Become a Personal Trainer
Train Clients Of Any Age Once You Know How Bones Change
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in the honest route from scratch to qualified, with free lifetime return access →
In short: Level 2/3 teaches the life-course of the musculoskeletal system: bones start as cartilage in the foetus, compact and grow through childhood and the adolescent growth spurt, and change again in older age. Knowing that sequence helps a new personal trainer adapt a session for a teenager, an antenatal or postnatal client and a client over 50. It is one of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course.
The short version
Bones are not the same thing at six months, sixteen years and sixty. Level 2/3 follows the musculoskeletal system from the foetus to older age, and that one sequence tells a new trainer why a session for a teenager, a new mum and a client over 50 should not look identical.
Key Takeaways
- In the first two months of a foetus, bones are all cartilage and just starting to form.
- Bone then compacts, grows through childhood and changes again through the adolescent growth spurt into adulthood and older age.
- Knowing the sequence helps you make good decisions when you adapt training for different clients.
- It is one of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course.
The story in order
Anatomy sounds like a wall of Latin when you are about to change careers. The life-course topic is closer to a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, which makes it easier to hold onto than a list.
Early on, the bones are all cartilage and only just starting to form. A month or so later the bone starts to compact and develops a blood vessel. In childhood, before the growth spurt, compact bone sites appear at the ends of the bone and a cavity opens up inside it. Then comes the adolescent growth spurt, carrying the skeleton into adulthood, and later life brings its own changes to tendon, ligament, muscle, joint and bone mineral density.
The course text puts the purpose plainly: understanding the development of the human body from birth to older adult helps you understand clients of all ages, so you make good decisions on training adaptations.
Why a new trainer cares
The course asks for specific implications for four groups: young people, antenatal and postnatal women, people over 50, and disabled people. Those are the clients who walk into a gym and a community hall every week. A trainer who has the sequence in their head can see why the same exercise might be offered differently to each of them, and can say so in plain words.
This is a fundamentals topic, the driving licence of the job. It is not a big deal once you see it as a timeline, and it is a good deal more useful than memorising it for the paper and losing it by the weekend.
How FASTER teaches it
One of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course is this timeline, with pictures at every stage. The course is built to be visual and interactive, and you can learn by listening, reading, writing your answers or dictating them. The science is there to be found and read, with the HMAC eyes method for seeing movement sitting alongside it.
PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER, so you can explore and build in your own name while you study. Adding real clients unlocks once you pass a course.
What to do next
The honest route from scratch to qualified lays out the Level 2 and Level 3 steps, the price and what is included. 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
Does Level 2/3 cover working with different age groups? Yes. The anatomy unit follows the musculoskeletal system from birth to older age, with implications for young people, antenatal and postnatal women, people over 50 and disabled people.
Do I need a science background to follow it? No. The course is visual and interactive, and you can learn by listening, reading, writing answers or dictating them.
When can I add real clients in PT Manager? PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER. Adding real clients unlocks once you pass a course.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
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Also worth a look: the Level 2 and Level 3 personal trainer course, from scratch.
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Set-up
- Import clients Bring a whole client list across in one go.
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Client
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Trainer tools
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- 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.
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Frequently asked
Does Level 2/3 cover working with different age groups?
Yes. The anatomy unit follows the musculoskeletal system from birth to older age, with implications for young people, antenatal and postnatal women, people over 50 and disabled people.
Do I need a science background to follow it?
No. The course is visual and interactive, and you can learn by listening, reading, writing answers or dictating them.
When can I add real clients in PT Manager?
PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with FASTER. 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.
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