I am pleased, but not surprised, that group training has climbed up the trend list this year. I credit the onslaught of fitness boutique studios dedicated to a variety of group fitness classes ranging from indoor cycling to boot camp, obstacle courses, yoga, Pilates and ballet barre fitness programs. Boutique studios have taken what's old and made it new again by breeding small communities of like-minded people and bonding them through activity. It's like finding the right group to sit with in the high school cafeteria. You belong. You have friends. And guess what? You are cool.

When I first came into the industry, the fitness landscape was full of boutique studios catering to a select clientele and touting the very best instructors. Eventually, these studios were eaten up by big box clubs only to be born again decades later. The interesting phenomenon this time around is that we have added technology and more athleticism, attracting a different breed of instructor. Say hello to your "hybrid trainer." This breed of fitness professional can train individuals, coach groups and motivate the masses.

I believe this decade is marked by the evolution of the group fitness professional. In the past, group instructors were dancers who snapped their fingers to the bass beat while strutting their choreographic, heart-pounding aerobics masterpieces to their devoted following. Today's market allows for a broader approach - you can find a specialty class catering to just about any workout style in a community of people who will make it fun, keep you accountable and have similar musical preferences. Clients are using boutiques to supplement their big box or traditional fitness center experiences, so both fitness gyms and studios are seeing a surge in group fitness.

Since group fitness is my professional passion, I am happy to see it flourishing. Get your group on. Try a class.

Group training finished in the second spot in ACSM's Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2018. Group training or group exercise classes are a format taught for more than five participants. Group training moved up from a number six finish in 2017. Read more about the 2018 Fitness Trends here.

Grace DeSimone is the editor of the American College of Sport Medicine's Resources for the Group Exercise Instructor. She also serves on the Executive Council of the ACSM Committee on Certification and Registry Board, and as Chair of the ACSM-Certified Group Fitness Instructor Sub-Committee.

NEW: How to renew your ACSM Certification for 2019 and beyond - Essential Update

Below was the process for 2018 and earlier.

As a health fitness professional, we know how important it is for your career to stay up-to-date - whether it's keeping up with the latest exercise discoveries, stretching yourself to learn new skills for your clients, or even adding a new specialty to your repertoire.

Keeping your ACSM certification active is an important part of being the gold standard of your industry. And, renewing your ACSM certification is quick and easy. Here's what you need:

1. Double-check the Continuing Education Credits (CECs) needed to renew your certification. Need a few more? Check out our Continuing Education site.
2. A current CPR Certification.
3. Recertification fee

To renew your certification online, please visit www.acsm.org and follow the below instructions.  You also have the option of submitting the paper form by mail, email or fax.

1. Click this box: 
2. Enter your username and password. If you haven't created a unique username and password for your ACSM account, your default username and password will be the first three letters of your last name and your ACSM ID number (e.g. - ABC123456), and your password will be your ACSM ID number (e.g. - 123456). If you do not know your username and login DO NOT create one. (This is very important as creating a new profile will not allow you to recertify within that profile and result in multiple profiles.) Click the Forgot Password link and reset your password. Passwords must be at least 7 characters in length and must include at least 1 letter and at least 1 number. Contact membership@acsm.org or certification@acsm.org if you have any issues.
3. Once you are signed in, you will see your name underlined on the right-hand side. Click your name.
4. Click My Certifications: 
5. You should see your certification listed here. Click Renew Now. 
6. Please verify that your name, mailing address and email address are current at the top of the renewal form. If not, please exit the form and click the About Me tab to update. If your contact information is correct, proceed to enter the number of CECs you have earned. Be sure you enter the minimum amount  required for your certification or you will not be able to proceed. 
7.  Click the box to attest that your CPR is current and the CECs you claimed above are true. 
8. Click the certification renewal fee box to add it to your cart. 
9. Add it to your cart and submit your order. 
10. Enter your payment information and submit your order. 
11.  Print or save your confirmation page for your records. 
12. You will receive a new certificate and wallet card in the mail. Please keep your CEC documentation just in case you are chosen in a random audit. 

Viewpoints presented in this blog reflect opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of ACSM.

