The American Council on Exercise (ACE), one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the world, today announced a long-term partnership with IDEA Health and Fitness Association, a leading membership organization of health and fitness professionals. The partnership, which will include multiple initiatives over the coming months, is intended to benefit the fitness industry as a whole by allowing both ACE and IDEA to offer expanded resources for education, training and professional growth.

“We are thrilled to embark on a strategic partnership with an industry peer as highly respected as IDEA,” said Scott Goudeseune, ACE president and CEO. “This joint venture demonstrates our ongoing commitment to enriching quality of life through safe and effective exercise and physical activity, and is just the first of many exciting things to come. We look forward to collaborating with IDEA to better serve the health and fitness industry as well as continue to provide valuable resources for our members.”

ACE and IDEA’s partnership will kick off with co-branded continuing education courses (CECs) delivered in an exciting new video-on-demand format. The first in the series of CEC programs will be taped at and available immediately following the 2009 IDEA World Fitness Convention, to be held August 12-16, in Anaheim, California. The courses will be available as individual online video CEC courses and as a 2009 IDEA World Fitness Convention Online Video Package.

“This is an exciting first step in what we are confident will be an extremely beneficial relationship for the fitness industry,” said Peter Davis, CEO and co-founder of IDEA. “IDEA and ACE are both dedicated to improving the health and fitness of all individuals, and we are proud to pair with a fellow industry leader in achieving shared goals through the ongoing education and training of fitness professionals.”

ACE and IDEA plan to announce additional components of the partnership over the months to come.

IDEA Health & Fitness Association is the world’s leading membership organization of fitness and wellness professionals with more than 23,000 members in over 80 countries. For more information, click here.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s premier certification, education and training organization, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting consumers against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction. For more information on ACE and its programs, call 800.825.3636 or go to www.acefitness.org.