NASM Senior Fitness Specialist (SFS)

Description

Play an important part in keeping active older adults healthy! There are currently over 54 million adults over the age of 65 living in the United States, and that number is projected to continue to grow.

Senior Fitness Specialists have a unique opportunity to work with the growing older adult population and help them improve their health by providing safe and effective exercise programs that use NASM’s Optimum Performance Training (OPT™) Model program.

Our Senior Fitness Specialization provides an immersive online learning experience for fitness professionals, teaching innovative ways to design individualized programs to meet the needs of active aging adults through evidence-based practices. Addressing physiological and psychological needs, this course will provide the application needed to create a positive, comfortable trainer-client relationship and help older adult clients achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.

Pre-requisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course, although a personal trainer certification or a fitness specialization is recommended.

What You Will Learn:

Section 1: SFS Scope of Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction to Senior Fitness
The Senior Fitness Specialization (SFS) is a comprehensive program for fitness professionals delivered in an immersive online experience that combines current evidence-based information on the physiological and psychological considerations of aging, assessment strategies for the older adult, exercise progressions, and program design considerations for the older client.

Chapter 2: Scope of Practice
In this chapter, you’ll examine the scope of practice for Senior Fitness Specialists and understand their role in the healthcare continuum.

Section 2: Physical, Physiological and Psychological Considerations of Aging

Chapter 3: Physical and Physiological Considerations of Aging
You’ll understand the physiological changes that occur in the nervous system and the cardiorespiratory system as people age. Learn how the musculoskeletal system changes with age and understand safety concerns.

Chapter 4: Psychological Considerations of Aging
In this chapter, you’ll learn age-related influences on the quality of life, emotional well-being, and self-perception for the older adult client. You’ll also understand the psychosocial effects that exercise can have.

Section 3: Assessment Strategies for the Older Adult

Chapter 5: Fitness Assessments for the Active Older Adult
This chapter will help you understand the components of an integrated assessment to be used with older adults. Learn how to conduct a screening process and interpret the data to reveal health risks. Utilize several different assessments to enable successful behavior change, physiological and functional fitness improvement.

Section 4: Program Components for the Older Adult

Chapter 6: Flexibility Guidelines for Active Older Adults
This chapter discusses the rationale for flexibility training. Learn to safely progress an older adult through flexibility training and apply appropriate acute variables when performing flexibility training with older adults.

Chapter 7: Cardiorespiratory Training Guidelines for Active Older Adults
You’ll get an understanding of cardiorespiratory training and how to safely assist older adults through it. Find out how to apply the FITTE principles when performing this type of training.

Chapter 8: Core, Balance, and Plyometric Training Guidelines for Active Older Adults
This section explains the epidemiology of falls and importance for fall prevention programming in older adults. Learn different core, balance and reactive trainings to help prevent the risk of falls.

Chapter 9: Resistance Training Guidelines for Active Older Adults
In this chapter, you’ll learn the adaptations that occur during the stabilization-endurance, strength-endurance, muscular hypertrophy, maximal strength, and power phases on the Optimum Performance Training (OPT™) Model. Know how to use appropriate resistance training exercises based on the different levels of the OPT™ Model.

Section 5: Program Design

Chapter 10: Program Design for the Active Older Adult
This chapter will help you define and describe the acute training variables within each phase of the Optimum Performance Training (OPT™) Model. Be familiar with the physiological considerations when designing cardiorespiratory and resistance training programs for older adult clients.

Chapter 11: Common Medical Conditions and Programming Modifications
Be able to determine various chronic conditions and comorbidities associated with active older adults. Understand how medical conditions affect the body and be able to outline exercise recommendations for those with chronic conditions and comorbidities.

Section 6: Nutritional Guidelines and Considerations

Chapter 12: Nutrition Guidelines and Considerations for Active Older Adults
You’ll understand the caloric requirements, guidelines and considerations for macronutrient consumption for older client health. Explain proper micronutrient considerations and determine nutrition guidelines for them.

Section 7: Business Development

Chapter 13: Professional and Business Development
In this chapter, you’ll learn the legal requirements when working as a personal trainer and NASM’s Code of Professional Conduct. Develop a plan of action to best market services.

Final Exam:

You will have 365 days from the date of enrollment to take your final exam, which consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. There is a time limit of 90 minutes, and you must pass with a 70% or higher.