Substantial evidence demonstrates the importance of physical activity (PA) for protecting against cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, but not all physical activity is created equally. In fact, higher intensity physical activity and exercise, which increases heart rate more so than lower intensity exercise, may have greater effect to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and all-cause and CVD mortality.

Recently a new technology, Personalized Activity Intelligence (PAI) was introduced as a means to define optimal levels of PA to protect against CVD and all-cause mortality. Watch the webinar.

Below are some questions from webinar attendees:

Q- Based on the max per day (75 PAI), does this mean that for excessive exercisers, maxing out 7x/wk for a total of 525 PAI, that this would still be in an optimal health range, or is this too high above optimal PAI?

The goal of maintaining 100 PAI or greater across a 7-day window is the optimal prescription for reducing risk of lifestyle diseases. Once you have exceeded 100 PAI, going beyond that does not promote additional risk reduction, but it can certainly improve aerobic performance and metabolic efficiency.

Q- Can one do too much high-intensity training? Can you speak to those who race almost every weekend and move from one sport to another and never take a break (bicycle racer Leonard Zinn, for example, ending up in atrial fib)? I am around many amateurs who race bicycles, then cyclocross, then Nordic skiing and are doing a lot of high-intensity training. Is there a point of detriment? Should there be more periodization?

PAI was developed with the goal of helping people to achieve maximum health benefits and reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases. It is not necessarily a training paradigm for sport. Periodization is certainly important when training to peak performance precisely before a race. Modulating between volume and intensity is important to build your endurance base but also to become accustomed to "race pace."

Q- Can PAI be used like MY Zone for HR tracking in group training sessions?

Absolutely; however, PAI currently isn't available on a group training platform. We are working on some partnerships that will integrate PAI into other systems.

Q- Can you be a bit more detailed about the algorithm that calculates PAI?

PAI uses the individual's Max HR and Resting HR to create a Heart Rate Reserve whereby heart rate intensity is calculated and then converted into a PAI Score. The daily PAI score is scaled across a 7-day rolling window with the optimal goal of staying above 100 PAI. For more detailed information you can review the PAI study that was published in The American Journal of Medicine.

Q- Could PAI be safely used by patients taking medications that affect heart rate, such as beta blockers?

Ultimately, anyone who is at risk should consult a physician before engaging in any exercise program. Since one of PAI's inputs is Max HR, which will be blunted as a result of taking beta blockers, we don't specifically recommend the use of PAI. We are currently exploring PAI for a variety of clinical scenarios which should be made available later in 2018.

Q- Do the older Mio trackers (Fuse, Alpha 2) calculate PAI scores?

The Mio FUSE and Mio ALPHA 2 are able to stream heart rate to our PAI app to calculate PAI scores.

Q- Do you believe some groups may be more motivated by their PAI (younger, participants in circuit training) compared with older individuals or those whose primary exercise is walking. Does it have to be running or can it be cardiovascular exercise of any kind (for example -- step aerobics)?

PAI is ideal for anyone who is interested in leading a healthy lifestyle and who could also use help in understanding how much physical activity is enough to achieve optimal health benefits. It also provides motivation for those who don't exercise very often, encouraging them to be more consistent, since the PAI metric reminds them if they are not doing enough. It can be beneficial to people across all ages and lifestyles, and since it isn't based on steps, any activity can contribute to PAI - as long as it gets your heart rate up. Older individuals who rely on walking as their primary exercise can benefit, as they may learn that they need to increase the pace or incline to get their heart rate up during their walks.

Q- Does PAI coincide with the ATP or Kreb cycle energy system use?

PAI is related to intensity which drives improvements in aerobic performance. Aerobic performance improvements have been directly linked to reductions in lifestyle diseases. So PAI is the personalized dose to improve an individual's VO2 to a level which optimizes risk reduction.

Q- Given the HR variability with wrist-based measurement, is this an accurate way to assess intensity?

Typically, the current generation of optical heart rate sensors are adequate to calculate PAI. You also can stream Bluetooth compatible chest straps to the PAI app if there are further concerns around accuracy.

Q- Has there been research on use of PAI in cardiac rehab patients and their rehab outcomes?

This is currently in progress.

