Functional Aging Specialist

Because physical function doesn’t have to decline with age.

Learn how to develop a comprehensive functional training program for older clients – from the initial assessment and exercise choice to workout plan design – that is based on the Functional Aging Training model.

How It Works

What You'll Learn

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What is Functional Aging?

There has never been more of a need or an opportunity for health and fitness professionals to work with older adults than ever before. As the global population of mature adults continues to grow exponentially, most older adults have begun to recognize that they need to exercise regularly in order to stay healthy and functional yet, most of them don’t know what to do, how to do it, or where to start. Functional Aging teaches the different needs, interests, and desires that older adults want to help them continue to be healthy and functional as long as possible. While eliminating the myths, misconceptions, and negative stereotypes about aging and the incorrect perspectives in working with the mature population. Bridge the gap between health and age, by training clients safely and effectively while teaching the world that old age can be fun, exhilarating, active, functional, healthy, and engaging as long as you live a healthy lifestyle.

What You’ll Learn From This Course

This course teaches health and fitness professionals how to work with older clients in a way that improves their ability to engage in everyday activities. Upon completion of the Functional Aging Specialist Certification Course, you will:

Develop a clearer understanding of what functional aging and functional fitness are, along with why this training methodology is so important for people aged 55 and up
Know how to conduct and analyze a functional fitness assessment to learn more about your older fitness clients’ abilities to perform common everyday physical movements
Be able to implement the techniques and strategies that are foundational to the Functional Aging Training model, helping clients improve their physical function as they get older
Recognize the importance of properly preparing clients for functional exercise through specific movement routines as opposed to doing traditional cardio warm-up
Gain the skills needed to teach aging clients functional exercises, also helping them perform the necessary movements in a way that won’t aggravate their pre-existing conditions
Have the knowledge required to create a safe and effective functional exercise program for older adults with a range of physical abilities

Older Woman In Yoga Class Doing Yoga Pose

How You Can Use It:

Functional fitness involves doing exercises that mimic everyday movements, ultimately making these movements easier to perform. For example, squats are similar to the way you move when lifting a heavy item off the floor. So, doing this exercise improves your ability to perform this common daily activity. Plus, research has found that engaging in a functional exercise program 2 to 3 times per week provides many benefits for older adults, some of which include increased upper body strength, improved lower body flexibility, and greater agility balance.

If you want to specialize in training older adults, ISSA’s Functional Aging Specialist Certification course helps prepare you for this role. You can use the knowledge you gain to develop entire fitness programs specific to this population. Or you may decide to simply use its methodology and techniques to safely and effectively train all of your clients who are 55 and older and interested in maintaining or improving their physical function with age.

One major benefit of becoming a Functional Aging Specialist now is that your expertise will be more in demand for years, if not decades, due to the aging population. The number of people aged 60 and up is expected to double by the year 2030 according to the World Health Organization, and will likely triple by 2050. Earning this certification today places you in a good position to help this growing demographic tomorrow when they will need it most.