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Advice on becoming a personal trainer

For anyone weighing up a career in personal training, from what the qualification involves to what the job is like once you have it.

  1. Can you qualify as a personal trainer online?

    Yes, you can do most of a personal trainer course online in the UK. The theory, from anatomy to nutrition to programme design, can all be studied from home, and CIMSPA, the professional body for the sector, says a Level 3 can be taken online, in person or as a mix of the two. What cannot happen entirely on a screen is the proof that you can coach, because a regulated personal training qualification assesses you delivering real sessions to a real person.

  2. What is CIMSPA, and does a Level 3 personal trainer need it?

    CIMSPA is the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the professional development body for the UK's sport and physical activity sector. For a Level 3 personal trainer it matters in two ways. It writes the professional standard that sets out what a personal trainer must know and be able to do, and it endorses the qualifications that meet that standard.

  3. How to become a personal trainer in the UK

    To become a personal trainer in the UK, you need a Level 3 qualification in personal training, with the Level 2 gym instructing qualification underneath it. You can take them as two courses, one after the other, or as a single diploma that includes both. Once you are qualified, most trainers also hold a first aid certificate with CPR, take out insurance and pass a background check, then either join a gym or start working for themselves.

  4. What happens at a Level 3 personal trainer practical assessment?

    At a Level 3 personal trainer practical assessment, you deliver a real personal training session while a qualified assessor watches you and assesses you against criteria you have seen in advance. The assessor is checking that you can coach a real person safely and well, which is something no written test can show. The written side of the qualification is assessed separately, through coursework.

  5. Level 2 vs Level 3 personal trainer, what is the difference?

    A Level 2 qualifies you as a gym instructor, and a Level 3 qualifies you as a personal trainer. A gym instructor inducts members, screens them, demonstrates equipment and looks after the gym floor. A personal trainer coaches individual clients towards their own goals, with a programme, nutrition advice and lifestyle support designed around each person, and may be self-employed, running their own business.

  6. How much does a Level 3 personal trainer course cost?

    Our Level 3 personal trainer course costs £2,000, or £1,750 if you pay the whole amount up front. You can also spread it across four monthly payments of £500, which adds up to the same £2,000 with nothing on top. That price covers tuition, learning materials, assessment and certification, and it includes the Level 2 gym instructing units, so there is no second course to buy before you start.

  7. Can you do Level 3 personal training without Level 2?

    Yes, you can do Level 3 personal training without a Level 2, as long as the course you choose includes the Level 2 units. You still need the gym instructing knowledge. What differs is whether you study it as a separate course first or inside the Level 3. CIMSPA, the professional body for sport and physical activity, says a Level 3 in personal training comes after a Level 2 gym instructor certificate, and that many providers combine the two into a single course.

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