I woke up at 6:30 two Sundays ago and made the hour drive to Merrimack, NH to attend R.I.P.P.E.D. certification training. It was a long, sweaty day but so much fun!

Before we get started…what is R.I.P.P.E.D.? I have blogged about my love for this class a few times and explained the group fitness class here. The website explains it like this:

“Total body “plateau proof fitness formula” workout, utilizing resistance and cardio training, which masterfully combines Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometrics, Endurance, and Diet components of R.I.P.P.E.D. to help you attain and maintain your physique in ways that are fun, safe, doable and extremely effective.”

(source)

And why get certified? I have been taking this class on and off for over 3 years years and I have never gotten sick of it. I think that speaks volumes to the creators of this program. Teaching group classes has always been something I have wanted to do so I made the leap of faith and went for it. Now – I just need someone to hire me! And now for a recap of the certification training.

• Do you need to be a certified personal training or certified group exercise instructor to teach R.I.P.P.E.D.?

No, but I am studying for the CPT through NASM and taking the exam in June. My class had mostly fitness class instructors and one other hopeful like me. It was great to not be the one who had no experience teaching.

• How much does it cost?

I locked in at the early bird pricing of $229. The regular price is $279 and the ay of price is $309. With my fee came not only 8 hours of amazing instruction but an instructor manual, a DVD of Season 16 (R.I.P.P.E.D. releases new workouts each season), and some swag.

• How long is the training?

I arrived at the YMCA where the training was taking place at 8:45 am, 15 minutes before the training began. We started promptly at 9:00 am and ended promptly at 5:00 pm. We did break for 30 minutes for lunch around 2:00 pm which was much needed. I was starving!

• What did you wear?

I wore a Under Armour tank, lulu capris, my new Tone It Up socks, and a pair of cross-trainers. I packed a very similar outfit to change into along with a hoodie because I always get cold after working out. Our master training advised us to bring a change of clothes in an email she sent a couple days before the training. Thank god for this because I was SO sweaty after taking her class.

• What did you bring with you?

I packed up my backpack with my change of clothes, a pen to take notes, lots of snacks (chia pudding, an apple, almond butter), 2 water bottles (my bobble and one that infuses fruit), cleansing/make-up remover towelettes, a heart rate monitor, and deodorant. I wish I had packed a more substantial lunch maybe a salad with some chicken. Our master training, Jenna, gave us little packets of Simply Balanced Fruit Bites which I dug into right after our class.

• How was the training formatted?

The training was lead by a R.I.P.P.E.D. master training (Hi Jenna!) and included the following

• Introductions – It was nice to learn a little about the others getting certified
• Overview
• Master class – This was awesome!
• Learning
• Lunch
• Learning
• Exam
• Questions

The day honestly went by so fast. Jenna made sure to keep things moving but also allowed for questions of all kinds.

• Do you have to teach in front of a group during the certification class?

No, but the master trainer did ask for volunteers to come up and practice cues and proper body alignment/body form techniques.

• How long does the R.I.P.P.E.D. certification last?

Two years. Unless you join what they call the Huddle. Paying a small monthly fee keeps your certification current.

• Does the certification count towards CEUs for other fitness certifications?

Yes. ACE (.8), AFAA (7.5), NASM (.8)

And that concludes the longest blog post EVER. I don’t think I missed anything but if I did, let me know in the comments!

Happy Friday and happy almost weekend!