Two females sitting on a box in the gym laughing
A female Women's fitness specialist training a female client

WFS

Women's Fitness Specialization

Deliver safe and superior results to all your female clients! Women’s fitness needs change during different life stages, and in this specialization you’ll learn how to tailor your training and coaching to support all your female clients. As a result, you’ll help them achieve better results and empower more women to discover stronger, healthier versions of themselves.

  • Deliver better results for women by tailoring your training for their age and life stage

  • Learn the impact of hormonal changes, pregnancy, menopause, and more so you can better support your female clients

  • Discover how to tailor resistance training, cardiorespiratory workouts, flexibility training, and more to elicit better results in women

  • Motivate and support your female clients by understanding physiological and motivational differences

  • Self-paced online program makes it easy and convenient to launch your new career from home in as little as 3 weeks

  • CEU Value: 1.5 NASM

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In this specialization, you’ll gain a holistic view of women’s health—and learn how to adjust your training methods to help your female clients achieve better results. The curriculum covers everything from neuromuscular differences to pregnancy, hormone, and menopause considerations; training assessments; program design; business and professionalism; and much more. By the time you earn your specialization, you’ll be a much more effective fitness professional for all your female clients.

When you choose NASM to earn your Women's Fitness Specialization, you’ll get access to:

  • • World-class fitness, nutrition, and wellness experts

  • • Peer-reviewed content from the brightest minds in the industry

  • • State-of-the-art digital learning platform designed to meet multiple learning styles

  • • A curriculum that is consistently reviewed and updated with the most up-to-date material available

See the full Women's Fitness Specialization curriculum here.

NASM’s online program makes earning your Women's Fitness Specialization as easy and convenient as can be. By completing the self-guided study materials at your own pace, you can earn your specialization and begin working with clients in as little as 3 weeks.

To earn your NASM Women's Fitness Specialization, you simply have to:

  1. 1) Enroll in the program.

  2. 2) Complete the self-guided online study materials in your own time from the comfort of home.

  3. 3) Pass the certification exam.

After completing the study materials, you’ll take an online exam to earn your Women's Fitness Specialization. This exam features:

  • • 100 multiple-choice questions

  • • 90 minutes to complete

  • • Open-book format

  • • 70% required to pass

  • • 3 test attempts included

NASM has over 35 years of experience training the world’s top fitness professionals, and we do it better than anyone else. NASM credentials stand out to employers and distinguish you as a highly trained fitness professional.

Since our formation, we’ve trained over 1.5 million fitness professionals in 100+ countries. In that time we’ve developed extensive partnerships with over 12,000 gyms and health clubs. That means we have the connections necessary to help you get in the door and gain employment from the fitness company of your dreams.

Questions? Get guidance from our Program Experts

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CURRICULUM

A fitness or wellness credential or a bachelor's degree is recommended but not required. This course is intended for certified personal trainers, wellness professionals, nutrition coaches, group fitnesss instructors, and PE teachers.

The Women’s Fitness Specialization (WFS) is a comprehensive program for fitness professionals delivered in an immersive online experience. Highlighted are the WFS program learning objectives, how to interact with the course features, and how to earn the NASM-WFS credential.

Each stage in a woman's life comes with its challenges and benefits. We’ll examine the unique physical and medical aspects of biological women to help be more aware of these stages, women-specific health issues, potential risk factors, and how these may affect exercise programming and goal setting.

An overview of the changes that happen to a woman’s body throughout her lifespan (puberty, pregnancy, and menopause).

Get an up-close look at metabolism, regulating hormones, and unique aspects of a woman’s physiology to understand weight concerns.

A close look at the physiological and anatomical considerations when working with pregnant and postnatal clients. It will also cover exercise modifications based on these changes.

A review of the physiological and anatomical considerations of perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause, and exercise modification strategies for common symptoms.

Understand the components of fitness assessments, how to implement both subjective and objective assessments, and also review assessment modifications for prenatal and menopausal clients.

This chapter unpacks the rationale behind flexibility training for women and the guidelines for training methods, including precautions for pregnant and postnatal clients.

We look over the benefits of cardiorespiratory training that helps women maintain optimal health and manage the dynamics of a changing body throughout their lifespan.

Bring the importance of core, balance, plyometric (reactive), and SAQ training techniques to the forefront.

See why resistance training and weightlifting is a vital component of women's exercise programming while understanding how to apply training guidelines and modifications to help clients achieve their goals.

This chapter shows you how to take the information identified through the assessment process and design safe and effective progressive programs to meet the needs and wants of your female clients utilizing NASM’s OPT™ Model.

See how important of a role nutrition plays for women across their lifespan through general nutritional guidelines and considerations for this population while staying within a fitness professional’s scope of practice.

Explore the psychological and motivational elements to consider when working with women in a health and fitness setting. Additionally, techniques for implementing effective communication, maximizing goal setting, and improving motivation will be discussed.

We’ll break down the business and ethical responsibilities of a WFS while exploring how to market and sell these services.

After the completion of the course, you will take an online final exam from the comfort of your own home or wherever you prefer to take tests. The exam consists of 100 questions and there is a time limit of 90 minutes. You must pass with a score of 70% or better.

WOMEN'S FITNESS SPECIALIZATION FAQS

As one of the most trusted sources of fitness training certifications in the world, NASM is a distinguished name that will stand out to fitness employers. When you choose NASM for your Women's Fitness Specialization, you’ll get access to world-class fitness experts, your top choice of gyms to work for, and much more:

  • • Peer-Reviewed Content from the Brightest Minds in the Industry

  • • State-of-the-Art Digital Learning Platform

  • • Programs Designed to Meet Multiple Learning Styles

  • • 35+ Years Of Experience Training Fitness Professionals

  • • 1.5M+ Fitness Professionals Trained

  • • 100+ Countries with NASM Fitness and Coach Professionals

  • • 12K+ Gym & Health Club Partnerships

Women have different fitness needs at different life stages, and this specialization helps you tailor your coaching and training for women of all ages. As a fitness professional, half your clients will be women. It’s not hard to see how a more complete understanding of how to train women can boost your career by improving the results you’re able to deliver, while also helping to improve the lives of all your female clients.

A fitness credential is recommended, but not required, for the Women's Fitness Specialization.

You can complete your Women's Fitness Specialization in as few as 3 weeks.

Absolutely! You can complete the Women's Fitness Specialization program while also working full-time. The study material is 100% online and self-paced, and can be accessed on a computer, or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet.

The Women's Fitness Specialization final exam is taken online inside your student portal. After completing the study materials, you’ll have 365 days to take the exam. This exam features:

  • • 100 multiple-choice questions

  • • 90 minutes to complete

  • • Open-book format

  • • 70% required to pass

  • • 3 test attempts included

Don’t worry! You’ll have 3 attempts to pass the final exam, and you can purchase additional retests by calling Member Services at 1-800-460-6276.

No. Once you pass the final exam, your Women's Fitness Specialization with NASM will never expire.