American Council on Exercise

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American Council on Exercise

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) is an international nonprofit that provides education and certifications for health coaches and exercise professionals resources about health and exercise for the general public. ACE aims to help people and communities lead more active lifestyles.

History

Originally named the IDEA Foundation, ACE was established in 1985 by Kathie and Peter Davis, co-founders of the IDEA Health & Fitness Association (IDEA). The purpose of the IDEA Foundation was to develop a standardized fitness aerobics certification to reduce confusion over the variety of certifications available at the time. In 1987, the IDEA Foundation published the "Aerobic Dance-Exercise Instructor Manual" and the first aerobics certification exam that was standardized across the fitness industry.

In 1991, the IDEA Foundation changed its name to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Between 1991 and 1999, ACE released three new certification programs, including the ACE Personal Trainer Manual: The Resource for Fitness Instructors, Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant, and Clinical Exercise Specialist.

In the early 2010s, ACE developed the ACE Integrated Fitness Training® Model (ACE IFT®), a system to help create individualized exercise programming and health behavior change to meet a client’s needs. ACE also created the ACE Mover Method™, a program designed to help exercise professionals and health coaches empower clients to make behavioral changes for improved and sustained fitness and health. The ACE IFT® Model and the ACE Mover Method™ have been topics of peer-reviewed research.

By 2022, there were more than 90,000 ACE Certified Professionals in 115 countries around the globe.

In early 2023, ACE introduced the ACE RRAMP Approach to health and exercise professionals support clients before, during and after session. RRAMP stands for Respect, Recognition, Alignment, Mistakes and Participant. Later on, ACE launched a suite of ACE lifecycle career support tools, which included ACE Pro Compass, ACE Pro Connect App and the ACE Job Board.

Partnerships and Leadership.

ACE partners with national and international organizations and serves on various boards and committees, including:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Active People, HealthyNation^SM
• The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Action Plan on Physical Activity
• The American Heart Association
• The Prescription for Activity Task Force
• World Active, formerly the World Active Forum, a worldwide platform, and future federation, that unites the health, fitness and physical activity sector globally.
• National Fitness Foundation’s Board of Directors, where Scott Goudeseune, ACE chief executive officer, was appointed by U.S. Secretary Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

Accreditation

ACE is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/IEC 17024 accredited certification organization. This designation reflects an organization's adherence to global stands of quality and best practice in that field or specialty.

ACE Certification Programs include personal trainer, group fitness instructor, health coach, and certified medical exercise specialist. All four ACE Certification Program are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, the accreditation body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. These certification programs are respected by the U.S. Registry of Exercise Professionals (USREPS), a professional registry that is recognized by the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals.

The ACE Group Fitness Instructor Certification Program and the ACE Personal Trainer Certification Program are eligible to be recognized internationally, which provides professionals the ability to have their certification recognized and respected in different countries. The ACE Personal Trainer Certification Program was ranked as one of the top personal trainer certifications by Forbes, and the ACE Health Coach Certification Program was picked as one of the best health coach certification programs of 2023.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

ACE formally began its EDI Initiative in 2020, which builds upon its past EDI-related efforts including partnerships with organizations that support diverse communities such as Universal Fitness Innovation & Transportation (UFIT) and the creation of education resources like the ACE Senior Fitness program and Orthopedic Exercise program.

As of 2020, ACE EDI Initiative efforts included convening its first ACE EDI Council, made up of 10-12 employees from various positions, departments, tenures and backgrounds, as well as:

EDI-related articles.

The ACE EDI Initiative works to increase the dialogue about EDI in the fitness sector through industry-related publications. This includes articles in Club Solutions, A Sweat Life and multiple in Club Industry such as:

• “All In: ACE Works to Influence Systemic Change for Greater Diversity” by Cedric X. Bryant, ACE President and Chief Science Officer
• “Opening the Doors: In Fitness, I’m Often the Only Black Person in the Room” by Dr. Antonio Williams, ACE Board of Directors member
• “‘Dream Job’ Shines Light On Fitness Industry Inequities, Leads To New Dream” by ACE Certified Professional Venus Davis

ACE EDI education courses.

ACE developed courses related to body-inclusivity, microaggressions, working and supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities, EDI training courses for fitness managers and owners, and how exercise and health professionals can be more inclusive in fitness settings, the last of which is offered to ACE Certified Professionals at no cost. Many courses were developed in partnership with various organizations, including Special Olympics and Self Magazine.

