Athletic Functional Training® Instructor Course

This course is aimed at Gym Instructors, Athletic Trainers, Motor Education professionals, and at all those who are passionate about the sports sector in the broadest sense, who intend to acquire specific competences in Functional Training for the Athletic Conditioning of the various sports disciplines.

The objective of the course is to train “Instructors of Athletic Functional Training®”, figures competent in the field of physical conditioning and functional training specific to Physical Sports Preparation who are able to correctly teach the exercises free body and with the tools most appropriate for Athletic Conditioning among those of Functional Training, and to structure a Periodisation of the training with Specific Training Protocols for the various phases of the sports season of the various Sports.
To this end, all the indispensable, fundamental, and appropriate knowledge on the cardinal principles of WTA Functional Training® will be provided, arriving at the specifics of their application to the world of Athletic Conditioning.

Through the scientific knowledge on Biomechanical, Conditional, and Coordinative Capabilities, and its practical applications in the technique of the exercises and in the structuring of specific training protocols, with this System of training it is finally possible to increase the Performance of athletes, but also preserve them from injuries and allow them to last longer over the years.
This is the key feature that differentiates Athletic Functional Training® from the traditional systems of Athletic Conditioning which are focused on increasing the physical qualities at the expense of the functionality of the body and, often, also of the joint and postural health of the athlete.

With Athletic Functional Training®, an initial phase of biomechanical and neuro-motor evaluation of the person is followed by cycles of training classified by biomechanical capacities (levels), physical qualities (Strength, Endurance, Speed, Power, and mixed capacities), and type of Sport (Power Sports, Endurance Sports, Mixed Sports).
This enables the identification of the best strategies for each person based on their structural characteristics and initial physical capacities, in order to bring them to the performance results of increased conditional physical and coordinative capacities, while simultaneously improving the Joint Mobility, the postural aspect, and the functionality of the entire body system.
These are the parameters that we consider essential for constructing athletes who are winners, but who are also able to move at their best and last over time in the best physical health conditions possible.

What you will learn:

// What distinguishes Athletic Functional Training® from the traditional systems of Athletic Conditioning;

// The differences between unidirectional sectoral training and multiplanar functional training in kinetic chains;

// The fundamental role of three-dimensional training in the construction of neuro-motor patterns for Sport;

// Which body systems are fundamental for increasing the physical Performance of the athlete, and how to train them in synergy with each other;

// Which Hormones are fundamental for increasing the physical performance of the athlete and for the post-competition recovery training, and how to stimulate them through training;

// How to stimulate the endocrine-hormonal system and the neuro-muscular system for optimal physical performance through sports nutrition;

// The importance of knowing how to recognise the Morphotypes in order to adopt the best strategies of training and nutrition for bringing the athlete to their optimal performance in the least possible time;

// How Functional Training is decisive in the construction of athletes who are strong, fast, powerful, and resistant, but also healthy and functional;

// Which the principal fulcrums of movement are, and which the fulcrums of body stability are, and how to use them effectively in the technique of the exercises with free body and with external loads; 

// What it means to train while respecting the Biomechanics of the body and the aspect of neutral posture; 

// What the myofascial chains are, how they function, and how to best use them in the execution of the movements for improving the muscular activation and the coordinative and neuro-motor capabilities essential in Sports;

// How to use the Core in order to better manage the kinetic chains in the multi-planar movement of the body; 

// The importance of global Joint Mobility in the harmonious posture of the person and in the prevention of injuries; 

// What the specific technical characteristics are of the various tools of Functional Training, and how to best use them according to the protocol of training carried out; 

// A logical and effective progression to teach the technique of the exercises through a series of preparatory and complementary exercises based on the potential of each person; 

// The fundamental Evaluation Tests that must be made in order to correctly set up a functional training program aimed at Athletic Conditioning;

// How to structure the most effective training strategies based on the level of the athlete and the specific performance model of the sports discipline practiced;

// What progressions must be respected in the development of the training programs in a seasonal macrocycle starting from the structuring of the single session of training;

// How to best manage the sessions of Athletic Functional Training® with the technical workouts based on the number of competitive commitments;

// A fast and functional Coaching Method that has been put to the test in the field since 2009 by thousands of WTA Coaches and Trainers; 

// How to use the competences acquired in the sale of Personal Training and Group Training services; 

// What the professional prospects of a WTA Trainer are. 


Index of topics of the Course Program:

• The history of Athletic Conditioning: from its origins to the present day;

• Training Theory in Athletic Conditioning: principles and scientific guidelines;

• Energy Systems and Athletic Conditioning;

• Types of sports disciplines and their characteristics: neuro-motor/biomechanical patterns and energy demands of Speed, Power, Endurance, and mixed capacities in sports;

• The neuro-motor/biomechanical and metabolic/energetic qualities required in Athletic Conditioning:
- Joint Mobility (Mobility in complete R.O.M. - Stabilisation - Proprioception);
- Coordinative Capacities (General - Special - Specific Coordination);
- Conditional Capacities (Force - Speed ​​- Power - Resistance - mixed capacities).

