Oh Baby! Fitness: Certification Exam

Disclaimer: I received access to the Oh Baby! Fitness Certification in exchange for promoting their program and classes on social media. All opinions are my own.

After hours of reading, a LIVE hand on workshop, and another 48 hour review, I finally felt ready to conquer the Oh Baby! Fitness online exam.

Preparation

The OBF website estimates it will take approximately 16 hours to get through the online manual.  That is actually pretty accurate. I tried studying 2 ways: PDF and online course modules. I pulled the PDFs and save them to my laptop so that I could review the content anytime and I had the option of printing it off if i wanted to or highlighting directly on the PDF. It turns out using the online modules was much easier. The content is broken down into digestible chunks and the creator do a geat job of highlighting key elements during the chapter and at the end of each section. It took me about an hour per section. 

                     

Attending the live workshop really helped me to retain the most pertinent information. I highly recommend attending the live training in preparation for the exam.

Taking the Test

You have 2 hours to complete a 50 question, multiple choice exam. You must pass with at least an 80% to be eligible to receive your certification. You do have the ability to navigate to other questions through out the exam and you can go back and change your answers if you need to. I recommend writing down the number of the question your unsure about on scratch paper, that will make it easier to go back and update your answers at the end of the exam. It took me 60 minutes to get through all 50 questions. I spent an additional 35 minutes going back through each answer and making sure I didn't make any marking/selection errors.

Post Test Results

I passed! 94% 

                     

You will get a results analysis where you can review any content you missed. 2 of the 3 I missed were my interpretation vs the way it was actually presented in the text. But, I'll take my 94 ;-)

After you complete the test save your results and forward it to the OBF training email. I am awaiting my certificate suitable for framing :-)

I am actually teaching my 1st Prenatal class next week as part of an 8 week series with a corporate client. I look forward to following up with OBF and hopefully teaching some classes at their locations here in Atlanta.

I highly recommend attending the OBF training if you are interested in Pre/Postnatal fitness. They use the most up to date ACOG (American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology) guidelines to create a curriculum that is in depth, safe, and client centered. I have a background in exercise science and multiple certifications, but I believe when you are working with special populations it is always worth while to get specified training for that population. Combining what I already know from my degree program and ACSM with what I have learned through OBF gives me the confidence that I can lead safe and effective prenatal and postnatal classes.

If you are interested in learning more about the OBF certification comment below or use the following link.

Or if you want to try one of their classes use the following link.

Health and Happiness,

Larissa

Oh Baby! Fitness LIVE: Atlanta

Disclaimer: I received access to the Oh Baby! Fitness Certification in exchange for promoting their program and classes on social media. All opinions are my own.

Oh Baby! Fitness is a certification to help people interested in prenatal and postnatal fitness develop their expertise. You can complete the class the completely online, at your own pace. Then you have the opportunity to attend a LIVE workshop, meet the founders, and apply what you have learned. You can learn more about the Oh Baby! Fitness program in my previous post. I was so excited for the opportunity to meet the Oh Baby! Fitness founders and have the opportunity to apply everything I learned online. 

Building Community
One of the core values of OhBaby! Fitness is creating an environment where women can feel comfortable and build a community. We kicked off our day with intros, among us were a labor and delivery nurse from New Orleans, 2 new moms - sisters from Tennessee and Virginia, an Oh Baby! Fitness pilates instructor, an OBF Yoga instructor, a mom to be/fitness enthusiast, me, and founders Kathleen and Clare. If you have not read their stories you should, OBF founders. They both have amazing stories and are so passionate about creating a supportive community for moms.

Prenatal and Postnatal Key Points
We covered all the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, psychological changes, physiological changes, possible ailments, recommended modifications, and goals for each trimester. Here are a few highlights from the workshop.

Benefits of Exercise During and After Pregnancy

• relieves common pregnancy complaints
• quicker recovery from labor
• less postpartum depression

Physiological Changes

• increased hormones
• changes in weight
• postural changes

Psychological Changes

• adjusting to pregnancy
• fatigue
• changes in mood

We had the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on any of the subject matter that was new to us. The founders did a great job elaborating on some complicated physiological changes and using examples that we could easily relay to our clients. All of the information was very specific no fluff, they taught us exactly what we would need to know to feel comfortable assessing clients, educating clients, and providing modifications.

Practical Application
Let me just say I love hands on learning. It can be intimidating to be put on the spot in front of a room of people you just met, but that is the reality of teaching classes too. Kathleen would present symptoms of 1 of the conditions we had discussed and we had to assess the possible condition, educate the client about what was going on physiologically, and provide appropriate modifications. As she went around the room to each participant I would listen to here present a symptom and practice how I would asses, educate, and modify. When it was finally my turn to go I was surprised by how nervous I was, but we did such a thorough job reviewing the material I was able to recall most of the information immediately. Each person was able to practice at least 3 times during the practical, we covered more than 15 possible conditions. Everyone was very supportive and if we missed anything in our assess, educate, modify demonstration Clare, Kathy, and fellow classmates provided additional prompts. It was a very supportive environment. It was great practice for what we would be expected to do during an actual class.

We also practiced self assessing and partner assessed diastasis recti. Diastasis Recti is abdominal separation occurring  along the rectus abdominus. It is fairly common in pregnancy and occurs as the baby grows and your abdominal muscles reach the limit of their elasticity. Detecting this separation can help you determine appropriate modification for abdominal exercise.

Kathleen also demonstrated a few Mom and Me exercises that we could incorporate in a postnatal fitness class.

What's Next
There are many ways to incorporate your new found knowledge. Apply what you have learned and incorporate it in your own fitness routine. Combine your new knowledge with your group fitness or personal training certifications. Become a licensed Oh Baby! Fitness Instructor. Here is more information on the licensing process if that is something you're interested in pursuing, Oh Baby!Fitness License . For me, I'm incorporating my new found prenatal expertise into my personal training, group fitness, and health coaching. Oh and for making sure me and baby have a happy healthy pregnancy.

                      

Are you a prenatal/postnatal fitness specialist?
I would love to hear about your experiences in the field.

I look forward to the new doors this experience will open for me.

Health and Happiness,

Larissa