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Interested in working with pre & postnatal clients? Become a PROnatal Certified Coach→

Group Instructor Course

Pre/Postnatal Education for Group Fitness Instructors

More and more people are staying active during pregnancy, but this can make it quite nerve-wracking when they show up in your “regular” group fitness classes. These participants look to you for guidance on what they should (or should not) do, but how do you know what to say to them? Unfortunately, giving inaccurate guidance – or no guidance at all – can mean losing even your most loyal members.

Now you can be completely confident the next time a pregnant person walks into your class.

In just a few hours, this course arms you with the tools you need to safely and effectively coach the pre & postnatal participants who attend your classes. All strategies are designed to be easily implemented in a group fitness setting so that you can keep your hard-earned members safely moving with you throughout pregnancy and beyond.

CECs: ACE 0.7, NASM 0.7, ACSM 7.0, AFAA 7.0, ISSA 7.0

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Course Overview

What You’ll Learn
Upon Completion, You Will:
  • Understand the pregnancy changes that have the greatest implications for your work as an instructor.
  • Know how to adjust your cues to benefit ALL participants (especially pre & postnatal).
  • Confidently know what to avoid or regress by trimester (and why) and how to apply postpartum.
  • Recognize signs of common issues, know what to do if you spot them, and understand how to mitigate them in the first place.

Who this Course is For

This course is designed for group fitness instructors looking for simple, easy-to-apply guidance to safely and effectively coach the pre and postnatal participants who attend their traditional group fitness classes. Applicable for all non-aquatic group fitness formats (including HIIT, boxing, barre, yoga, Pilates, dance/cardio, strength & conditioning, rowing, cycling, and running)

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Course Contents

The course consists of 4 learning modules and a final module with additional resources to further support you. You are only tested on the contents in the first 4 modules.

Learn the 6 changes that have the greatest implications for exercise (and your work as an instructor). By understanding these changes, you will better understand the rationale for the coaching recommendations made in Modules 3 and 4.

The changes discussed in Module 1 can lead to various pre & postnatal pains & injuries. We will discuss the 4 most common ones in this module — Low Back Pain, Diastasis Recti, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, and SI Joint Dysfunction. Learn what causes them, how to spot them, and how to mitigate and manage them. You’ll also learn why these are NOT exclusive to the pre & postnatal population.

This module focuses on strategies to START doing to provide a safer, and more effective, experience for your pregnant and newly postpartum participants. All tips are easy to remember and apply – from the “3Cs pre-class checklist,” to the optional “HI” pre-class guidance, and the “ABC” coaching tips that will benefit ALL participants – especially pre & postnatal.

This module focuses on what movements should be regressed, or avoided, by trimester (or belly size) and how to apply this guidance in the postpartum period. Because so many of the regressions are core related, this module closes by discussing a type of core training that is beneficial for ALL participants (especially pre & postnatal). We hope it offers some creative ideas for your programming!

The final module provides additional resources to further support you (you are not tested on the resources provided in this module). You’ll find a Beneficial Pre & Postnatal Core Exercise Guide, with video demonstrations of about 30 core exercise alternatives that you can offer if the rest of the class is doing core work that is not appropriate for this population. These exercises are also great for the rest of the class too!

In addition, you’ll find an Equipment Considerations Guide with tips and guidance for common equipment used in group fitness – including rowing machines, bikes, ski ergs, reformers, kettlebells, TRX, and boxing bags.

Finally, we’ll close by sharing an overview of our full-length Pre/Postnatal Specialist Course in the event this is ever of interest to you.

Course Structure

This self-paced online course is expected to take approximately 6 - 8 hours. Progress through the learning modules via our state-of-the-art online learning platform (mobile friendly). You have lifetime access to the course, and all materials are available to download.

What You Receive

4 Self-Paced Learning Modules

Webinar, PDF, Self-Check for Each

Movement & Instructional Videos

Beneficial Core Exercises Guide

Equipment Considerations Guide

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Course Completion

35-Question Final Exam

30 Questions Correct to Pass

$35 Exam Re-Takes (if needed)

Certificate of Completion

CECs: ACE 0.7, NASM 0.7, ACSM 7.0, AFAA 7.0, ISSA 7.0

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This is exactly what the fitness industry has been missing. So many pre/postnatal clients are taking group fitness now, but most instructors don’t know where to go for this type of education and are concerned the education may not be relevant for their job. This course addresses those concerns with information that is clear, relevant, and easy to apply in a group fitness setting. HIGHLY recommended.

Taylor Spearnak, Group Fitness Manager & Instructor, Equinox

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The thing I loved most about the course was how it gives you the tools to determine if an exercise is appropriate or not instead of making you memorize a laundry list of what you should/shouldn’t do. After taking this course I can say with 100% certainty that I can safely help my pregnant and postpartum members continue their exercise journey while still being true to my class format. I definitely recommend this course to anyone who teaches group fitness!

Jamie Tuttle, Orangetheory Fitness Coach

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This was one of the most useful and practical courses I have taken in my entire fitness education. It gets right to the point with clear information laid out in a way that makes sense – supported by real life applications that benefit ALL participants. I think this course should be a requirement for any group fitness instructor.

