Enter Fitness and Health Promotion Field After Two Years of Training

Those who are interested in assisting individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices that will reduce or prevent the occurrence of acute and chronic diseases by providing professional fitness assessments, recommendations for health and fitness exercise regimes and strategies to meet their health and wellness goals should consider applying for Centennial College’s Fitness Training Program. That’s because not only does this two-year offering result in an Ontario College Diploma, it also prepares students for positions as: instructors, personal trainers, fitness consultants and wellness/fitness program developers. These professionals may be hired in: their communities, corporate fitness, municipal recreation, retail fitness, hospitals and more. In addition, students of Fitness and Health Promotion have the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to become certified personal trainers according to the CSEPT-PT requirements and also learn course material related to the canfitpro nutrition and wellness certification.

But how does Fitness and Promotion get students from novices to lean, mean fitness machines? First and foremost, guided by faculty members who are experts in the field, students attend between five and seven courses per semester, which focus on mental health as an essential part of a holistic approach to well being, anatomy and physiology, fitness assessment, leadership skills, injury management, nutrition, fitness marketing, health promotion, computer skills and cross cultural awareness. These courses are actually designed around practical learning in laboratory and placement settings to offer students comprehensive academic grounding.

Because it focuses on offering students as much practical experience as possible, the Fitness and Promotion program sees students applying what they learn in the Fitness and Health Promotion courses at the newly constructed Athletic and Wellness Center located at Progress Campus. There is also opportunity for inter-professional student liaisons between Fitness and Health Promotion students and other programs (i.e. Police Foundations, Pre-service Fire and Paramedic students) at Centennial College to assist in the attainment of their fitness assessment goals.

Thanks to industry partnerships that provide supervised field placement opportunities in the fitness industry, students of Fitness and Promotion get to apply what they learn during two industry field placements. Prior to each program Field Placement, students require the following: an annual clear police check with vulnerable sector screening; successful completion of an annual renewal of a recognized course in CPR (health care provider level); as well as successful completion of a recognized course in standard first aid.

Among the abilities with which Fitness and Health Promotions students graduate are: assessing the fitness level, health issues and overall well-being of individual clients based on various assessment tools and strategies; applying effective practices to the design, implementation and management of fitness and lifestyle programs and events for individual clients intended to meet health, fitness and lifestyle goals; providing comprehensive training and evaluation of fitness and wellness programs to enable individual clients and groups to reach and maintain optimal well-being; and more.

To apply for the Health Promotion program, students must minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature status (19 years or older). In addition, you must have completed the English Grade 12 C or U (minimum grade required) or equivalent, or skills assessment; as well as one Science Grade 11 or 12, C or U  (minimum grade requirement) or skills assessment (Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Exercise Science).