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One of the many Active IQ courses we offer the Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training aims to develop your existing knowledge and skills to a professional level in gym instruction and become a certified personal trainer.

How long does it take to become a level 3 personal trainer?

This is a question that comes up a lot. If you choose a university/college, this will typically take around 4 years, however, if you choose to go with a training provider like The Fitness Education Academy you can become qualified a lot quicker, usually between 3-12 months but this all depends on the course you choose and how much you can contribute to your study time.

Considerations:

  •   - Your current level of knowledge, the required pre-requisite to begin a level 3 personal training qualification is the level 2 certificate in gym instructing which can be done through accredited providers e.g. The Fitness Education Academy’s course ‘Active IQ Level 2 Certificate in Gym Instructing’.

  •   - Your interest in the subject & ability to self-study. Believe it or not, on a flexible study course - the more work you do, the sooner you can sit exams confidently and the sooner you will receive that diploma. That’s not to say you have to commit 100% of your time to your studies, that’s not realistic, or sustainable, even for a shorter course, finding a course which offers a healthy balance of self-studying & tutor-led teaching allows for a positively smooth & impactful learning experience.

  •   - Location – if you are taking part in a personal training qualification you should expect to be in the gym/outside/in a studio, MOVING for a lot of this, exploring methods of training from cardiovascular fitness, advanced weight training techniques, flexibility, posture and strength & fitness testing, if you are a practical learner, this course is the perfect balance of theory & practical so if you opt for a longer term course, this may require a lot more travel than a shorter course which may condense the practical sessions in to only a few weeks.

Our level 3 personal training course has 3 main stages:

  •   1. - The home study – this starts when you enrol on the course, you are sent your home study pack and enrolled on the e-learning part of the course, this allows you to start studying towards the theory part of the course which includes the anatomy and physiology for exercise, health and fitness, the principles of nutrition and their application to exercise and health, understanding lifestyle, health, wellbeing and common medical conditions and encouraging positive health and fitness behaviours in clients. Once you feel ready you can then sit your theory assessment at a date to suit, this could be before you start the next stage or after.

  •   2. - The practical days – there are 5 practical training days to attend, some are done virtually and some are done face to face in a gym environment, these cover the programme design and delivery of personal training, to include the fitness testing and all the technique and advanced training methods needed to provide you with the skills and knowledge required to become a personal trainer. During the attendance days you will have some on course practical assessments and usually a week after the last day you will have a final practical assessment where you will be leading a client through a planned programme.

  •   3. - The case study – your final stage of the course involves you completing a case study, this case study covers your periodised programme and all the information relating to this, as well as a section covering developing a new personal training business.

We don’t set a deadline on when you submit your work as everyone works at different speeds and some students may already hold some knowledge. Most students will enrol on the course a few months before the first practical day and then complete their final work a few weeks after the final practical day. So the course could be completed within 6 weeks but could also take months longer, depending on the individual.

It sounds cliché, but as they ‘the time will pass either way, you may as well come out the other end with a qualification & skillset’

For further information on the level 3 Diploma in Personal Training contact us at info@thefitnesseducationacademy.co.uk