health and fitness following rehabilitation.

To help ensure that ACE certifications stay up-to-date and relevant for fitness professionals and the public they serve, the American Council on Exercise conducts job task analyses called role delineation studies for each of its four certification programs every five years. The results of these job task analyses serve as templates for the certification examinations and study materials. ACE recently completed a role delineation study for the Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) Certification that was conducted by nine ACE-CES subject matter experts and then validated by 309 current ACE-CES. This was followed by a surveycompleted by current ACE-CES regarding the types of clients with whom they work on a regular basis. Read CES survey results.

The results of the role delineation study, the survey, direct feedback and focus groups revealed that the ACE-CES works primarily with clients who have special needs, most of whom have one or more diseases or disorders that fall into one of the following categories: cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, and musculoskeletal. In order to meet the growing demands of these clients and the advanced fitness professionals providing them with preventative and post-rehabilitative fitness programs, the American Council on Exercise is excited to introduce the ACE Advanced Fitness Specialist Certification (ACE-AFS).