AFAA has just posted a blog regarding some recent changes in the industry. What are your thoughts on “soft certifications?”
“Does the industry want more good content and training at a competitive price?”
AFAA your question is a thought provoking one.
I’ll start by saying that when I earned my first group fitness certification it was in London, England and it took me six months to complete. For the exam there was a theoretical portion and a practical portion. For the practical portion, it was necessary that I bring 15 people to my exam and teach before independent evaluators from the Royal Society of the Arts. The theoretical component required that I design a 10-week illustrated progressive exercise plan for a complete beginner. I had to draw stick people performing all the movements in a progressive manner from week to week. That experience set a very high bar for me. I had to work hard in order to earn my “Exercise to Music (ETM) credential as it was then called in 1990.
I share this with you because of the question you posed and that fact that you differentiate yourself from all the other certifying bodies because a practical component is included in your exam.
Let me say AFAA, from all the many certification exams I have taken since I’ve been involved in this industry, AFAA’s was the least challenging. Too, in all due respect, I was left a bit disillusioned at the quality of the practical component and the practical exam. It is common knowledge among Zumba instructors that passing your exam is “easy.”
I personally believe the fitness industry in the United States has a long way to go before it is on par with Europe.
For this reason, instead of the constant nitpicking, I believe it is high time that all look at their educational delivery system and continue to be proactive about growing and improving. Instead of comparing oneself with what is happening in the US compare yourself with what is happening outside of the US. In this way you are in a better position to be objective.
Again, thanks for your response and posting such a thought-provoking question on the IDEA Fitness Connect portal.