Online Certificate in Fitness Business Management

The Online Professional Certificate in Fitness Business Management is an innovative Web-based Certificate (with an Optional Field Internship course) designed to teach students how to manage a Personal Training Program &/or a Health-Fitness Department as a Strategic Business Unit (S.B.U.) in both commercial and non-commercial based health and fitness facilities in the United States and/or internationally.

The program was developed to establish an industry standard in fitness management education for allied health and fitness professionals, personal trainers, fitness managers, and entrepreneurs that wish to establish a successful business model and fitness operation. Specific learning topics include fitness management, marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, personnel management, customer service, and business administration concepts.

The certificate prepares students to implement successful business systems in the following settings: private and commercial health clubs, medically-based fitness facilities, community wellness centers, personal training studios, physical therapy clinics, YMCA’s, JCC’s, college/university centers, recreational settings, and corporate fitness centers. A competitive advantage offered in the program is the optional field internship which enables students to practice fitness management concepts in a health and fitness setting.

This program is offered in partnership with IDEA Health & Fitness Association, Health Club Managers, Inc., and Personal Fitness Professional. IDEA has provided content/curriculum in the program; in addition, students receive a complimentary 6-month membership to the digital edition of IDEA Fitness Journal.

Health Club Managers, a Health Club Staff/Management Training company, is providing graduating certificate students a preferred discount on their services, and Personal Fitness Professional is providing students with students a 3 year free subscription which includes 8 print issues per year, a bi-monthly e-newsletter, and access to their digital magazine.

"As a business owner, trainer and manager, I have found that the most important skills missing among Fitness Managers are their core-business knowledge, their ability to manage employees, and their ability to manage a Club’s customers. From conference to conference, I hear a distinct disconnect between managers and the real needs of the Club business. This certificate program will prepare current personal trainers and health/wellness professionals who want to become Fitness-Business Professionals,” according to Ken Baldwin, M.ED, program coordinator for the certificate program and past winner of IDEA’s Personal Trainer of the Year Award.

“This is the first educational certificate program in the country that prepares students to learn to incorporate the business and administrative systems to make a company successful on all levels. In essence, this program is an “MBA in Fitness Management” that will prepare students to take their fitness careers to the next level by incorporating the business skill sets that will establish the business systems and practice standards to set their health and fitness facility apart from their competition. This program has been established to set the “Gold Standard” in the training, education, and development of Fitness Managers and Personal Training Directors for the health and fitness industry”, said Baldwin.

This Certificate Program will include the following courses: Business Development and Entrepreneurship in Fitness; Financial Principles and Business Concepts; Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service Management (CSM); and Fitness Management and Business Administration; and an Optional Field Internship in Fitness Management Course. The certificate and the optional internship course are offered three times per year in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. To register or to learn more about the Online Certificate in Fitness Business Management, visit the following website to locate a school in your area that offers this program: www.efslibrary.net. The second module of classes starts October 27th. Register now before it's too late.