This interactive, online study guide is designed to help you learn about how to work with individuals to develop their fitness through a walking and running program. It is supplemented by the Precision Heart Rate Training course text. The course is linked to several websites dedicated to walking or running. The online study guide will engage you in a series of activities that will help you design cardiorespiratory fitness programs using walking or running. In working your way through the study guide, you will assume the role of a newly fitness trainer at an insurance company's fitness center. Your 3 "day" orientation will be spent with a virtual mentor (Steve) who will introduce you to clients and ask you to interact with them as you would in a real-life situation. Your mentor will lead you through the following situations and exercises: Day 1: Goal Setting--Steve introduces you to your 6 clients. They are all new members of the fitness center and each has indicated an interest in a walking or running program. You need to understand the importance of an initial health and fitness screening for each client with whom you'll work. You'll apply a general goal category to each client based on his or her health, fitness, activity status and stated objectives. Steve helps you understand that clients may differ in terms of program goals. Steve presents you with a brief quiz at the end of the session. Day 2: Program Design--Steve wants you to incorporate all of the information you have about your clients as you design walking or running programs. You'll be expected to understand the importance of the components of an exercise program. Steve spends some time explaining the principles of program design and the guidelines for each component. You'll determine the general fitness guidelines for mode, intensity, duration, frequency and progression for each client. You'll select the appropriate intensity monitoring method for each client, based on individual circumstances and goal category. As you design the walking or running program for the client, you'll determine a client-specific starting point for the exercise program and provide specific target heart rate zones for each client. The session concludes with a quiz. Day 3: Adapting to the Real World--At this point, Steve asks you to consider how climate and altitude as well as how changing the exercise surface (treadmill vs. ground) might affect the workout of individual clients. You'll be asked how to help your clients anticipate and prepare for real workouts. A quiz helps you review your ability to adapt program design. Finally, you'll take the online course test, which covers material from the interactive study guide and from the course text. System Requirements This course is designed to work best when your computer and Internet browser are configured per the following technical requirements and setup specifications: Internet connection with a 28.8K modem or better. Netscape Navigator 4.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0 (or higher). Browser window expanded to its maximum width and height. Close any unused toolbars at the top or bottom of your browser. Computer monitor preferences set for 640 x 480 resolution or larger, with a minimum of 256 colors. Shockwave Flash Web Player plug-in installed. Download instrcutions are provided within the course. Netscape version 4.x browsers include the Shockwave Flash plug-in. Back to the Online Education Center.