Students enrolled in the new fitness certificate program offered at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) beginning this fall will become well-acquainted with demonstrating fitness equipment; much like ARCC student-worker, Bao Dang (left) helping ARCC student Crystal Conen to improve her weightlifting technique.

“Anoka-Ramsey is always poised to meet the demands of labor,” says Luanne Kane, ARCC Dean of Educational Services. “Healthcare professions are flourishing, and fitness training is one of the fastest growing and most exciting industries in America.”

Supporting this claim are statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor that state there will be a 27.1 percent growth in demand for fitness professionals through 2014. Regionally, fitness specialists are also in high demand in the Twin Cities metropolitan area which hosts more than two hundred health clubs.

The demand for fitness professionals is driven by the need. According to the National Institute of Health, 55 percent of Americans don’t exercise on a regular basis and 25 percent don’t exercise at all. Further, 66.3 percent of adults, 37.2 percent of children and 34.3 percent of adolescents are overweight, obese or at risk of being overweight or obese. Fitness professionals can educate the public about what studies have shown: people who lose even a small portion of their weight, 5-10 percent, significantly reduce their risk of disease.

Students in the new three-semester fitness certificate program will learn anatomy, biology, physiology, first aid, CPR, nutrition, wellness, weight training and conditioning, body mechanics, prevention and care of injuries, fitness training and exercise prescription.

Graduates of the new fitness certificate program will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the major components of physical fitness, such as cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, power, functional movement and muscle imbalances.
• describe the psychological principles critical to health/wellness behavior change, including behavior modification, reinforcement, goal setting, social support and peer pressure.
• describe and demonstrate assessment techniques and methods for cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, power, functional fitness and power.
• design an exercise training program.
• actively engage in the various modalities of exercise training.

For general information about the fitness certificate program or any of Anoka-Ramsey Community College certificates and degrees, visit www.AnokaRamsey.edu/academics. For details about the new fitness certificate program, please contact a counselor or an advisor at 763.433.1830 (Cambridge Campus) or 763.433.1230 (Coon Rapids Campus).