• The Endocrine-Hormonal System in the optimisation of the training stress and the recovery;

• Sports Nutrition and Supplementation applied to the Athletic Conditioning of the various sports disciplines;

• Sports Mental Training for relating in an optimal way with the athlete and making them return their maximum potential;

• Injury prevention, Rehabilitation, and Sport Re-athletisation with Athletic Functional Training®;

• The principles of Athletic Functional Training®: from the history of human evolution and physical preparation to the sciences of structure, function, and movement of the human body;

• The applications of Athletic Functional Training® in the conditioning of the Joint Mobility required in Athletic Conditioning as prevention and post-traumatic recovery: Standing & Assisted Joint Mobility, Primitive Functional Movement®, Flying Suspension Training, and Foam Rolling (for myofascial release) for a global dynamic joint mobility that respects the myofascial chains and the multiplanarity of the movements;

• The applications of Athletic Functional Training® in increasing the coordinative physical capacities required in Athletic Preparation: general, special, and specific coordination;

• The applications of Athletic Functional Training® in the conditioning of the Proprioceptivity required in the Athletic Conditioning of the various sports disciplines;

• The applications of Athletic Functional Training® in the increasing of the conditional physical capacities required in Athletic Conditioning: Strength, Speed, Power, Resistance, Speed Endurance, and Power Endurance;

• Scenarios of application of Athletic Functional Training®: in indoor and outdoor contexts;

• Scenarios of application of Athletic Functional Training®: personal training & group training;

• The theoretical and practical applications of the work tools of Athletic Functional Training® with exercises divided by level, purpose, macro-areas, planes of movement, and the athletic-sports specificities:
- Barbell Training and Olympic Barbell Training® (training with Olympic barbells with exercises of traditional and Olympic weightlifting for the conditioning of the Strength, of the Power, and of the Speed);
- Kettlebell Training (training with cast-iron balls with a handle for control and ballistic exercises aimed at the Strength, the Speed, the Power, and the Endurance);
- Calisthenics and Bodyweight Training (free body training executed on the ground and in suspension from the bars, parallel bars, and rings for the Functional Strength and Hypertrophy);
- Landmine Training (training with a barbell fixed to a plate with multidirectional rotating pivot with multi-planar exercises of Functional Training involving continuous control of the Core);
- Clubs Training (clubs for ballistic exercises that, according to the load used, are aimed at Joint Mobility, Proprioception, Strength, Speed, Reactivity, Power, and Resistance);
- Flying Suspension Training (suspension training on unstable supports for training the Core, Stabilisation, Proprioception, Strength, Speed, Power, and Endurance);
- Sandbag Training & Flowbag Training® (training with bags containing water or sand for training the Core, the Stabilisation, the Proprioception, the Strength, the Speed, the Power, and the Endurance);
- Med Ball Training (training with medicine balls of various types, aimed at training the Core, the Speed, the Reactivity, and the Endurance);
- Rope & Speed ​​Band Training (training with battle ropes and resistance bands for exercises of counter-resistance aimed at the Speed, the Reactivity, the Power, and the Resistance);
- Agility Ladder Training (training with obstacles and ladders for exercises aimed at the Reactivity and the high Speed ​​of Movements);
- Foam Roller & Grid Roller Training (training with cylindrical rollers of various constitutions for the conditioning of Joint Mobility in the muscle chain through myofascial release);
- Primitive Functional Movement® (Articular Mobility and Core training in free body neuro-motor sequences executed on the ground);
- Standing & Assisted Joint Mobility (assisted and dynamic Global Joint Mobility).

• The functional evaluation of all the physical capacities required in Athletic Conditioning through Athletic Functional Training® with more than 30 different evaluation tests;

• The Periodisation and Programming of functional training for Athletic Conditioning with the implementation of protocols of work divided by levels, objectives, and specific sports, and set up on the macrocycle of the competitive sports season, with more than 60 different training protocols;

• The effective Coaching of Athletic Functional Training®: communication and motivation;

• Aspects of sales and marketing of services related to Athletic Functional Training®.

Online Course: the Athletic Functional Training® Instructor Course is only available Online.

Online Course: once you have purchased the course you can access your own Reserved Area in which you will have the complete course manual viewable in pdf format, the evaluation cards and the training sheets downloadable in pdf, and the video lessons of all of the exercises of the program (more than 180).

Your Reserved Area is equipped with a high information security format.
The only technology you will need in order to consult the teaching material in the Reserved Area is Adobe Reader (for the pdf files).
The teaching materials are compatible with: Microsoft Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.

After having purchased the course (immediately if paying by credit card or PayPal; after receipt of the confirmation of payment if making the payment by bank transfer), you will receive an email (to the email address you indicate when purchasing the course), with details of how to access your Reserved Area where you will find the course you have purchased.

From that point, you have unlimited access to your Reserved Area. 
You can access it as and when you want and at any time you want to study, then present the exam when you're ready, without deadlines or expiration dates.

