Becoming a PT
Become a personal trainer and learn to review your goal every week
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in the Level 2 and Level 3 Personal Trainer course →
In short: Reviewing a goal means agreeing a weekly measurement, checking the result, and then either keeping the goal or adjusting the time or the strategy. It is taught on the Level 3 personal training course as a way to keep clients moving, and it works just as well for finishing the course and building the first year of a business.
The short version
A goal with a date on it stays alive when somebody looks at it every week. That is the whole idea behind reviewing and revising a SMART goal, and it is one of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course. It is taught so you can keep a client moving. It also happens to suit anybody fitting a qualification around a job, a family and a calendar that is already full.
Key Takeaways
- Pick a regular measurement time, such as every Monday.
- Check the result each time and write it down.
- If the goal stops being achievable, amend it. If it is achievable but the route needs to change, change the route.
What the course teaches
The Level 3 unit on motivating clients to achieve their goals asks you to describe how to review and revise short, medium and long-term SMART goals. In the course's own words, reviewing leans back on the measurement part of the goal and then breaks the total time into small steps, so there are small improvements on the way to the final goal.
The review is a short list:
- Set the original SMART goal.
- Agree measurement times, every Monday for example.
- Review and track the change after each measurement.
- If the goal becomes unachievable, amend it.
- If it is still achievable but needs a different approach, change the approach.
That is it. The course says it is a continuous process that gets more specific depending on the goal. A long-term weight loss goal set at the top of what is achievable might need more time after a slow first few weeks, and the review is where that gets noticed early.
It is a lot simpler than it sounds
Reviewing a goal is a Monday habit, not a big event. A client who loses a week to a busy fortnight needs a small adjustment, and a trainer who has agreed a weekly check can make one calmly. Nothing about it needs a qualification in maths. It needs a date, a number and a note.
Try it on your own plan first
The same five steps work on getting qualified. Set the date you would like to finish. Choose a Monday check, say two lessons done and one task written. Look at it each week. If a work shift moves, move the date and keep going. A person who has practised reviewing their own goal walks into a first client conversation having already done it.
How we teach it
FASTER courses are built to be learned in whichever way suits the person: by reading, by listening, by writing answers or by dictating them, with visuals and interactive tools throughout. The review habit shows up in the assessment and in the way the course is laid out, one small piece at a time.
Where PT Manager fits
PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER, so you can explore it, build in it and set it up in your own name straight away. It has goal check-ins where a client rates each goal from 1 to 5 each week, and the trainer sees a trend line per goal. Adding real clients unlocks once you pass a course. The Certified PT route gives you PT Manager from the start of your career.
What to do next
Have a look at the Level 2 and Level 3 Personal Trainer course and see how each unit is laid out. Then open PT Manager to see where the weekly goal check lives.
FASTER Daily News sends you each day's blog links, the latest on new courses and live opportunities, and updates to PT Manager, free for students. Sign up at /newsletter.
FAQ
Is reviewing goals hard to learn? No. It is five steps: set the goal, agree measurement times, check after each one, amend the goal if it stops being achievable, change the strategy if it is still achievable.
Do I need to finish the whole course before I can use it? No. It works on any goal with a date on it, including finishing the course itself.
Where does PT Manager come in? PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER, so you can set goals and weekly check-ins in it straight away. Adding real clients unlocks once you pass a course.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
the Level 2 and Level 3 Personal Trainer course: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
Also worth a look: PT Manager, free with any FASTER course.
See what the course covers →What every FASTER student gets
Built around you, not around the course
- A real person marks every answerEvery answer is read and marked by a tutor, with written feedback.
- Marked as you goEach teaching point is marked as you answer it, not at the end of the module.
- Dictate instead of typeA microphone on every written answer: say your answer and it types it for you (Chrome, Edge and Safari).
- Listen to the lessonsVoice-overs on the lessons, and the audio to download.
- Built for the way your brain worksShort lessons, one point at a time, marked as you go, with the choice to listen, read, print or speak your answers.
- Streaks that never punish youYou set how many days a week you want to study. Miss a day and your streak pauses; it is never lost.
- Accessible to WCAG AA, with an AAA optionEvery page measured against the WCAG accessibility standard: no faults at level A or AA, with a skip link, screen-reader labels and pages that hold together zoomed to 400%. A high-contrast option takes it to AAA.
- Keep it plainOne switch turns off the extras, the streaks, the badges, the celebrations and the movement, so the site stays plain and calm. Switch them back on whenever you like.
- Bigger text and wider spacingTwo steps of bigger text, and more room between lines, words and letters, on every page.
- Calmer motionOne switch stops animations and videos that play on their own. It is on already if your phone or computer asks for reduced motion.
- A personal video lessonWhen an answer needs real explaining, your marker records a video that lands in your course.
- A note before you sendBefore you send, the page tells you if your answer copies the lesson word for word, so you can put it in your own words.
- The skeleton and muscle labsTap any bone on the skeleton, and see the muscles light up on the model.
- Print the notesPrint the lessons and go old school.
- Case studies on your phoneBuilt into the site, saved as you go, there on your laptop when you sit down.
- Pin it to your home screenNo App Store and no Google Play. It is just there.