Sabrina Ursaner, Co-Founder of Alignment Essentials

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This course provides one of the most user-friendly training platforms I’ve seen. The material is smartly-structured, up-to-date, and highly relevant. It gives you the confidence to provide pre/postnatal clients a safe and effective workout and removes the stress of figuring out how to do this in a group setting.

Melody Davi, Training and Development Operations & Instructor, SLT

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I took this course because I was having more and more pregnant members approaching me with questions that I did not feel comfortable answering. I could not be happier with what I learned! I loved how it was specific to group fitness – with actionable tips and great rules of thumb. I now feel very confident to assist my pregnant and postpartum members, and I learned so many great tips that will benefit ALL members. So much I did not know before! I think every instructor should take this course.

Kim Smith, Orangetheory Fitness Coach

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This course was put together so well! All learning methods -- PDF's, videos, quizzes, etc. -- were structured in such a simple, yet effective way. I feel so much more confident in my ability to coach pregnant and postpartum clients after finishing this course!

Emilia Chacon, ACE CPT/FNS, F45 Training, Head Coach

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As a male coach, who does not have children or a wife, this course helped me increase my level of comfort in coaching pre & postnatal clients so much! The content was easy-to-follow and understand, I loved all the options given for modifications, and the Machine & Equipment Considerations Guide at the end will definitely come in handy!

Mike W, Fitness Coach

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I LOVED this course. I was able to start applying everything I was learning while taking it, and I found myself even more mindfully aware when I worked out myself. Not only have I been able to help my pre & postnatal participants feel much more comfortable with their workouts, but I’ve also had a lot of positive feedback on the new cueing strategies I learned in the course that benefit everyone!

Regan Carlstrom-Wayman, Orangetheory Fitness Coach

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This course was so easy to follow, and packed with valuable information! The modules, video tutorials, and practice tests were so well structured and they kept me on track to ensure I grasped the subject matter. Plus, the handouts and video library of exercise modifications are tools I plan to reference often. I now feel so much more confident about how to coach pre & postnatal members in class!

Nicole Uribarri, Certified Barre & Yoga Instructor

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I have been working with pre & postnatal clients for 5 years now, and this is the first course that I've seen that focuses specifically on what to do when a pregnant or newly postnatal client comes into your "regular" class. I feel like this training is spot on. It's also affordable and accessible for any professional. I highly recommend it! 

Jessica Harper BSc., E-RYT500, RPYT

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This course is truly a gift to instructors who want to deliver the safest and most informative guidance to ALL members -- not limited to pre & postnatal. This course was beyond helpful!

Carolann Valentino, Certified Group Fitness Instructor

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Approved By...

0.7 CEUs

7.0 CECs

0.7 CECs

 

7.0 CEUs

7.0 CEUs

FAQs

The concepts are applicable for most non-aquatic group fitness formats (including HIIT, boxing, barre, yoga, Pilates, dance/cardio, strength & conditioning, cycling, rowing, and running). In general, we give guiding principles that can be applied to any format, but we also give examples of how you might apply them in the formats listed above as well.

No. If you wish to work with pre/postnatal clients one-on-one, or in a dedicated class, then you would want to take our Pre/Postnatal Performance Training Specialist Course, which is a much more in-depth and comprehensive education that focuses on specific training strategies that are unique to this population.

This course is designed for group instructors who simply want to understand the basic cues and modifications to help participants have a safer and more effective experience in class. It focuses on only those concepts that can easily and realistically be applied in a group fitness setting.

If you plan to work one-on-one with pre and postnatal clients, then you should take the Pre/Postnatal Performance Training Specialist Course, as this course will not prepare you to work one-on-one with clients.

After taking the Specialist Course, if you feel you need additional help in determining how to apply some of the concepts in a group fitness setting, then you can certainly take this course as well because the concepts are specific to group fitness.

If you have further questions, please contact us at info@pronatalfitness.com. 

Yes. Typically the process is that you reach out to your certifying agency and ask them for a CEC petition form to complete.

To assist you, you can use this Course Overview, which provides reviewers with the information they typically need. We are also happy to provide your reviewer course access, or any other materials requested. Please reach out to us at info@pronatalfitness.com for any of this information.

This course is approved for the following CECs already:

  • ACE 0.7
  • NASM 0.7
  • ACSM 7.0
  • AFAA 7.0
  • ISSA 7.0

You have lifetime access to the course, so there is no deadline to complete. That said, once you start the course, we recommend trying to work through it relatively consistently because the concepts build on one another. The course is estimated to take between 6-8 hours.

Because we update our courses frequently, we do not include a printed textbook. However, each module contains a downloadable PDF with all the detailed text.

At the end of the course, there is a 50-minute timed exam that you take at home on your computer or device. There are 35 multiple choice questions, and you must get an 85% (30 questions correct) to pass. You can use any notes you want, but you must complete the exam within the 50 minute time limit.

If you pass, you will immediately be able to download your certificate.  If you do not pass, you can purchase an exam re-test for $35.

Each module also contains a self-check to gauge your comprehension. These are not graded. They are purely for your learning benefit, and they serve as great preparation for the exam.

We are happy to answer any questions you have!  Email us at Info@pronatalfitness.com or give us a call at 516-778-9468.

Course Price: $149

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