In WTA Courses, the exams are a fundamental part of the training process, as they allow both the WTA and the student to verify that they have correctly learnt both the theoretical concepts and the practical technical applications of the work program of the course.

In this way, 4 positive results are obtained:
1) WTA is sure to put only really prepared Trainers in the field;
2) the new Instructor feels confident that they have mastered the program of study and the executive technique of the exercises, therefore they feel ready to work with clients;
3) the clients who turn to a WTA Trainer are guaranteed to find professionals who are extremely competent and able to help them to reach their objectives; 
4) the owners of gyms who employ a WTA Trainer are guaranteed to have professionals who are able to follow their customers in the best way, and to increase the volume of business of their gym.

The exams consist of:
 - theoretical part: in which, through the writing of a thesis on a real case study selected by the student (focussed on a subject who must be one of their clients or themselves), the student demonstrates that they have acquired all of the theoretical principles that lead to the realisation of an effective training program for each specific client (following what has been explained in the course).
 - practical part: in which, through the creation of a video, the student demonstrates that they have mastered the correct executive technique of the base exercises of the course program.
  
The exam is evaluated by a Tutor who is assigned to the aspiring Trainer at the time they present the exam. The Tutor will assist the student to pass the exam, providing any necessary corrections, both of the theoretical and the practical parts.
The common objective of the WTA and of the aspiring Trainer is to bring the training process initiated at the time of enrolling in the course to completion, so as to have a new WTA Trainer who is fully prepared to work in teaching the training Method learnt, in the most effective and efficient way possible!

On passing the exams, the new Trainer will be awarded the coveted certification of Instructor of Athletic Functional Training® that is valid for:

•  inclusion in the prestigious Official Register of WTA Instructors and in the Professional Databank (free of charge).
  

The Athletic Functional Training® Instructor certification entitles students to training credits towards the following Educational Pathways:

• Educational Pathways for WTA Specialisation Qualifications: Functional Training Specialist - Athletic Training Specialist.
  

On attainment of the Diploma, the Trainer, in addition to receiving the Diploma, is incorporated in the prestigious Official Register of WTA Instructors, within their own region.
This Register, in addition to being the only official document accessible to the public which testifies the real competence of the Trainer, is a true and proper Professional Database which is open both to clients who are looking for a competent Trainer in which to trust, and to the owners of gyms who are looking for Professionals to include in their Instructor Staff.
In fact, the high level of professionalism of the WTA Training, universally recognised since 2009 in all physical fields (from athletic conditioning, to medical gymnastics applications, to purely aesthetic fitness), allows the WTA Trainer to be inserted in any sporting environment in which the functionality of the Movement of the human body is indispensable for the health and efficiency of the person, be they an athlete of a specific sports discipline or a person who wants to recover or improve their state of health and physical form.
To date, the WTA Method, through the great work of over 20,000 Trainers trained since 2009, has been applied with great success in all professional sports, in medical and physiotherapy centres, and in thousands of private and commercial gyms.

In particular, the fields of application in which the WTA Trainer is most in demand are those relating to:

• Conditioning of Joint Mobility, prevention of injuries, and post-traumatic recovery;
• Conditioning of Functional Strength in Sports; 
• High Intensity Functional Training; 
• Increasing biomechanical and neuro-motor skills both for general and specific sports;
• Aesthetic training associated with the improvement of the Posture; 
• Group training for any type of level and target.

What are the pre-requisites for entry to the Course?

There are no pre-requisites, the Course is open to everyone.

Are the Diplomas recognised?

WTA Diplomas are recognised in all the Physical, Sporting, and Rehabilitative fields as a guarantee of professionalism that respects the highest global Standards of Quality, and are also recognised by the European SNAQ/CONI and by the International Olympic Committee through the CSEN/CONI.

What does the exam involve?

The exam involves sending a written thesis for the theoretical part and a video for the practical part.

How much time do I have to present the exam?

There is no deadline for presenting the exam; it depends on how much time you dedicate to the study and to the practice of the exercises after having attended the course, and on when you feel you are ready to take the exam.

If I do not pass the exam, can I repeat it?

When the exam is presented, a Tutor will follow you, assisting you step by step (providing you with all the corrections to improve yourself), to help you pass it. Repeat the exam is completely free. 

By when do I have to register for the Online Course?

You can register for the Online Course at any time. Once you have purchased the Course, you can attend it whenever you choose (according to your own schedule of available time), progressively studying both the Teaching Manual and the Video Tutorials of the practical exercises, and then you can decide when you're ready to take the exam in order to acquire the Instructor certification.

How long does the access to the Reserved Area last, once I have purchased the Course?

Once you have purchased the Course, you are entitled to unlimited access to your Reserved Area of ​​study, without time limits.

On how many devices can I connect the access to my Reserved Area?

For any single purchase of a Course, you can access your Reserved Area from a maximum of two devices of your choice, which can be a PC, tablet, or smartphone.