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The International Fitness Professionals Association, IFPA is a certifying body for personal trainers and fitness professionals worldwide. The IFPA was founded by Dr. James Bell in 1994 and since then has certified over 300,000 individuals. Besides the Personal Trainer Certification, the IFPA also offers sports nutrition certification, special populations Certification, military specialist certification and group fitness instructor certification. It offers over 70 different Certifications and Continuing Education Courses.
The IFPA requires individuals to take a closed book, proctored exam. It is recommended to take at least 4–6 weeks to study for the exam. Once the individual passes the exam, they are officially an IFPA certified trainer. The IFPA requires their trainers to renew their certification every two years. The IFPA offers several options for trainers to renew, from taking another certification, CEUS, fitbits, outside sources or fitness events. The IFPA continues to release new certifications and CEUS each year. The most recent release was the Open Water Swimming Continuing Education Course.