As a Certified Fitness Professional, keeping up your education is probably the single most important aspect of ensuring success in your business next to providing the best care possible for your clients. Virtually every profession requires continuing education, and the Personal Training profession should be no exception. As a fitness professional, your clients and their families entrust their bodies and lives to you, and turn to you for questions and advice. You must be able to provide them with accurate, current information, and the only way to do that is to continue your education. ISSA was the first fitness certification organization to require CEUs and the first to develop specialized certification programs for fitness professionals.

CEU Requirements

The ISSA requires a minimum of 20 CEUs or Continuing Education Units to be earned every 2 years to maintain certification. CEUs can be obtained through ISSA or any approved CEU provider. CEUs earned in excess of the required amount cannot be carried over for the next 2 year period. Certifications will not be renewed unless the CEU requirement has been met.

CPR/AED Requirements

All ISSA certified trainers are REQUIRED to keep a current basic adult Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Certification (aka CPR/AED certification). If your CPR/AED Certification expires before your ISSA Certification you are responsible for updating your CPR/AED Certification status. Trainers who are NOT CPR/AED Certified while training clients are liable. Do not risk your career because of an expired CPR/AED. Please contact your nearest American Red Cross or American Heart Association for a list of classes in your area.

ATTENTION: Out of country CPR/AED Certification cards are accepted. If the card is written in a language other than English, it will need to be translated to English and notarized. CPR/AED Certification cards that are not officially translated will not be accepted.

NOTE: All CPR/AED Certification cards are subject to verification.

Reporting CEU's

ISSA members are responsible for reporting their CEUs at the time of renewal. CEUs are reported and verified by the submission of the CEU Report Form along with photocopies of documentation of completion/attendance (do not send originals). Acceptable documentation would include copies of certificates of completion, transcripts, or other forms of official documentation where the number of credits/hours can be verified. The CEU Report Form can be located at the back of the Renewal Packet.

Renewal Requirements

If you have an ISSA Certification due for renewal, please download the Renewal Packet. You will need to have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher to open the applications. Acrobat Reader is available on Adobe's website.

Please submit the Renewal Application along with the CEU Report Form, documentation of continuing education units (CEUs), a copy (front and back) of current CPR certification card, and the renewal fee*. You can submit your renewal application and requirements via mail or fax. For more information, email Irica Tellez (itellez@issaonline.com) in the Continuing Education Department.

Failure to Meet CEU Requirements

CEU’s are a requirement to maintain certification status. Failure to meet the CEU requirement at the time of renewal will result in the forfeiture of a certification. Once the requirements are met you may submit the complete application with the late fee (if applicable). Please review the Renewal packet and then contact ISSA’s Continuing Education Department for information.

* All renewal fees are non-refundable.