ACE and its partner LearnUpon won gold at the 2022 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards for the “Taking Action with ACE: Practicing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as an Exercise Professional.”

Scholarship programs.

ACE began awarding scholarships in 2013 with its “Salute You” Scholarship, which provided honorably discharged veterans with job training and career opportunities. The following year, ACE launched the Ash Hayes Scholarship to train professionals to help address rates of child obesity. The IDEA World Convention Scholarship Program was cofounded and funded by Kathie and Peter Davis in 2018. The program, administered by ACE, awards at least five scholarships a year to help fitness professionals with financial need. In 2021, ACE and the Women In Fitness Association (WIFA) offered scholarships to support women in the fitness industry access professional development opportunities. The following year, ACE absorbed the WIFA to better support women in the health and fitness industry.

Health Coaching

In 2012, ACE launched its Health Coach Certification Program, which sought to educate professionals in fighting obesity. The certification program is accredited by the NCCA, and in 2021, ACE was recognized by the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching as an approved education provider. The ACE Health Coach Certification Program was picked as one of the best health coach certification programs of 2023.

ACE has focused on the positive impact health and wellness professionals can make from the launch of the 1999 ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management Certification to fitness facility partnerships to articles that offer fitness gyms advice on how to start their health coaching services. In 2022, ACE launched its new Health and Wellness Division and acquired the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute (DSWI) to advance the health coaching industry. As of 2023, there are approximately 15,000 ACE Health Coaches (including DSWI health coaches) who provided more than 2.4 million health coaching sessions in one year.

Programs, Publications and Research

In addition to the development of certification programs, ACE leads community programs, produces publications, and conducts fitness-related research with a stated mission of encouraging increased movement and for people to lead more physically active lives.

Community Programs.

ACE community initiatives began in 1993 with a program called "Energy2Burn," a project that brought ACE Certified Professionals into elementary schools to help teach youth fitness basics and a simple exercise routine. Additional ACE community programs included:

• "Fitness on Call" was a one-day, toll-free hotline for callers within the U.S. to receive one-on-one access to experts for free fitness tips and exercise advice.
• "Operation FitKids" sought to address America's youth health crisis by creating minimal cost fitness centers to provide adolescents with increased accessibility and comprehensive fitness programs with donated commercial exercise equipment, education materials, and training mentors. The program, led by then ACE executive director Ken Germano, began in California and expanded to other states in the U.S.
• "Joining Forces Initiative," launched by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden in 2011, asked Americans to help and support service members, veterans and their families through wellness, education and employment opportunities. ACE provided one of the three "Let's Move" commitments by providing one million hours of personal training and exercise instruction.
• The ACE Community Investment and Engagement Initiative sought to boost up-and-coming community fitness programs, such as 3 WINS Fitness and Sports Backers' Fitness Warriors.

Publications.

ACE began publishing the "ACE Insider" in 1991 for certified instructors and industry leaders. In 1995, ACE began "Certified News" for ACE Certified Professionals and "FitnessMatters" for consumers and exercise professionals. "Fitness Matters" covered equipment reviews, fitness trends, and recent fitness research, including research sponsored by ACE in 1996. Throughout the years, ACE publications and resources have evolved to inform and encourage people to be active. Examples of these free resources include:

• The ACE Insights Blog has fitness articles on a variety of topics such as yoga, strength training, and exercises for beginners and is recognized as one of the most valuable health and wellness blogs of 2023.
• The ACE Exercise Library offers a variety of movements that target specific areas of the body, difficulty level and equipment. Each movement comes with a detailed description and photos to help ensure proper form. Exercises in the library are cited by publications including The New York Times and Harvard Health Publishing.
• The ACE Community Walking Toolkit was created in support of the 2015 "Step It Up! The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities" and developed specifically for use by nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations, schools and individuals.

Research.

ACE research originally focused on equipment and fitness trends, which earned ACE the nickname of "America's Workout Watchdog." These independent studies covered multiple topics, including testing claims of trending fitness programs and products. As of 2022, ACE continues to sponsor research examining exercise programming and health-related products, including a study on resistance training and exercise recovery products.

References

This article "American Council on Exercise" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:American Council on Exercise. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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