NATIONAL SPORTS ACADEMY OF BULGARIA
“SPORT, FITNESS, HEALTH” MASTER’S PROGRAM
ANNOTATION
In recent years the prevalence of obesity in developed countries has increased to the point that some authorities talk about “obesity epidemics”. According to data in 2014 more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight, with over 600 million being obese. Obesity is strongly correlated with the morbidity of diseases with a high social impact, such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. There is also a scientifically proven strong correlation between a sedentary way of life and those medical conditions. An active way of living and improving physical fitness are the most successful strategies to deal with those problems. People who engage regularly in some kind of recreational sports activity improve dramatically their overall health status and wellbeing. In recent years a stable trend has been established towards increasing the level of physical activity among all social and age groups. The number of fitness facilities is growing in all developed countries. Accordingly, the labour market is “hungry” for fitness experts.
Bulgarian National Sports Academy is one of the leading universities in sports science and physical education in Europe. Many of our teachers are worldwide acknowledged experts in their field, some of them former Olympic, World and European champions. In recent years our Academy has become also a leader in educating professionals in healthy lifestyle and recreational physical activity. The students in “Sport, fitness, health” master’s program are introduced to the latest scientific achievements in promoting healthy living, longevity and wellbeing. Our program is also aimed at teaching them the principles of sports training science. It includes many different classes, which cover all aspects of fitness training and fitness industry, such as physiology, biochemistry, biomechanics, sports science, sports management and many more. Special attention is given to the practical part of the education. We organize classes in different fitness-related sports disciplines, such as strength training, bodybuilding, aerobics, dancing, etc. and teach our students how to organize and manage training sessions. Bulgarian methodology in weightlifting and strength training and conditioning is famous worldwide. We try to transfer this knowledge to our students and give them a scientific edge in their future career as fitness professionals. Last but not least, our program includes classes in first aid and injury prevention for people engaged in fitness activities.
Almost all our students effortlessly find professional realisation very soon after graduation as personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches in different sports teams, wellness specialists, fitness and cross-fit trainers, etc. at sports clubs and gymnasiums in Bulgaria and worldwide. We are proud of this "Certificate of quality of education", with which fitness market has awarded our Academy!
