Become a Personal Trainer
What To Do After You Qualify As A Personal Trainer
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in The honest route from scratch to qualified →
In short: Most people qualify and then guess. The Level 3 Personal Trainer course asks you to create a personal development plan to support your professional practice, and the honest answer is that a plan written before you have coached a client is a guess in nicer handwriting. On the FASTER Career Mentored route the qualification is Phase 1 of three: qualify, build the craft, specialise. Each phase ends with a real conversation with John about what is next for your business, and only then does the next course unlock, so the choices wait until they are real and you are never left at the end of a certificate wondering what to buy.
"I don't know what to do after I qualify."
Most people qualify and then guess.
The certificate arrives, the gym induction is done, and the question that was easy to put off for six months is suddenly the only question: what now? Which clients, which course next, what to charge, whether the thing you are good at is the thing anyone will pay for.
The Level 3 Personal Trainer course asks you to answer some of that on paper. Criterion 9.5 of the FOCUS Awards unit is plain about it: create a personal development plan to support professional practice and client services. It is a fair thing to ask. The honest problem is that a plan written before you have coached a client is a guess in nicer handwriting.
What the route does with that question
On the Career Mentored route the qualification is Phase 1 of three.
Phase 1, qualify. Level 2 Gym Instructor, then Level 3 Personal Trainer, delivered through FOCUS Awards and recognised by CIMSPA. You become a Certified Personal Trainer, and PT Manager unlocks the day you certify.
Phase 2, build the craft. A fixed core, then two courses of your choosing, picked with John when you get there.
Phase 3, specialise. One Specialist course, chosen when you arrive.
Each phase ends with a real conversation with John about what is next for your business. Then that course unlocks. You are never left at the end of a certificate wondering what to buy.
Why the choices wait
Other companies give you every course on day one. We know your plans will change once you start doing the job: the clients you attract, the work you enjoy, the gaps you find. So the choices wait until you get there, and John helps you make them at the moment the choice is real.
That is the personal development plan the course asks for, with a person attached to it, revisited at each phase rather than filed on the day you qualified.
Is it for you?
It is for the person who knows PT is the career, not the experiment. Nine in ten people should take the Certified Personal Trainer route instead, Level 2 and Level 3 together for £1,500, and add courses later as the work tells them what they need. You might be the one in ten. If you are not sure, ask. John will tell you honestly, including telling you to buy the smaller route.
The whole curriculum, every course named, fixed and chosen: Career Mentored.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
The honest route from scratch to qualified — taught by the people who wrote it, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
Also worth a look: Certified Personal Trainer — Level 2 and 3 in one package.
See what the course covers →Frequently asked
Do I have to decide my specialism before I start?
No. On the mentored route the choices wait until you have coached real clients and know what you need, and John helps you make them when the choice is real.
What is in Phase 1?
Level 2 Gym Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer, delivered through FOCUS Awards and recognised by CIMSPA. You become a Certified Personal Trainer, and PT Manager unlocks the day you certify.
Is the mentored route for everyone?
No. Nine in ten people should take the Certified Personal Trainer route instead. If you are not sure, ask John and he will tell you honestly, including telling you to buy the smaller route.
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