About us
We work for the trainer, not the industry
FASTER Health and Fitness has backed UK personal trainers since 2006. Founded and still led by John Hardy, taught by the people who write the courses.
See the coursesEst. August 2006. Built for trainers, by someone who got sick of the industry ignoring them.
The short answer
What is FASTER?
FASTER Health and Fitness is a UK fitness education company, established 2006. FASTER stands for the Functional Application of Science, Technology, Education and Research. We deliver personal trainer qualifications, delivered through FOCUS Awards and recognised by CIMSPA, plus our own coach, specialist and expert courses, taught online by the people who write them.
Why I started it
The story
I had qualifications up to my eyeballs. An MSc in Sports Science, a degree in Coaching, and a stack of certifications, NASM, NSCA, ACE, ACSM and more. I had worked every corner of the industry: health club chains, single clubs, freelance, and building the career routes and courses that the big providers put their name on.
And I was fed up. Nobody looked out for the trainer. They still do not. The people who care most about their clients had no one in their corner, no honest route to good information, and an industry full of gurus. So in August 2006 I set up FASTER to give it a kick.
I ran the first FASTER course in a garden in the Midlands that November. Since then I have brought the TRX education to the UK, helped get the Core Momentum Trainer to market, invented a floor mat called the FASTER Hub to make complicated movement simple, and taught in pubs, parks, a football stadium, a Vegas hotel and on a cinema stage in Leicester Square. Normal was never the point.
I have deliberately never partnered with the big corporates, so FASTER answers to its students and no one else. I put FASTER trainers before celebrity trainers, and I keep standing up to the institutions that side with corporations over coaches. I get copied for it. I do not care. I am not scared to fight for what is right.
The founder
Meet John Hardy
John is FASTER's founder and lead educator, and he writes or co-writes everything FASTER teaches. He holds a Masters in Sports Science, focused on Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement, and a degree in Coaching.
He also brings stand-up, improv, sketch and story-writing into how FASTER teaches, because a trainer who can deliver an experience keeps clients for life, not just passes an exam. He has presented around the world and spent nearly twenty years building the industry, and FASTER, in the trainer's favour.
"John Hardy is the most giving and inspiring teacher I've ever had the pleasure of learning from."Aimie Smith · Google review
What makes us different
The FASTER difference
Free access, forever
Do a FASTER course once and it stays yours. Trainers who studied with us over ten years ago still come back for the latest material, for free.
The founder still answers you
John owns and runs FASTER, and he is still reachable to every student. One-to-one coaching and CEO availability, not a call centre.
Science you can use
We teach the research you can actually use with clients, not research for its own sake. We were teaching trainers to coach online back in 2012.
A real community
Every course has a WhatsApp group, and John connects trainers, with their permission, to clients, research, opportunities and each other.
Honest pricing
The price is the price. Payment plans at checkout, no deposit games, no sales calls.
The PT Trainer Register
A free listing and free leads for every FASTER graduate. Get found by clients, at no cost, for being good.
The team
The people who teach you
FASTER is not one person, even if I started the noise. These are the people who write, teach and run it.
John Hardy MSc
Founder. Writes or co-writes everything.
Joanne Groves
Teaches Motor Skill Application Specialist (MSAS) and Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist. Writing the Training Tools course.
Amy Snelling
Teaches Core & Pelvic Floor Specialist.
Ollie Pearce
Wrote Games for Pain and Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist.
David Cooke
Runs Accelerate Coaching, which delivers FASTER's Level 2 and Level 3.
James Barr
Author and tutor for FASTER Sports Scientist, with more courses coming.
Justin Richards
Co-wrote and lectured on Stop Turn Accelerate.
Karen Prato
Writing the Pilates Injury Strength and Movement Specialist course.
Alison Graham
Co-runs and writes Digital Presenter.
Dan Farr
Teaches the Hub Club with a Hub practicals.
Peter Swallow
Writing a course on movement to weights.
Charlie Knight
Lifting and strongman specialist. Set up Red Beard with FASTER's help.
Lee Somerville
Teaches Advanced Combat Techniques for Personal Trainers.
In their words
What students say
"Faster offers evidence-based training, built on the latest research, ensuring you understand the why behind the science. It has helped me go from no confidence and no clients to a full business."
Dawn Preston"Using 1-1 bespoke training, Faster has transformed my coaching, from client interviews to understanding science, researching goals, and even presenting internationally."
Peter Swallow"I now create evidence-based exercise programmes for my clients, thanks to Faster. This knowledge helped my business thrive, even through challenges that need work-life balance and flexibility."
Jasmine ReddinCome and see for yourself
Have a look at the courses, or message John and ask him anything. No sales calls, no pressure.