Can I pass the ACE???

[naughtoj]

ACE is offering certification exam for Personal Trainer in my area November 5. Wondering if I could pass studying an old manual??

My manual is from 1998 or so, but I am currently in nursing classes and have Anat&Phys as well as pathophysiology plus I know alot about fitness and exercise through LOTS of reading. Do you think I have a chance at passing the exam if I study for a few weeks prior??

Anyone taken it who can give me some advice?? Thanks!

 

[sparrow]

Janice, when I was studying for the ACE exam back in 2001, I found outdated things in that book and mine was the most recent! My opinion is that you *could* pass with a '98 manual. Also, I know someone who took the test and passed based on her own knowledge;she never read any of the training materials.

HTH a bit!

Sparrow

___________________
www.scifichics.com

 

[macska]

Depends, Janice. I passed the AAAI last summer,and it was very easy. A few weeks ago I attended a seminar from ACE in my area, it was a 2 days preparation course for the test, and I did learn a lot. Mainly program designs, and that's the hard part. Fitness evaluations, different risks factors, etc. I don't know how much is your knowledge. Would you have a chance to attend some "live" course? I debate wheater to try to make the test in December in my area or not.
If you want to work as a trainer you can get a AAAI much easier. Then you can work, plus you have more time to prepare for the ACE in the future. That's what I do. Best of luck to you, Mari

 

[naughtoj]

Thanks for the advice guys. Haven't yet decided. I'll let you know if I do take the test...

 

[pixie9]

I'd just like to add something. I just took and passed the exam this August and was surprised at how little anatomy & physiology there was on the exam. Much of the exam, like someone mentioned above, was program design and also what is and isn't in your scope of practice. There were also some basic nutrition questions as well. The nutrition portion of your manual may be out of date for you but I doubt that would stop you from passing the test. I noticed many old manuals sitting around as we were taking the test so I'm sure it's really common for people to do that. It sounds like you know what you're doing so I'd go ahead a take the exam. Also as a side note, I took the AAAI exam like the above poster and passed that as well. I took the ACE exam because many gyms I went to would not accept that certification for personal trainers. Many if not all of them wanted someone with an ACE or better(ACSM,NSCA)certification.
carolyn

 

[hopturn]

If you are "book-smart", your background may enable you to pass the exam in spite of an old manual.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) website www.acefitness.org includes the following:

"ACE certification exams include 125 scored items and an additional 25 experimental items that do not count toward the score for the periods reported below.

Personal Trainer
Dates Registered Scored Passed Passing %
7/1/03–6/30/04 10,298 8,362 5,506 65.85%
7/1/02–6/30/03 10,821 9,318 6,139 65.88%
7/1/01–6/30/02 10,936 9,782 6,262 64.02%
7/1/00–6/30/01 10,010 8,910 5,499 61.72%"