AFAA^® Courses

Group Fitness Instructor

Share your love for fitness and be the person others look to for motivation and results. Learn how to craft fun, inspirational classes that people get excited to attend, all with science-backed movements and exercises designed to help participants enjoy getting fit.

Be ready to teach everything from circuit training to high-intensity cardio and cycling, yoga to Pilates, all while building your own close-knit community of fans. Learn more...

Group Fitness Instructor Textbook

Principles of Group Fitness Instruction is the official textbook to help prepare you for the AFAA GFI certification exam. Learn more...

Personal Fitness Trainer

Turn your love for fitness and helping others into a rewarding career. As a certified personal fitness trainer, you don’t just help people workout, you help change behaviors that change lives. If you’re ready to make a difference, AFAA is ready to show you how.

Your AFAA Personal Fitness Trainer certification combines the most current science with over 30 years of experience and leadership in the fitness industry. We’ll cover these key topics to get you prepared. Learn more...

Personal Fitness Trainer Textbook

Personal Fitness Training: Theory & Practice is the official textbook to prepare for AFAA's Personal Trainer Certification v4 exam. Learn more...

G.E.A.R. Indoor Cycling Instructor

AFAA’s G.E.A.R. Indoor Cycle Training is an evolved approach to traditional Indoor Cycling that acknowledges the broadened set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that instructors need to be successful in today’s highly competitive indoor cycling market.

Today’s instructors should not only be fluent in the basic science of indoor cycling but must also be prepared to embrace technology and the role it plays in class design and delivery. Additionally, they must understand the artistic elements of music utilization, dynamic coaching, and community building that are essential to success. This certification provides instructors with the best of both; science to be effective, art to be engaging. Learn more.

NASM Nutrition Coach

In this state-of-the-art interactive program, you’ll learn how to put your clients on the healthiest route towards their best selves.

As an NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), you’ll have the relevant knowledge and abilities you’ll need to design and deliver top-quality, individualized nutrition coaching for your clients. You’ll be able to use your nutrition coaching skills to increase success in their health- and fitness-related goals. Learn more.

CPR/AED Certification Online, Powered by ASTI

Master the basics of CPR/AED without leaving your house, thanks to the American Safety Training Institute (ASTI) CPR/AED Course.

This CPR Certification provides you with the understanding and know-how to confidently and quickly act in the case of a life-threatening situation. Learn more...

Group Personal Training Specialization

Combine your passion for teaching group fitness with personal training. With NASM's Group Personal Training Specialization (NASM-GPTS), you'll learn how to create a group experience that's individualized for each of your clients and their personal goals. Find out how to create effective exercise programs designed for groups, and increase your potential clients and income. Learn more...

Beyond Mat Science

This fusion-based format is a true balance between standing and floor exercises in a variety of positions. It incorporates the use of both yoga and Pilates breathing techniques, while allowing instructors to be creative with the original exercises. This online course offers flowing sequences suitable for all fitness levels that incorporate the three main fitness components: Cardio-respiratory, strength, and flexibility training. Learn more...

Cream Rises: Excellence in Education

How you teach makes the difference in what you’re teaching. This program showcases the effective teaching and educating techniques used by Lawrence Biscontini, by explaining both the “What” and “How” of his teachings in group related programs. Learn more...

Finding Your Beat, powered by Yes! Fitness Music

AFAA in collaboration with YES! Fitness Music, bring you Finding Your Beat. This course is designed to help you hear the beat, cue to the beat, move to the beat, and harness the power of music to lead safe, effective, and motivating classes.Learn more...

Golden Hearts: Senior Fitness Training

Golden Hearts focuses on designing and teaching fitness programs for seniors. In this online course you will learn the physiological changes that occur with aging, the role exercise plays in chronic disease management and safe and effective exercise program design for the healthy active to sedentary senior. Learn more...

Group Exercise: The Practical Way

No matter what format a fitness trainer is teaching, the skills inherent for overall successful group instruction remain the same. This workshop focuses on what it takes to be an effective and safe group exercise instructor. Participants will learn practical techniques for teaching a variety of group exercise classes with confidence. A downloadable 86-page outline is included. Learn more...

Group Resistance Training: Circuit Training

This online program covers program goals, class format and design, and guidelines. In addition, it will highlight various tips to help trainers improve their overall presentation skills. A complete workout is included. Learn more...

Group Resistance Training: Exercise Sequencing

This online program covers exercise sequencing for more creative and metabolically effective workouts. In addition, it will highlight various tips to help trainers improve their overall presentation skills. A complete workout is included. Learn more...

Kickboxing: Skills and Drills

Learn the skills needed to teach safe, effective, and fun kickboxing classes in this online course. These workouts are a combination of boxing, kickboxing, and martial arts movements along with traditional aerobic skills. Learn more...

Midlife Fitness for Women

In this online course, you’ll focus on the physiology of women during and past midlife, including the stages and symptoms associated with menopause, and the long-term effects of estrogen deficiency (e.g., osteoporosis and heart disease). In addition, you will learn programming strategies for this fitness population. Learn more...

