Course Overview

Learn the fundamentals of anatomy and physiology and discover the workings of the body’s cardiovascular and energy systems.  Understand the importance of health and safety issues in the gym and learn to safely administer first aid.  Develop skills to help clients overcome potential barriers to physical activity, and learn to plan, teach and evaluate a gym programme.

Pre-requisites

• No previous experience required to access this course.  However, you must be aged over 18 to attend the YMCAfit workshop, and to qualify for the YMCAfit Certificate award. 
• YMCAfit workshop attendance & successful completion to gain full qualification. 

Qualification

YMCAfit Gym Instructor Certificate

Support and benefits

• Gain a national industry recognised qualification
• Access to a dedicated tutor and student advisors to guide you through your studies
• YMCAfit Gym Instructor DVD supplied
  

Key topics

• Introduction to Gym Training

Examine cardiovascular machines, resistance machines, free weights and body weight exercises. Consider the purpose of gym inductions.

• Bones, Joints and Muscles

Learn all the major bones, joints and muscles of the human body.

• Heart, Lungs, Circulation and Energy Systems

Explore the processes involved in breathing. Examine the different energy systems.

• The Components of Fitness

Learn the components of physical fitness, and consider factors that affect fitness.

• The Warm Up and the Cool Down

Examine both the purpose and the components of the warm up and the cool down.

• Screening and Informed Consent

Explore medical screening. Consider barriers that prevent individuals from exercising.

• Health and Safety, and Accidents and Emergencies

Explore health and safety issues. Learn the appropriate procedures for a variety of different emergencies.

• Gym Session Structure and Content

Examine cardiovascular workouts, resistance training methods and abdominal training.

• Guidelines to Teaching Gym and Evaluation

Learn how to effectively teach and evaluate a gym session.

• The Fitness Industry and Keeping Up-to-date

Discover job opportunities and consider the importance of always keeping your skills up-to-date.

Course Code

A33

Hours of study

12 months / 160 hours

Technical requirements and fees

• Access to a DVD is required
• The YMCA Fitness Industry Training assessment and workshop is additional to the course fees
  

Outline

You’ll complete fourteen assessments during your course. These assessments can be submitted to ICS online via the Student Community, or they can be posted to ICS. It is recommended that you submit your assessments online as you will receive your results more quickly this way. To become a fully qualified instructor, you will also be required to attend a YMCA Fitness Industry Training workshop.

Assessment Breakdown

• Assessment 1: 5 questions
• Assessment 2: 15 questions
• Assessment 3: 15 questions
• Assessment 4: 8 questions
• Assessment 5: 10 questions
• Assessment 6: 11 questions
• Assessment 7: 10 questions
• Assessment 8: 10 questions
• Assessment 9: 28 questions
• Assessment 10: 20 questions
• Assessment 11: an activity requiring you to complete a preliminary session plan
• Assessment 12: an activity requiring you to plan a full gym training session
• Assessment 13: 2 activities. You will be required to observe a gym training session (with permission of the instructor) in order to complete these activities
• Assessment 14: 2 activities, the first requiring you to create a Curriculum Vitae, and the second requiring you to write a short biography

Students will also be expected to attend a YMCA Fitness Industry Training Workshop. Please contact our course advisors for more information.

Notes

Each question in Assessments 1 to 10 will normally require you to write a short answer, ranging from a sentence to a paragraph. Some questions, however, will require you to label diagrams (such as a diagram of a heart). There are also some multiple choice questions: for these you are required to select the correct answer from a choice of 3 potential answers.

Please note that the fee for the YMCA Fitness Industry Training workshop is additional to your course fee.