Q- How can I compute my PAI with the watch I already have (Garmin Vivofit Active HR)? Or any other HR watch?

We are working on extending PAI to be compatible with other heart rate tracking devices; however, there is currently no way to calculate PAI beyond using our Mio SLICE product or streaming a Bluetooth compatible device to our PAI app. You can sign up on this page, to be notified when we make PAI available on the Apple Watch® and other devices.

Q- How could physical activity guidelines be revised to consider PAI?

We continue to build strong relationships with the leaders in this space who create physical activity guidelines and hope that someday PAI will become the new standard of measurement of physical activity.

Q- How does the adaptive part of PAI work? That is, when an individual has gains in cardiorespiratory fitness, how will the algorithm adapt to ensure 100 PAI is still giving the same stimulus?

PAI is calculated based on your profile information, Max HR and Resting Heart Rate (RHR). The key metric which ultimately changes with increased exercise is a decrease in RHR. So, as you become more fit, RHR will decrease which results in a larger heart rate reserve (HRmax - HRrest) meaning that it will require more intensity to generate more PAI. The reverse also happens with detraining.

Q- How many days per week are suggested to achieve the 100 PAI per session?

We ensure that users need to exercise a minimum of 2x week to achieve 100 PAI, as a result of the maximum daily limit of 75 PAI. We typically find that individuals exercising for 30 mins/day at a moderate intensity can maintain 100 PAI, but individuals also can do high intensity workouts 2x week and maintain over 100 PAI. PAI gives people flexibility depending on what they like to do, their fitness level, and how it fits into their lifestyle.

Q- How reliable is the heart rate wrist monitor in the wearable Mio SLICE compared to thoracic heart rate monitors?

Typically, the current generation of optical heart rate monitors available on the market, including SLICE, have adequate accuracy to calculate PAI. A typical standard is to be within +/- 5 bpm 90 percent of the time when compared to a chest strap. Wrist-based devices typically perform better in endurance types of activities.

Q- If the PAI score is only generated by looking at heart rate data over the course of a day/week, how are elevated heart rates induced by exercise (good stress) and sickness or other bad stressors differentiated from each other?

Significant amounts of PAI points are only generated at moderate to high heart rate intensities so somewhat elevated heart rates attributed to stress or sickness will not have a meaningful impact on the total PAI score.

Q- Is the intention of this technology to be geared toward a public mainstream gadget, an exercise physiologist or personal trainer use, or clinical use?

The intent is for PAI to become the new standard in activity tracking and lifestyle medicine that becomes adopted and endorsed by practitioners and all parties within the health care industry. Part of this adoption plan is to create an engaging experience for the end user and to make it available through as many devices as possible.

Q- Is there a way to calculate PAI without the device?

Unfortunately, no. Heart rate data is a requirement to calculate PAI. PAI will be available through other devices that track heart rate, beyond SLICE, in 2018.

Q- Is this Mio SLICE waterproof? If so, how does the device correlate to aquatic sports?

Mio SLICE is water resistant up to 30 m and can be used for swimming.

Q- So if you achieved the 100 PAI in 2 days, the benefits are still there?

That is correct; you are maximally protected with a PAI score of 100 or above no matter how frequently you exercise or at what intensity it took to get you there.

Q- The Mio SLICE tracks heart rate. Is it using an infrared sensor? Is that as accurate as wearing a chest sensor?

Mio SLICE uses photoplethysmogram (PPG), 2 green LEDs and 1 optical sensor, to calculate heart rate. A typical standard is to be with +/- 5 bpm 90 percent of the time when compared to a chest strap.

Q- Would exercisers get the same benefit from aerobically vigorous bike riding as running?

Some people cannot tolerate the pounding on the knees that comes with running, so I'm wondering if cyclists would realize similar benefit with respect to morbidity and mortality. The key differentiator to other metrics which quantify physical activity is that PAI uses heart rate to calculate its score. Any activity which elevates your heart rate counts-it is universal.

Fitness professionals all over the world have asked me how to get more referrals for personal training, small group training, and large group training. My response is always the same - you have to do some marketing to get your name in front of people. The follow-up are numerous excuses but the one that rings true is the financial impact. Fitness professionals rarely have enough income to launch a good marketing plan. The return on investment is just not there for large-scale marketing.

