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The field of health and fitness personal training is a rapidly growing occupation for individuals who desire a career in a health profession. Consequently highly qualified health and fitness technicians and instructors are in demand within the health industry. Pierce College’s Diagnostic Health and Fitness Technician/Instructor (DHFT) program provides a comprehensive curriculum yielding an Associate of Arts Degree and a Diagnostic Health and Fitness Technician/Instructor certificate.
A Diagnostic Health and Fitness Technician/Instructor certification combined with Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) provides an excellent foundation for a variety of health related careers:
- Personal Fitness Trainer
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Education
- Exercise Science
- Kinesiology
- Athletic Training
- Physiology
- Sports Management
- Exercise Physiology
- Human Performance
- Health Science
- Recreation Management/Science
- Nutrition
- Public Health
- Health Promotion
(Further education and/or certification may be required for any or all the above)
The DHFT has knowledge and skills in management and administration and training and supervising entry-level personnel. The DHFT is skilled in conducting risk stratification, conducting health assessments (including open-circuit indirect calorimetric - SubMax and Max VO2, RMR, Anaerobic Threshold and hydrostatic weighing), physical fitness assessments and interpreting results, constructing appropriate exercise prescriptions and motivating apparently healthy individuals with medically controlled diseases to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors.
