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Welcome to the exciting world of exercise prescription! As a health and fitness coach, you have the privilege of helping individuals achieve their fitness and health goals. However, prescribing exercise is not just about throwing together a random set of exercises and calling it a day. It is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the principles of exercise, a code of ethics, pre-screening and health assessment, fitness testing, programme design, exercise selection, effective coaching, and progression and regression.
In the first half of this module, the focus will be on learning the fundamentals of exercise prescription, including fitness components, training principles, and exercises. You will learn how to perform a needs analysis to assess what your client or what athletes need in their training to reach their goals.
In the second half of this module, we aim to equip you with all the necessary skills and knowledge to become a competent exercise prescription coach. You will learn how to interact with clients, conduct pre-screening assessments, develop fitness programs tailored to individual needs, select exercises that are safe and effective, and provide effective coaching to help clients achieve their goals., the focus shifts to programme design and how to set up training sessions and programmes for client. Make sure to read through this topic thoroughly, including the important note underneath the Assessments section below.
The module is designed to provide a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, allowing you to develop the necessary skills to prescribe and coach exercise to individuals with different health and fitness goals.
Here is what we will cover specifically:
- Fitness components
- Training Principles
- Exercise bank
- Resistance Training Fundamentals
- Needs Analysis
- Introduction to Programme Design
- Pre-screening
- Fitness Testing
- Warm up and cool down
- Programme Design Fundamentals
- Putting it all together.
The fine print
By the end of this large module, working through the content, and completing and achieving the assessment, you will have shown an ability to do the following:
- Apply knowledge of anatomy and physiology to adapt and deliver safe and effective exercise programmes to individuals.
- Adapt programmes for apparently healthy people and common at-risk groups using exercise science and testing.
- Apply motivational and communication techniques to enhance individual participant commitment to a personalised exercise programme.
To break this down further, you will have shown that you can:
- Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of muscle structure and function when developing safe and effective programmes. This will include safe and effective demonstration of common resistance training techniques and knowledge of the key muscles targeted.
- Analyse a sport or physical activity with regard to the fitness components used.
- Screen client level of risk in exercise participation; carry out general assessments of body dimensions, body composition and flexibility
- Identify and describe methods of training, fitness components and related principles
- Review and update exercise plans or programmes
- Design exercise programmes to attain client goals
Assessment
There are 2 Assessments for this module.
- 03A1 Needs Analysis and Exercise Demonstrations
- 03A2 Programme Design
We recommend you start working on your first assessment while you are about halfway through the module. You are provided with an information sheet with all of your due dates depending on whether you are full-time or part-time. Make sure you hand in your assessments on time to ensure you keep on track with the course and are able to manage your workload effectively. Please see the important note below regarding assessment 03A2.
IMPORTANT NOTE
For both assessments for Exercise Prescription, you will be practising exercise techniques and, later on, you will be training an actual client at a gym or exercise facility. You will be provided with two letters. Click on each letter to navigate to the submission tab.
The owner or manager of the gym must give approval for you to use the facilities and train a client. You must operate under the rules and regulations for that facility at all times – your client must be medically fit for exercise.
The supervisor you select must be suitable for the role in terms of qualifications and experience. For assessment requirements, this supervisor will observe you on one occasion while you are working with a client and provide you with feedback on a variety of skills outlined in the Programme Design assessment. They must meet one of the following criteria:
- REPs registered in category c) Personal Trainer (PT)
- PT Employee: Provide the services of an Exercise Consultant Level II PLUS provide personal training services with an exercise facility setting.
- PT Contractor: Provide the services of an Exercise Consultant Level II PLUS provide personal training services at any setting/venue, operating as an independent business.
- Personal Trainer with at least 1 year experience in the industry – must hold a New Zealand Certificate in Exercise Level 4 or above or an equivalent qualification in a similar field
- Gym manager with an equivalent New Zealand qualification in Exercise at Level 4 or above or an equivalent qualification in a similar field.
You've built a solid theoretical knowledge base of anatomy and physiology. Now it is time to relate that to the practical world of exercise prescription and personal training. Like other modules, you'll find various things to read, watch, and listen to. But this module, in particular, has a lot of practical activities.
In an online learning environment, there is no tutor to monitor the practical hours you put in or chase you to ensure that you are hitting the gym regularly and practising the techniques you learn online. However, there are tools you can use to ensure you are still accumulating quality practical skills.
Use the forums to get feedback
You are encouraged to video record yourself and self-assess your technique.
Often it can be helpful to have another opinion, so to seek feedback from peers or a tutor, post a reply on the feedback request boards with a link to a video or upload photos. You'll need to be able to create a shareable link to the video, which can be done via Youtube, Vimeo, Google Drive, OneDrive, or social media.
While tutors may check in on the forum, this can be sporadic with the nature of online learning, where people can be studying at anytime. So build your online community. Give and receive feedback from your peers.
Your professional network
This is also an excellent time to start building your professional network. You may already have connections in the health and fitness industry. Ask them for advice and feedback.
Let's check how much you already know about exercise prescription.
Is there an area that you are already feeling confident with? How about a topic you may need to allow for extra study time?
