Fitness and Nutrition Certificate Curriculum

Succeed by learning how to use your Penn Foster program.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand how to use your Student Portal.
• Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
• Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.

Feel good, both physically and mentally, by managing your personal health.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the basic components of a fitness plan
• Identify and handle stress
• Shop for and choose healthy foods
• Set fitness goals and choose exercise plans that fit your lifestyle
• Identify careers in the fitness and nutrition industry

You need strong medical vocabulary skills to succeed in your career.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Break medical terms down to understand their meaning
• Describe the rules of medical terminology

To conduct exercise classes, plan fitness programs, and become an effective personal trainer, you need to be comfortable using the language of the fitness industry.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Use exercise science terminology fluently.
• Understand how fitness training and exercise routines affect the body and specific muscles.

This lesson is the first part of Fitness Anatomy and Physiology.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the overall function of and major structures within the digestive, urinary, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems.

This lesson is the second part of Fitness Anatomy and Physiology.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the overall function of the endocrine, circulatory, and respiratory systems.

Some nutritional needs are the same over a lifespan, others vary over time.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe nutritional needs for all ages.
• Identify nutrition for infants to ensure adequate physical and mental growth and development.
• Identify nutrition for seniors to maintain strong bones and physical and mental acuity

Fitness professionals are expected to know enough about nutrition to recommend healthy recipes and menus.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Compose a list of healthy ingredients and recipes.
• Offer healthy-eating demos.

Physiology—how systems function and act—and kinesiology—how mechanics and anatomy relate to movement—will be presented, providing you with fuller insight into motion and movement.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe how muscles, bones, joints, and other body structures unite to get you moving.

Proper posture and balance are important to physical health.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the importance of posture and balance and current theories on achieving correct posture and balance.
• Assess posture and identify exercises that will assist in attaining the best posture and balance possible.
• Describe how poor posture can lead to bodily pain, injury, and reduced quality of life.

Cardiorespiratory fitness can be measured by assessing the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body to the working muscles during exercise, as well as by the efficiency with which the muscles use oxygen to produce energy.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
• Understand the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is the ability to maintain high-endurance aerobic exercises, such as cycling, swimming, and running, for a prolonged period of time, without the early onset of performance-inhibiting fatigue.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• List general principles of cardiorespiratory exercise.
• Describe the physical and psychological benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness.

Strength training, also called weight training and resistance training, is an important tool for achieving a complete healthy body. Strength training isn’t just for athletes; anyone who wants to build or tone muscle can use strength training to achieve a fitter body.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the advantages of incorporating strength training into a fitness program.
• Be familiar with traditional strength-training workouts.
• Identify safety factors that need to be addressed with strength training

Strengthening the core can generate tremendous benefits and is the one area of the body that will always give you a great return on your fitness investment.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the function and importance of the core.
• Get the core in great shape.

Often, the upper body is the first part of the body to show wear and tear from the stresses and strains of daily life. As posture deteriorates, the heart and lungs become physically strained.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the importance of upper-body exercises for maintaining proper posture, aligning the spine, and maintaining joint positioning.
• Strengthen the neck, shoulders, arms, and torso.
• Describe how upper-body fitness contributes to the performance of daily activities and exercise programs.
• Achieve and maintain a fit upper body

A powerful lower body is essential to a strong and balanced physical foundation. 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Strengthen the thighs, lower back, lower abdominals, buttocks, and calves.

Everyone needs some flexibility to function in everyday life.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the importance of flexibility.
• Describe how to stretch without injury.

Participation in any fitness activity presents some risk of injury. Fitness professionals should do everything possible to ensure that their clients are exercising safely.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify and prevent common fitness injuries.

This lesson teaches you how to apply stress-reducing techniques to tense situations.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe how stress affects people physically and mentally.
• Use techniques to handle stress.

Exercise, healthy eating, and stress reduction must be practiced over a lifetime to maintain fitness.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Demonstrate strong personal commitment to fitness.
• Establish fitness goals for yourself and your clients.
• Design, monitor, and maintain fitness programs appropriate to clients’ needs

Combine your knowledge of fitness, exercise, stress reduction, and good nutrition.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Describe fitness programs for the general population.

Fitness professionals know how to design exercise routines so their clients not only look and feel better but actually achieve better overall health through improved mental and physical function.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Assess one’s current health and fitness status.
• Identify the team members who may be involved in the assessment process.

Everyone who can exercise should exercise.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Determine what exercises clients should do to maintain a maximum level of fitness throughout their lives.

You now know the nuts and bolts of designing fitness programs and interacting with your clients and students. This course is designed to help you become a fitness leader. 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Motivate and inspire clients to exercise.

A number of legal and ethical issues apply to sports and the fitness industry. 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify some of the issues, challenges, and legal and ethical responsibilities involved in being a fitness professional.