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Personal trainers work on a one-to-one or small-group basis to coach clients towards their health and fitness goals.
practitioner
Personal Trainer
The role
Personal trainers work on a one-to-one or small-group basis to coach clients towards their health and fitness goals. They do this by planning and delivering a creative and personalised exercise programme and providing clients with instruction as well as nutrition and overall lifestyle-management advice. They play an important role in improving the nation’s health, creating opportunities for people to get more active, more often.
Personal trainers analyse their clients’ needs, adapt and modify guidance, and provide specialist tailored advice within the scope of their practice to positively change their clients’ behaviour. They have a good awareness and understanding of when to refer their client to other professionals, such as physiotherapists or registered dietitians, for specialist information and guidance. They also need to have a comprehensive understanding of business, finance, sales and marketing to enable them to build and retain a stable client base.
What it takes
The following common or transferable skills are most frequently asked for by employers in personal trainer job adverts across the UK:
| Skills and behaviours | % Prevalence in job ads |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 45% |
| First Aid | 41% |
| Cleanliness | 24% |
| Management | 17% |
| Communication | 12% |
| Coaching | 10% |
| Organisational Skills | 5% |
| Record Keeping | 5% |
| Resilience | 5% |
| Active Listening | 5% |
To find out more about the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate to become a personal trainer, you can visit our occupational professional standards library.
Getting in
There are several ways you can become qualified as a personal trainer.
You can become a personal trainer by completing a Level 3 Certificate/Diploma in Personal Training course with one of our Training Provider Partners delivering a CIMSPA-endorsed qualification.
You can choose to complete your personal training course online, in person or via a hybrid delivery format (online and in person). The total course cost, study time and guided learning hours will vary depending on the delivery format, qualification and training provider you choose.
Course entry requirements:
To complete your Level 3 Certificate/Diploma in Personal Training, you must first complete your Level 2 Gym/Fitness Instructor Certificate. Many training providers offer the option to combine both the Level 2 in Gym/Fitness Instructing and the Level 3 Personal Trainer qualifications into one course called the Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing and Personal Training.
Some colleges and universities have embedded personal trainer qualifications into their learning programmes. You can browse our CIMSPA Endorsed Training Directory to check for colleges and universities that are recognised by CIMSPA for providing quality training to students. Here, you can also check what courses our endorsed colleges and universities offer as well as course entry requirements, a summary of course content/material and more information on how to apply.
You can find out more about completing a CIMSPA approved apprenticeship in Personal Training via The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) website.
Training
Typical earnings
Not currently available
Demand
Not currently available
Typical working patterns
Not currently available
As well as exploring new career pathways, as a personal trainer, you can also choose to progress your career by completing further training or continued professional development (CPD) in your role. This training can be added to enable personal trainers to show their expertise in additional populations, in different environments and with technical specialisms.
Examples of specialisms that may be added include are:
The content of the job posts displayed on the CIMSPA jobs board are pulled in through feeds from websites which are not under the control of CIMSPA.
CIMSPA will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the jobs board.