The ACSM-GEI Exam update may affect you - this FAQ explains how and why

Summary:

• The ACSM-GEI exam will change on December 3, 2018.
• The exam crosswalk document (below) compares the 2010 and 2018 versions of the ACSM-GEI exam.
• The exam content outline (below) provides specific topics you need to know and/or be able to perform.

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Why is the exam changing?
The ACSM Committee on Certification and Registry Board (CCRB) performs job task analyses (JTAs) of its exams on a regular basis. JTAs survey currently practicing professionals in what they are expected to know and be able to perform for their job. In addition, the JTA captures important changes in industry and standards of practice.
The role of a Group Exercise Instructor has undergone tremendous change in the past decade. As a result, the ACSM CCRB has revised the ACSM-GEI exam to be consistent with the ever-changing demands of a Group Exercise Instructor.

How do I get started?
STEP 1. A good place to start is to review the exam crosswalk document. The crosswalk provides an overview and side-by-side of exam changes from 2010 to 2018. 

2010-2018 ACSM-GEI crosswalk

STEP 2. Next, you should review the 2018 exam content outline. This document provides a deeper dive into job tasks and specific knowledge and skill statements.

2018 ACSM-GEI Exam Content Outline

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FAQ: Do current ACSM-GEIs need to retake their exam?

They do not.

FAQ: What are cognitive levels?
The ACSM CCRB included a new section on the exam content outline called “cognitive level.” The job of a Group Exercise Instructor can range between simple to complicated tasks. Much in the same way, the ACSM-GEI exam is written at different levels. Cognitive level is a way to describe how complex certain job tasks are.

ACSM uses three cognitive levels: recall, application and synthesis.

Recall is remembering certain facts.
Application requires you to understand a process and know what to do with it.
Synthesis requires you to examine a complicated situation and provide an answer based on new information.

You can find sample questions in the Exam Content Outline. 

Be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest updates, expert insights and more. 

Good luck on the ACSM exam! We look forward to you becoming a part of the ACSM-certified family!

In health,
Francis Neric, MS, MBA
ACSM National Director of Certification

How to increase your success as a fitness professional, using the 5 Step Sales framework, and identifying the 4 key behavior styles.

The sales process is a skill that can be learned and developed by anyone and is especially useful to be aware of when you are interacting face to face with people. I have always thought about the sales process as thinking about what you are going to do before you do it. I learned the hard way through trial and error in my early years as a personal trainer and medical sales professional and wondered what I was doing wrong until I had some training on the sales process.

"Knowing your sales target involves understanding your own behavior style"

5 Step Sales Framework

The sales framework breaks down a sale into a five-step process from establishing a relationship, demonstrating a need, working through concerns, and, eventually, closing a sale:

Approach – establish rapport and break the barriers of pre-occupation

Interview – identify needs, challenges and motives

Demonstrate – show how your products and services fill identified needs

Validate – cause people to trust you and believe your claims

Negotiate – understand and work through problems and concerns

Close – ask for an appropriate commitment to action

4 Behavior Styles

Knowing your sales target involves understanding your own behavior style, identifying the style of the potential customer and adopting your style to mirror that of the potential customer. Mirroring essentially is where you mimic verbal and physical behaviors of a potential customer to build rapport. While this seems strange at first, it happens naturally among like-minded people. Imagine seeing your high school friend that you haven’t see in years. You will often speak with same cadence and tone, use the same physical gestures, etc. People tend to let their guard down and open up to when using this method*:

Talker - Outgoing and friendly, not as interested in details, values personal relationships, makes decisions based on emotions and facts.

Doer - Direct, forceful and results oriented. Requires concise, focused information. Makes quick decisions. Has clear objectives to achieve.

Supporter - Needs time to process information. Likes to establish trusting relationships. Reluctant to change current buying habits. Laid-back and friendly.

Controller - Detail-oriented, deliberate and organized. Relies on facts, evidence and data. Weighs all options before making a decision. Lower manifestation of energy and emotion.

*Which one are you? Try identifying the behavior style of those around you.

