Certification

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Older Adult Fitness Leadership
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Aqua Fitness Leadership
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Certification process

NFLA holds the standards for fitness certification in Canada. By becoming certified through NSFA you receive the highest standard of fitness certification that is transferable across Canada. Fitness is a growing industry and by becoming a certified fitness professional you become a part of this movement. Fitness professionals are a vital component of our society as they play an important role in increasing physical activity levels and the health of Canadians.

You can become certified to work in different areas of fitness, depending on the type of training you want to do. All our certifications are modular-based, with courses taking 24-32 hours each to complete. Each certification includes a number of common areas:

  • Holistic focus; 

  • Learner-centered instruction

  • Participant safety;

  • Use of recognized training programs like CPR, First Aid;
Wellness Leader
This basic, 3-hour stand-alone (non-certification) module will enable you to speak about health and wellness in work or recreational settings. We will deal with physical, mental, relational, and spiritual aspects of wellness; adult learning principles; and leadership and presentation skills.


Courses offered:

Fitness Theory
(pre-requisite for all subsequent modules) Basic fitness theory goes beyond the Wellness Leader to cover the musculo-skeletal system, exercise physiology, anatomy, conditioning principles, basic nutrition, legal liability, and safety.
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Group Fitness Leadership
Building on the Basic fitness theory, this course specializes in issues relating to group fitness, including use of music in class, choreography, cueing, class design, safety, and a significant practical teaching component.
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Resistance Training Leadership
This course prepares you to instruct confidently in a weight room setting. We will cover muscular mechanics, weight training safety and prevention of injury, programming trends and design, and legal liability. Our course also includes a practical component, giving you an edge over theory-only courses.
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Personal Fitness Trainer Leadership
This course will allow you to administer an individualized, safe, effective, and appropriate program of basic exercise by applying current recommended guidelines ( F.I.T.T. Formula, NSFA, NFLA and Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living) for apparently healthy participants who have completed and signed an informed consent form, and have answered negatively to all questions on an un modified PAR-Q.
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Older Adult Fitness Leadership
This is a specialty module designed to prepare you to work with older adults (50+). We will address the special needs and issues of older adult training, class design, and nutrition. There will also be a practical component to ensure you are confident in the field.
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Aqua Fitness Leadership
Teaching fitness in the water has its own challenges, and this module will prepare you to deal with them. A practical component will accompany discussion of the properties of the water, components of a class, music, cueing and choreography, safety, and leadership. 
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Certification process
To become a certified fitness leader, you must meet our criteria:
  • 18 years of age (15 - 18 for youth fitness);

  • Completion of Module 1 and at least one of our specialty modules (2 - 6), including an exam, a practical evaluation, case study and/or participation & observation

  • Current 'A' level CPR.

How much will it cost? 
Fees for certification with the Nova Scotia Fitness Association have been simplified to make it easier for you, whether you're in Metro Halifax, or an outlying rural region: 

Costs of courses including tax, manual, and exam fee (subject to change):
Fitness Theory $225
Group Fitness $170
Resistance Training $170
Aquafit $170
Older Adult $170
Youth Fitness $170
Exam Re-write fee (if necessary) $28.25

Membership $84.75 + $2 million liability insurance $67.80 = $152.55 for 2 years


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