Aerobics & Fitness Association of America

When NASM (National Academy of Medicine) purchased and/​or merged and basically took over AFFA this past year, I was excited to have the option of doing my continuing education (required every 2 years) with the now NASM owned and operated AFAA.
(see this story :
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This meant that I had the option of doing my required CEU hours I needed to maintain my NASM certification and CEU’s online OR in person, within a group setting. This is quite a benefit for those of us who live over an hour and a half from Miami, Orlando, Tampa or Hollywood California. We are given the option to take our professional standard knowledge of anatomy, medical and anatomical ‘brush up’ courses directly online with a proctor. (A proctor is a professional NASM and AFAA instructor who watches you take your practical and written tests by gaining access to your webcam and your computer screen)
As one Unilocal reviewer stated (Yuki M) not many high end gyms accept ONLY an AFAA certification for doing personal training. (Although I’m not sure why that is exactly, Most of us are NASM and ACE certified, so when I asked my fellow fitness teachers, I got shrugged shoulders) From what I understand from fitness pros’ «You are required at these particular odd gyms for additional certifications in two or more fields, if you only have an AFAA certification.» Maybe I have not run into this kind of situation personally due to the fact that I have many certifications and degrees that I’ve accumulated since 2008– 2009.
Regardless, AFAA has many ONLINE CEU & certification options that are more current and updated to todays popular fitness trends, such as an entire division devoted to Jillian Michaels and teaching her hard as nails techniques. (BTW: I found out about Jillian’s Certifications from her when working on several videos, and this is how I became aware of AFAA in the first place.)
So, let’s fast forward to the Group Fitness Personal Training Certification ONLINE, as well. NASM /​AFAA offer this online feature in a two part testing system. Written test of all the anatomy, science, medical and physical. This is a detailed tricky test sure to challenge anyone who thinks they can breeze through it and pass without deep studying if you are a newcomer to the fitness or medical world. The questions are quite challenging and anatomy and science is paramount. There is a second part to the test and that is a Practical Test, where the proctor watches every move you make during your demonstration of a Hi-​Med-​Lo class segment, TWO muscle group strengthening demonstration segment section and an individual muscle strength conditioning demonstration for a good hour.
Now that AFAA IS NASM, I’m absolutely positive that there is NO gym out there on this planet that will question or doubt the certification, or the new process of achieving the aforementioned. There will be no doubt laid down upon the person passing this process and their successful accomplishments OF passing this new process of certification… if those odd ball gyms ever thought of even doing that in the first place.
What is a benefit is having this new option of completing recertification CEU’s that are required every two years online, is a HUGE plus plus in my book. It’s ECO friendly, it’s convenient and it’s fitting in with the familiar university standards and practices of many many NYU comes to mind) universities that also have this option, of taking courses from anywhere, facilitated in place. The days of dorm housing and living on campus are closing in and are becoming obsolete thanks in regard to the internet and proctoring universities and frankly, I love it.

So I signed up for an aerobics certification class with AFAA.
I ended up quitting the job I needed the cert for, so I called afaa way in advance of the class and told them my dilemma.
They said that even though there policy was no refunds, because of my situation he said he would issue me a refund. He did not send any confirmation of my refund.
Months later I still had no refund, but they have stopped sending me their magazine, so I know that they have it in their system correctly.
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.
Update. Received a refund quite some time after. So I changed my star rating from one to three.
3 stars to the afaa for following through and issuing a refund, but only 3 because of the process. They really should have a better system in place. A confirmation number or some way to check the status of a refund.
Glad it all worked out in the end though.

I’m surprised that this association was already in the Unilocal database. I guess that counts for something, eh?
Courses offered:
Personal Trainer Certification
Primary Group Exercise
Kick Boxing
Step
AFAA Challenge
Specialty Workshops (18 Courses — focused on group classes)
I have mixed emotions about AFAA. On the one hand, they are very diverse in their course offerings. On the other hand, not many agencies accept AFAA certifications. This isn’t to say that they aren’t worth their weight in salt.
What sets AFAA apart from most other certification agencies is that they offer a wide array of courses designed around a group format as well as a healthy emphasis placed around specific populations (women, perinatal, seniors, obesity).
Because of their many programmes geared towards a classroom/​group attendance, I believe that anyone looking into Fitness Education and Guidance should definitely invest in at least one certification from AFAA.
Also, anyone who is looking into a career as a PT in a specialized field dealing with target population groups should also endevour to gain knowledge from this agency.