Most fitness professionals don't know that your certification organization is already marketing for you! Members organizations of the Coalition for the Registry of Exercise Professionals® (CREP^®) include The Cooper Institute (CI), American Council on Exercise (ACE), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and Pilates Method Alliance (PMA). The JCC Association and the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) are both affiliate societies to CREP^®. The mission of CREP^® is "…to secure recognition of registered exercise professionals for their distinct roles in medical, health, fitness and sports performance fields." The Registry is not just a list of names, but can be used by consumers, employers, referring professionals, referring organizations, and regulatory boards.

USREPS^® (www.usreps.org) was launched in 2014 by the member organizations of CREP^®. It is the first registry of fitness professionals in the U.S. It displays all of the current NCCA-accredited or ANSI-accredited certifications that any one individual holds. By virtue of holding a certification by any of these certification organizations a fitness professional would appear in the Registry. The Registry can be used in a number of ways ranging from certification confirmation to prompting a physician to find qualified fitness professionals in the community. For example, if a consumer wanted to find a qualified personal trainer in his/her community, the Registry would be helpful because it can be sorted by name, state, city, or zip code. Or, a physician wants to find a clinical exercise physiologist in the community, the Registry can be sorted to find them.

USREPS^® is a member of the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPS). An international united voice covering eight countries and five continents allows for portability of the certification all over the world. There are now over a quarter million fitness professionals that belong to ICREPS by virtue of their membership on USREPS^®. 
It makes great sense for CREP^® organizations to work together. No single certification organization can do the necessary marketing by themselves. Fitness professionals should use the Registry in order for it to become the place where qualified professionals can be found. Go to www.usreps.org for more information and try out the Registry while you're there.

Many people may wonder why an article from a scientific journal should be considered more credible than one from a magazine on the grocery shelf. The most basic reason is peer review. But what is peer review?

When a scientist performs a research study, analyzes his/her data, and writes a manuscript, he/she will submit the work to a journal in hopes of having it published. Any respected scientific journal will subject these manuscripts to a rigorous review by scientific experts (the author's peers) prior to publishing.

Here is the typical series of events in the life of a manuscript:

1. The journal receives a submission. The first step is to check to see if it has followed the journal’s guidelines for formatting.

    

2. The Editor-in-Chief of the journal looks at the manuscript to see if it is worthy of further consideration. A few manuscripts are rejected at this stage for a variety of reasons: it’s not a good fit for the journal’s audience, poor methods, lack of new information.

    

3. If the manuscript passes this first simple test, the Editor-in-Chief will assign it to an Associate Editor who has expertise in the area of the manuscript. This Associate Editor will make his/her own additional assessment regarding whether the information in the manuscript is sufficiently new or important enough to warrant a full peer review.

    

4. If the manuscript passes this assessment, it is usually assigned to 2-3 reviewers (peers) who are experts in the area of research reported in the manuscript. These reviewers then perform a very detailed critique of the manuscript, including consideration of: the subject population, methods employed, appropriate analysis of the results (both statistics and interpretation) and novelty and uniqueness of the study. The reviewers especially consider if the study increases our knowledge about the topic being investigated. They then rank the manuscript in terms of overall quality.

    

5. The critiques of the expert reviewers are then returned to the Associate Editor who carefully considers this feedback and decides whether to reject the manuscript, or to allow the authors an opportunity to revise it.

    

   By far, most rejections occur at this stage.

6. If the Associate Editor allows revision, the revised manuscript will undergo the same rigorous scientific review that the original manuscript received, and most likely will ultimately be accepted.

For many high-quality journals, no more than 25% of the submitted manuscripts make their way to acceptance and publication in the journal. The rigor of this process leads some scientists to say that a career in science is a lifetime career of negative reinforcement. Scientists are constantly receiving critiques of their work. Rarely would the first response to a submitted manuscript be, “Wow, this is really great!” However, these critiques are what make peer reviewed articles so reliable, and they protect the integrity of the scientific community.

ACSM published five scholarly journals. You can learn more about those publications and read articles here. 

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.