Become a Group Fitness Instructor in 8 Weeks
September 14 to November 6, 2026
Go from thinking about teaching to standing in front of a room and leading a class. Eight weeks of guided learning, live coaching, and real practice teaching, built on the ACE Group Fitness Instructor curriculum.
$199 early bird through September 1. 25 seats.
Reserve Your Seat
What You Walk Away With
Not a certificate of attendance. Evidence that you can teach.
A Class Blueprint
A complete class you designed yourself, warm-up through cool-down, with modifications planned in.
15 Minutes of You Teaching
A full class segment you planned, taught, and recorded. Proof you can hold a room, not a promise that you could.
Real Coaching
Direct feedback from an instructor who has spent ten years developing new instructors.
An Exam Date
A study plan and a date on the calendar for your ACE certification, at exclusive student pricing.
Wanting to Teach Is Not the Same as Knowing How
Most people who want to lead group fitness are told to shadow a few classes and figure it out. Maybe there is a weekend workshop. Then someone hands them a mic and a room full of people.
That is why so many new instructors feel like they are guessing:
- You know the movements, but not how to cue them so people actually follow
- You can put together a workout, but not a class that flows
- You are not sure what to do when someone needs a modification
- You have never thought through what happens if someone gets hurt
This program is built for people who want to teach and would rather be prepared than thrown in.
A Real Pathway, Not a Weekend Workshop
The Group Fitness Instructor Training Program is an 8-week hybrid cohort. You move through it alongside a group of people starting where you are starting, not alone in a video library.
Every week gives you three things:
- Guided online lessons you complete on your own schedule
- A live virtual coaching session with your cohort
- Something you practice and get real feedback on
By the final week you will have taught in front of people more than once and been coached on it every time. That is the difference between finishing a course and being ready to lead one.
You finish prepared to sit for the NCCA-accredited ACE Group Fitness Instructor certification exam, and prepared to walk into an audition.
Meet Your Instructor
Below is the actual opening lesson from the program, not a trailer. Tori introduces herself, walks through how the program works, and makes the case for why group fitness matters.
Tori Lord has spent more than 10 years in collegiate recreation developing student instructors and building inclusive fitness programs. She has presented nationally at IDEA, teaches reformer Pilates, serves as an educational consultant for Globetrotter Wellness Solutions, and is a Program Specialist for Fit Pro Programming.
She built this program to replace the informal shadowing most new instructors are given with something structured. You will work with her directly in the live sessions every week.
What Makes This Different
Four things most instructor training does not give you.
Built on the ACE Curriculum
Every module maps to the ACE Group Fitness Instructor material, chapter by chapter. You are not studying twice.
Live Coaching Every Week
Not a video library you work through alone. A real session with your cohort and your instructor, every week for eight weeks.
You Teach Early
Your first teaching assignment comes in the first few weeks, not at the end. Confidence is built from reps.
Better Pricing on What Comes Next
Exclusive student pricing on your ACE certification exam, plus discounted specialty certifications through select partners.
How the Program Works
Eight weeks, hybrid, moving as a cohort. Here is what a week actually looks like.
Weekly Modules
Short video lessons and guided activities on exercise science, class design, coaching, and professional responsibilities. Modules release weekly so you stay in step with your cohort.
Live Coaching
Thursdays, 6 to 8pm ET. Two hours to practice teaching, ask questions, and get feedback in real time from your instructor and your cohort. Every session is recorded.
Practice That Builds
Your first assignment is a three-minute warm-up. By the end you are teaching a full 15-minute segment with modifications, coached on every one.
Materials You Keep
A fillable workbook for every module with reflection prompts and planning space, plus the slide decks from your sessions. Yours to keep and reuse once you start teaching.
The Curriculum
Ten modules: an orientation plus nine core modules, mapped chapter by chapter to the ACE Group Fitness Instructor curriculum. Tap any module to see what it covers.
Orientation: Get Started
Module 1: Step Into the Role
Module 2: Movement and Exercise Science
Module 3: Structure and Lead a Class
Module 4: Design Safe and Effective Workouts
Module 5: Coach and Engage Participants
Module 6: Teaching in Different Environments
Module 7: Modify for Diverse Participants
Module 8: Safety and Professional Responsibility
Module 9: Launch Your Instructor Career
What's Included
Same program either way. The only difference is when you enroll.
Course runs September 14 to November 6, 2026. Limited to 25 seats.
One thing worth being clear about: your ACE eBook is included, a $100 value. Registration for the ACE certification exam itself is purchased separately from ACE, and as a program participant you get access to exclusive student pricing on it. Module 9 walks you through exactly how and when to register.
Questions People Ask
Do I need to be certified already?
Do I have to be a college student?
When are the live sessions, and what if I cannot make one?
Is the ACE certification exam included?
Do I need CPR and AED certification first?
I have never taught anything. Is that a problem?
What happens after the program ends?
Sending a Group From Your Department?
Campus recreation departments use this program to build a real instructor pipeline instead of retraining from scratch every semester: a consistent onboarding pathway, more consistent class quality, less staff time spent training new student employees, and more programming capacity.
Team seats are the same price as individual seats and can be purchased as a block. Grab the flyer to print or forward to your student staff.
Still deciding?
Enrollment is open and the cohort is capped at 25 seats. Early bird pricing holds at $199 through September 1.
If you are not ready yet, join the list and we will send you the full module schedule, live session details, and a reminder before the price goes up. No obligation, and you will not miss the deadline.
Keep me posted
Enter your details and we will send you the schedule and a reminder before early bird pricing ends.
