Muscular Fitness Assessment and Prescription
This interactive, online study guide is designed to help you learn about
the fundamentals of strength, power and muscular endurance assessment and program design. It is supplemented by
the Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription course text. The study guide includes a glossary of key terms (hyperlinked to
the lessons).
In the course, you will assume the role of a newly hired fitness trainer at an insurance company's fitness center.
Your four-day orientation program will be supervised by a virtual mentor (Steve). You will work with 5 clients
and interact with them as you would in a real-life situation. Your mentor will lead you through the following
situations and exercises:
Day 1: Muscular Fitness Assessment--You'll
learn that once the client has received clearance to begin a resistance-training program, an assessment of the
client's muscular fitness is important so that the appropriate exercise prescription, including types of exercises
and intensity of exercise, can be developed. Steve will discuss the most appropriate test and help you to understand
the differences between dynamic, static, and isokinetic strength measurements, and when it is appropriate to use
these measures. Finally, you'll review how to administer a maximal strength test. This orientation session concludes
with a quiz over key concepts.
Day 2: Exercise Prescription--Working
with Steve, you'll review how to develop a resistance training program specific to the goals of the client by changing
acute program variables. A brief quiz marks the end of this orientation session.
Three Months Later. Day 3: Prescription Evaluation and Principles
of Training--Steve helps you to reevaluate the training programs
of your clients. You will assess the progress each client has made and adjust the training programs. To perform
the evaluation of the exercise prescription, you'll need to fully comprehend the principles of training and how
they specifically apply to resistance training. A quiz is included to help you monitor your learning.
Day 4: Principles of Periodization--The
goal of this orientation session is to help you learn how to optimize chronic training programs through manipulation
of both training volume and intensity. Steve discusses how athletes need to train throughout the year to optimize
strength and performance. You'll need to keep in mind that athletes also need to be able to reach peak performance
while at the same time preventing overtraining. The best way for the athlete to accomplish this is to manipulate
the intensity and volume of training so that the athlete will reach his or her peak performance at the proper time
of the year. Steve provides a quiz to ensure that you've mastered these concepts.
Finally, you'll take the online course test, which covers material from the interactive study guide and from the
course text.
System Requirements
This course is designed to work best when your computer and Internet browser are configured to the following technical requirements and setup specifications:
- Internet Explorer 5.5+ (Windows), Netscape Navigator 7.1+, Mozilla 1.7+, or Firefox 1.0+.
- Computer monitor preferences set for 640 X 480 resolution or larger.
- Adobe Flash Player version 5+. To download the free Flash Player, click on the button below.
- Browser pop-up blockers disabled.