My Personal Experience:
Identifying as a Doer, the biggest mistake I have made, and still make from time to time is skipping the approach. Being too direct and forceful makes it harder to mirror and build rapport with the potential customer. A terse communication indicates an awkward negotiation that comes across as forceful, which makes it even harder to close. Recognizing and becoming aware of this mistake as part of my behavior style has taught me to spend more time on the approach, listen more during the interview process, and ultimately make a better sale. Coming across as a real person instead of a sales person, identifying what the potential customer needs, and demonstrating that what you have provides value, using the framework above, will increase your success as a fitness professional.

Author 
William Coale is a fitness and health education professional who wears many hats, but still has time to get at least 30 miles of running and a few thousand kettlebell swings into his week. 

William collaborates with orthopedic trauma surgeons and podiatrists to determine the best medical device and bracing solutions for their patients and help GPs and cardiologists learn more about diagnostic solutions for improved patient care. 

At his private practice, Proprius, William focuses on training and motivating individual clients to achieve their personal goals, perform their best, prevent overuse injuries, execute physical rehabilitation plans, and maintain mobility and flexibility. 

William graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology from Indiana University where he also competed as a varsity cross country and track and field athlete. He is a licensed massage therapist and has a Corrective Exercise certificate.

Publishing original research is critical to academic and professional achievement. When selecting the journal to which you will submit your work, it is important to consider the options very carefully. While there are many academic journals, 30,000 or more in fact based on some reports, it is estimated that around 10,000 journals employ “predatory publishing” practices and should be avoided at all costs.

What is a predatory journal?

Predatory journals exploit the need for academics and researchers to publish their work, and they use questionable business tactics such as charging the author to publish and then not providing the professional services of a reputable academic journal. The checklist below includes a list of signs that a journal may be predatory. 

Why should you avoid publishing in a predatory journal?

There are a number of possible consequences to publishing in a predatory journal. These include:

• Published work is not protected
• Work will receive poor or no peer review
• Work could disappear, or you could lose access if the journal is dissolved
• It may be difficult for others to find your work, and when/if it is found, academics may be reluctant to cite it
• There are documented cases in which publishing in a predatory journal, though inadvertently, resulted in ethics accusations and career injury
• Once work is published in a predatory journal, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to have that work removed and published elsewhere in a reputable academic journal

 

How can you avoid predatory journals?

Start by visiting the website Think. Check. Submit. This site provides a checklist and FAQs that can help to guide you through the process of evaluating a journal before submission.

 

If you have any doubts about a journal’s reputability, consult with a librarian. Librarians are trained to know the publishing process, and those employed by universities work with a wide variety of academic journals daily. Also consult with your colleagues, an advisor, faculty member or mentor. Their experiences can help guide your way.

 

Other helpful resources:

• COPE – Committee on Publications Ethics
• The Scholarly Kitchen
• ALPSP – Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
• OASPA – Open Access Scholarly Publisher’s Association
• DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals
• Cabell’s
• Beall’s List

Watch the ACSM Webinar "Navigating the World of Predatory Publishing," presented by the authors of this blog and moderated by ACSM's Chief Content Officer, Katie Feltman. 

L. Bruce Gladden, Ph.D., FACSM, is a professor at Auburn University’s School of Kinesiology. His work is focused on the role of lactate in skeletal muscle and whole-body metabolism. He is the author or co-author of more than 75 refereed research articles and reviews, and his investigative work has attracted research funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, NATO and private research foundations. Dr. Gladden has served as president of the southeast chapter of ACSM, a member of the ACSM Board of Trustees and he is currently the editor-in-chief of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise_®. He was the recipient of an ACSM Citation Award in 2015 in recognition of his significant contributions to sports medicine and the exercise sciences. 

Jeffrey A. Potteiger, PhD, FACSM, is dean of the graduate school at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and professor in the Department of Movement Science. He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University, his M.S. degree from McDaniel College, and his B.S. degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He has more than 100 published research articles, books, and book chapters much of which have involved work with students. Dr. Potteiger recently published the 3^rd edition of the textbook titled ACSM’s Introduction to Exercise Science. Dr. Potteiger serves as the GVSU authorizing institutional official for all research activities and as the university’s research integrity officer. Dr. Potteiger serves on the editorial boards of several journals and as the chair of the ACSM’s Publications Committee. His broad research interest is in how physical activity and nutrition influence health and disease. Much of Dr. Potteiger’s recent research activity has been focused on the role of exercise and dietary intake on the use of carbohydrates and fats by the body.

