Anyone who has ever participated in a group exercise class realizes the importance of a competent, qualified instructor. The instructor not only leads the course by making exercise transitions flow smoothly but also ensures the safety of the participants by monitoring and adjusting their exercise technique. A professional instructor also prepares for the course by practicing the moves and selecting music with the proper tempo.

Through the Methods of Group Exercise Instruction online course, you will learn all of these things and more to better prepare you to become a group exercise instructor. The first half of the online course covers the four major segments of a group exercise class: warm-up, cardiorespiratory training, muscular conditioning, and flexibility training. In the second half, you’ll learn how to apply the principles to specific group exercise formats, including high/low impact, step training, kickboxing, stationary indoor cycling, and water exercise.

During this course, you will assume the role of a group fitness instructor and meet eight virtual clients. In working with these clients, you will use the progressive functional training continuum and exercise modifications to adapt exercises to the level of each client. The virtual clients represent a broad spectrum of group exercise participants, giving you the opportunity to practice interacting with participants, analyzing each person’s needs, and applying the concepts and skills learned through the course.

The online course is supplemented by the Methods of Group Exercise Instruction, Second Edition book and DVD by Carol A. Kennedy-Armbruster and Mary M. Yoke. The book provides the information that serves as the foundation for learning activities in the course and includes further demonstrations of many techniques and skills presented in the course. Additionally, segments of the DVD are reviewed and analyzed throughout the course.

At the end of the course, you will take an online test, which covers material from the online course and the reading assignments.