- No resit feesWork sent back is a chance to add more, with no resit fee.
- Return access for lifeQualify once and come back to the content whenever you need it.
- PT Manager from day onePT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
- The FASTER Trainer RegisterA free listing on the Register once you qualify.
- Your certificates in one placeEvery course and its certificate on one page.
- Ask JohnThe Ask John button on every page, and his WhatsApp.
And PT Manager, free
54 tools to run your business, with no monthly fee and no cut of your money
PT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
See all 54 tools
Set-up
- Import clients Bring a whole client list across in one go.
- My quotes Daily lines your clients see — yours, not stock.
- Programme templates The programme shapes you reuse — a session or twelve weeks. Pick one for a client, get your own copy.
- Exercise library Every exercise with FASTER coaching detail.
- Your business plan Budget, 12 month cash flow, SMART objectives, SWOT and your ideal customer. Prints as your plan.
- Money Products, payments and who owes what.
- Send from your own email Connect your own email service so invites arrive from you, on your domain.
- My brand & client view What your clients see when they walk in — views, header, accent, logo.
- Your enrolment pack What every new client gets the moment you enrol them — your forms, ours, or a mix.
- Products and services What you sell — blocks, packages, memberships and one-offs, with their prices.
- Insurance Your policy on record — provider and expiry. Client features unlock while it is valid.
- My menu Switch any tool on or off — for your menu, your home and your whole account.
- Your website A free website on your own web address, filled from PT Manager. Or just the client sign-in door on your domain.
- Your public page Your verified Trainer Register listing, linking out to your own site and socials.
Business day to day
- Clients Your client list — invite, open a client, manage their space.
- Clubs Group your clients — a board they share, a programme or a monthly price if you want one.
- Challenges A dated push everyone logs against — for everyone you train, or for one club.
- Calendar Sessions, classes, capacity and bookings.
- Reminders The dates your business can't let lapse — insurance and first aid, nagged ahead of time.
- Nudges Who needs a nudge today — opportunities, one tap each.
- Who needs chasing Every conversation about money, in the order to work through them.
- What needs doing Your own list, in your own words — the jobs you keep meaning to get to.
- Till Sell at the desk — cash, card or on their phone — and download the sales sheet.
- What you are making What is coming in every month, what was paid in the last 30 days, and what sells.
Templates and systems
- Forms & interviews PAR-Q, consent, consultations and your own forms.
- Coaching room The coaching tools shelf — wheels, journeys and resources in one place.
- Radar wheels Build a life or performance wheel a client fills in — see change over time.
- Nutrition by FASTER Nutrition sheets and habits without meal-plan pretence.
- Pathways Automated coaching journeys you assign to clients.
- Programmes Start a programme — a session, a month, 12 weeks or a season — and find the ones you have built.
- Games & drills planner Build game-based sessions and drills.
- Sport screens Pick a sport — the shots to film, the analyser, and a ready-made radar of the qualities that matter.
- Movement screen → radar Read joint angles off the analyser — they auto-score and fill a radar wheel.
- Assessment builder Build and run client assessments and re-tests.
- Tag analytics Every tag across your clips, grouped and exportable.
Client
- AI prompts Your reusable prompt library for coaching copy.
- Workout library Short workouts your members put together by how they feel and how long they have.
- Before & after Side-by-side progress comparisons.
Trainer tools
- Exercise generator Fresh exercise ideas from constraints you set.
- FASTER dice & wheel Spin-and-roll session variety for groups and games.
- Movement demonstrator A 3D model of the FASTER movement patterns — body or skeleton view, prime movers lit up, live joint angles.
- Client video analysis Your media library — client folders and your own. Pick a clip to analyse.
- Movement by FASTER (HMAC) Human movement analysis charts — see how a client moves.
- Live analysis Mount your phone and coach live — skeleton, reps, angles and depth in real time.
- Tell a group One thing, to the right people — and you see exactly who it reaches first.
Media centre
- Video builder Reels, stories and client report videos, in your own branding.
- Image builder Branded posts and cards for your socials, at the right size.
- Shot list builder Every shot with its size, angle, lens, location, people, kit and sound; sorted into shooting order, ticked off on the day, printed or sent as a sheet.
- Storyboard builder Plan a video shot by shot: what the camera sees, what is said, the move and the cut.
- Script writer Write what you will say, with the word count and how long it takes to say.
- Teleprompter Read your script off the screen at your speed, and film yourself behind it.
- Content calendar Your hot topics, your series and every post planned by week and year, from idea to posted.
- Video and image organiser Everything you have made and every source you can pull from.
- Ad builder Make your own ads, coached as you go, in your branding. As many as you like, no fee, no cap.
Frequently asked
Is reviewing goals hard to learn?
No. It is five steps: set the goal, agree measurement times, check after each one, amend the goal if it stops being achievable, change the strategy if it is still achievable.
Do I need to finish the whole course before I can use it?
No. It works on any goal with a date on it, including finishing the course itself.
Where does PT Manager come in?
PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER, so you can set goals and weekly check-ins in it straight away. Adding real clients unlocks once you pass a course.
Reading this for your own training? Every trainer on the FASTER register has been assessed by us — search by town or speciality, free.
Find a FASTER trainer →