Practical Modality Instruction

Learn 175 exercises while taking an in-depth look at 11 of today’s most popular group exercise modalities, covering bodyweight training, foam rolling, stability balls, elastic resistance, sliding discs, medicine balls, suspension training, dumbbells, kettlebells, active resistance and box/step drills. You’ll learn over 175 exercises and cover the important points of exercise technique, effective cueing, common form faults and movement variations. Plus, you’ll get 16 time-saving predesigned workouts and a template to create your own safe and effective programs. Learn more...

Practical Pilates

Based on the original works of the late Joseph H. Pilates, this online program combines the best of both Eastern and Western philosophies and traditions. The 28 practical mat Pilates exercises featured in this course focus on conditioning the body from the inside out. Learn the importance of core stabilization, muscle balance, proper alignment, strength, and flexibility while integrating the concepts of mindfulness, fluidity, and grace. Learn more...

Practical Yoga Instructor Training

Learn how to confidently lead a safe and challenging multi-level yoga class in a variety of settings. This online program combines AFAA’s traditional methods of teaching group exercise with our unique “Sunrise Yoga Format™” approach to yoga. Learn more...

Stress Gets Personal

This program focuses on the sources and symptoms of stress and techniques that can be used to help manage stress. Techniques include stress-less thinking, relaxation, and imagination-meditation-affirmation, proper nutrition, exercise, and biofeedback.

This program is focused on a scope of practice appropriate for fitness professionals. Learn more...

Sunrise Yoga

The Sunrise Yoga online course introduces you to a gentle approach to Yoga that will teach you how to create a progressive series of poses that flow smoothly and accommodate all fitness levels. Poses that increase muscular strength and flexibility, improve balance and coordination, reduce stress and enhance the feeling of well-being while linking mind, body, and breath. Learn more...

Sustaining Mobility and Movement (Series)

Human Movement Science (Release #1)

As a fitness professional, you know that moving efficiently in activities is key to performance and longevity for you and your participants. In this first release of AFAA’s Sustaining Mobility & Movement series, group exercise instructors and personal trainers learn to uncover dysfunctions in the body’s kinetic chain and the associated movement deficiencies that can lead to poor movement patterns and potential injuries. Learn more...

Sustaining Mobility and Movement (Series)

Foot, Ankle and Knee (Release #2)

When it comes to building a foundation for better movement, it helps to focus from the ground up—literally. In the second piece of the Sustaining Mobility and Movement Series, you’ll get an in-depth understanding of the functional anatomy of the foot, ankle and knee and how to correct the imbalances you see in group exercise settings—reducing injury and improving overall mobility. For optimal effectiveness, this course is best when taken after Human Movement Science. Learn more...

Yo-Chi

In Yo-Chi, Lawrence Biscontini sets out to “create a mind-body, cafeteria-style bento box, dim sum sampler” of some of Lawrence’s favorite and most effective standing and floor-based yoga postures with Chinese Ta’i Chi movement patterns for the arms and legs. It’s a fusion program that gives you benefits in both stability or strength and mobility or flexibility as Lawrence combines the two oldest mind body programs that still exist today. So much of yoga depends on being still and finding stability, and so much of T’ai Chi involves slow, controlled never ending mobility, but by doing these disciplines together– either alternating or in combination–can help increase your overall wellness. Furthermore, the fact that these two disciplines have survived for hundreds of years attests to the fact they truly offer something for everyone. Yo-Chi is perfect for teaching both the new-to fitness sedentary couch potato and the experienced elite. Learn more...

Yoga and Pilates on the Ball Training

Expand your knowledge and explore new exercises by adding a large stability ball and a small Pilates ball to your Yoga and Pilates fusion workouts. In this online course, you will learn techniques to increase strength, flexibility and muscle tone with a focus on improving posture, proprioception and functional strength. Learn more...

Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease

Walk With Ease is an evidence-based program that has been proven to help people with arthritis or other related conditions reduce pain, increase balance, strength and walking pace, and improve overall health. As a Walk With Ease Program Leader, you’ll help arthritis pain suffers build confidence in their ability to be physically active, and show them how they can make physical activity part of their everyday lives. You’ll learn the relationship between arthritis, exercise and pain, develop and implement a personal walking plans with realistic goals, and get tips, strategies and resources for maintaining a long-term exercise routine. Participants receive an Arthritis Foundation certification, a leader's manual filled with exercise illustrations, health education information, and a 6-week walking plan. Learn more...

Fitness Instruction Essentials

Learn evidence-based principles of movement science application, and review key tips for maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle. Review various fitness assessments and programming to help monitor progress. Learn more...

Essential Injury Prevention Bundle

With AFAA’s bundled Injury Prevention Series – Essential Injury Prevention (Parts 1-4), you’ll take group exercise to an individual level by learning to assess your class and see how students move, uncover common imbalances and misalignments, and make adjustments to correct them. The course features four comprehensive sessions: Understanding Injuries, Lower Body, The Spine, and Upper Body. Group formats discussed include Cycle, Resistance/Strength Training, Cardio/HIIT, Boot Camp, Dance, Aqua and Mind-Body. Learn more...

Yoga Essentials I

This program is the starting point for aspiring yoga teachers. Learn more...

Yoga Essentials II

This program follows Yoga Essentials I and prepares you to move forward as an effective and informed yoga instructor. Learn more...