Mary M. Yoke

Mary Yoke, PhD, FACSM, is a full-time faculty member at both Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Indiana University (IU) at Bloomington, teaching for the departments of kinesiology and applied health science. Prior to her current appointment, she was an adjunct professor at William Paterson University in New Jersey and a senior adjunct faculty member at Adelphi University in New York, where she authored numerous group exercise research studies.

Yoke has a PhD in health behavior, a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and two degrees in music, and she has obtained 24 certifications in fitness. She has frequently served as a fitness video consultant and reviewer for Shape, Consumer Reports, and Good Housekeeping, and she has served as an expert witness in lawsuits involving injuries related to fitness videos. Yoke has worked in the areas of cardiac rehab, physical therapy, and corporate fitness and health promotion, and she has taught in the commercial health club setting for 25 years.

A fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Yoke is an associate research editor for ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal and has written the Research Bites column three times per year since 2013. She has served for over six years on ACSM’s credentialing committee and more than three years on ACSM’s summit programming committee. She was on the adjunct board of the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), was a master trainer and certification specialist for AFAA for 30 years, and is a frequent speaker at national and international fitness conferences. She has presented in 49 U.S. states and has led workshops in 18 countries.

Yoke is the author or coauthor of the books 101 Nice-to-Know Facts About Happiness (2015), AFAA’s A Guide to Personal Fitness Training (1996, 2001), Functional Exercise Progressions (2004), Methods of Group Exercise Instruction (2003, 2009, 2014, 2020), and AFAA’s Personal Fitness Training: Theory and Practice (2006, 2010). She is featured in six educational videos and numerous online courses.