It is back-to-school time and this often means a new schedule and more small trips, especially with children. This is also a good time of year to establish new routines like using active transportation, which has many co-benefits including improved physical and mental health as well as environmental and economic savings. Incorporating active transportation with kids and around their schedules can be a wonderful opportunity to role model healthy living. As health professionals, we want to promote all types of physical activity, and active transportation can help prevent climate change, too.  This can be a more challenging behavior for some, but it does not have to be all or none. It may take a while to gradually increase your participation in active transportation, but starting small can help you add a new behavior. 

Here are some strategies you can use to begin incorporating active transportation into your daily life with children (or furry ones):

• Walk/bike with kids to school. (Safe Routes to School)
• Weekend errands/outings.
• Drive child to lessons and park car; walk to errands from there.
• Start with shorter walkable distances then progress to bicycling if desired or try other human-powered modes such as scooters, skateboards, or roller blades.
• Many businesses are dog friendly —walk your dog to get morning coffee. ("Dog Walking is Good for You", NYT 2018)

Work-related/on your own strategies:

• “Free Ride Fridays” Emission-free bike/walk to work. Fridays tend to be a bit more relaxed in relation to schedule and dress codes.
• Drive most of the distance of a trip, then park and walk/bike last mile (or half mile or two miles).
• From work, walk to lunch or errands during the day as you may be closer to resources near work than at home.
• Ride/walk to fitness center, park, other physical activity —no worries about being sweaty (I regularly ride to yoga).
• Consider practicing walking or bicycling a route at a quieter time of day/week when there is less time pressure to determine best commuting time and route.

The type of active transportation may vary with lifestyle/family. Before children, I rode my bicycle for most errands in town (supermarket, farmers market, pharmacy, bank, cafes) and commuted to work 1-2 days per week in fair weather. With young kids, I pulled them along in a bike trailer. Now with older kids, we will ride together for errands, to the park (or to get ice cream!) or will walk to school. My community does not have many sidewalks, so it has meant waiting until my children were old enough to properly navigate our winding rural roads. Advocating for walking and bicycling infrastructure (sidewalks, crosswalks, protected bike lanes, etc.) will increase safety, accessibility and convenience, so attend your local planning and zoning committee meetings. Take any opportunity to prevent further climate change and protect our health by incorporating active transportation, even in small steps.

Check out ACSM’s “Getting Started With Cycling” info sheet for help selecting a bike, helmet, and clothing that will lead to a more enjoyable and successful trip.

Want more information on walking and biking for transportation and how it benefits health, helps mitigate climate change, and boosts the economy? Explore resources and webinars on the ActivEarth webpage.

Melissa W. Roti, Ph.D., FACSM, ACSM-EP, GEI
Professor, Director Exercise Science Program
Westfield State University
Member, ActivEarth Task Force
On Twitter: @MelissaRoti

BREAKING NEWS Legislation would help consumers reduce cost of fitness and sports activity, equipment

(Indianapolis)- The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed House Resolution 6199, the Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018, by a vote of 277-142. The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act, a bill that provides Americans with the ability to invest in active, healthy activities that promote improved health, was included as part of H.R. 6199. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration. 

The PHIT Act, sponsored by representatives Jason Smith (R-MO) and Ron Kind (D-WI), would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a medical care tax deduction in health savings accounts for up to $1,000 ($500 single filer) of qualified sports and fitness expenses per year. The bill defines "qualified sports and fitness expenses" as amounts paid exclusively for the sole purpose of participating in a physical activity, including fitness facility memberships, physical exercise or activity programs, and safety equipment for a physical exercise or activity program. 

“The number of individuals not meeting physical activity guidelines is staggering, and cost has become a barrier for too many Americans,” said Jim Whitehead, CEO and Executive Vice President for the American College of Sports Medicine. “The PHIT Act will lower this barrier and help move more Americans from inactive to active, addressing a critical health issue in our culture today.”

ACSM has been actively involved in advocating for the PHIT Act through direct advocacy, its annual Capitol Hill Day and Action Alerts, and it will push for its adoption into law. As the bill continues down the legislative path, ACSM will work with Congress to ensure that the legislation meets its intended goals of creating health care policy that promotes active, healthy lifestyles. 

For updates on this and other legislation supported by ACSM, be sure to follow @ACSMAdvocacy on Twitter.