The ACE IFT model, both components, phase by phase

Cardiorespiratory Training: the three phases

Intensity in every phase is set with the talk test and heart rate at the two ventilatory thresholds, VT1 and VT2. Not every client starts in the first phase.

• Base Training. For any client who isn't already doing moderate-intensity cardio consistently. The goal is to build up to 3–5 days a week, 20+ minutes, below VT1. No cardio assessments are recommended yet; the informal talk test is enough to keep the effort moderate.
• Fitness Training. Improves aerobic efficiency through longer and more frequent sessions, then intervals from VT1 up to just below VT2. The submaximal talk test for VT1 gives a personal heart rate to train around.
• Performance Training. For clients with endurance-sport or event goals. Adds short, very hard intervals at or above VT2, set with the VT2 threshold assessment. Only clients with specific performance goals reach this phase.

The three-zone intensity model

The cardio phases are programmed with three intensity zones, bounded by the two thresholds:

• Zone 1: below VT1, RPE 3 to 4. The client can talk comfortably.
• Zone 2: from VT1 to just below VT2, RPE 5 to 6.
• Zone 3: at or above VT2, RPE 7 to 10.

Even for clients training for performance, most of the time stays low: about 70–80% of training time in zone 1, under 10% in zone 2, 5–10% in zone 3. The warm-up and cool-down include zone 1 work. Predicted markers such as percentage of heart-rate reserve or of maximal heart rate also work, but the model treats measured heart rate at VT1 and VT2 as the more accurate option for an individual client.

Muscular Training: the three phases

This component runs from posture and stability to load and speed. Many clients never progress to athletic-performance training, but the same model covers them.

• Functional Training. Establishes or restores postural stability and kinetic chain mobility with core and balance exercises, mostly against body weight. These exercises stay in later programs as part of the warm-up or cool-down.
• Movement Training. Teaches the five primary movement patterns (bend-and-lift, single-leg, push, pull, rotation) in all planes of motion without losing postural or joint stability. External load comes only once the patterns are performed well.
• Load/Speed Training. Adds external load to drive force production: resistance training, HIIT, speed work, plyometrics. Goals range from strength and hypertrophy to body composition. Speed, agility, quickness and power work comes only after good posture, mobility, movement patterns and a strength base.

Old phase names you will still see

The IFT Model arrived with the 4th edition (2010) of the Personal Trainer Manual. That version had four cardio phases (aerobic-base, aerobic-efficiency, anaerobic-endurance and anaerobic-power) and called its strength side functional movement and resistance training. The 2020 textbook updated the programming and simplified the presentation and terminology into today's 2 components × 3 phases.

Flashcards, cheat sheets and question sets that use the old names predate the current book. More on spotting them: old IFT names.

Where the exam outline touches the model

The exam content outline never names the IFT Model, but its knowledge and skill statements cover the model's parts:

• Cardio intensity: monitoring and designing cardio programs by heart rate, ventilatory thresholds and RPE, in Program Design and Implementation (31%).
• Movement patterns: bend-and-lift, single-leg, push, pull and rotation, assessed in Client Onboarding and Assessments and varied in Program Modification and Progression.
• Stability and mobility: joint stability and mobility and their effect on posture and the kinetic chain, the focus of Functional Training.
• Progression: progressing or regressing load, intensity and complexity, which is how a client moves between phases.

Learn the phase names and their entry points from the current textbook, not from a third-party chart.

An IFT program template, in words

A session built on the model has a warm-up with zone 1 work and Functional Training exercises, a cardio part at the client's cardio phase, a muscular part at the client's muscular phase, and a cool-down. Three examples:

• An inactive new client: Base Training cardio, kept conversational, plus Functional Training for core and balance with body weight.
• A regular exerciser chasing general fitness: Fitness Training cardio with intervals between VT1 and VT2, plus Movement Training on the movement patterns.
• An endurance athlete: Performance Training with short intervals at or above VT2, most time still in zone 1, plus Load/Speed Training built on Functional work.

IFT questions in an app

The four exam domains

• Client Onboarding and Assessments23% of the exam
• Program Design and Implementation31% of the exam
• Program Modification and Progression27% of the exam
• Risk Management, Professional Conduct, and Ethical Business Practices19% of the exam