How to become a personal trainer in the UK: every step, every price

The short answer

To work as a personal trainer in the UK you need two qualifications. A Level 2 Gym Instructor certificate gets you onto a gym floor. A Level 3 Personal Trainer certificate lets you train clients for a living. With FASTER, Level 2 is £600 and Level 3 is £900. Bought together with the Movement Trainer course, the Certified PT Bundle is £1,500, or £200 deposit and 16 monthly payments of £94, plan total £1,704. Bought apart those three come to £1,875. There is no entry qualification and no waiting for a course date. When you certify, the PT Manager software and your listing on the register are included, and you keep the course content for life.

Key Takeaways

• Two qualifications, Level 2 then Level 3. That is the legal route, and it has not changed.
• The certificate is not the hard part. Passing it without support is.
• Buying a bag of courses on day one is the most expensive mistake in this industry, and it is sold as a bargain.

What you actually need

Two things. Level 2, then Level 3. Both delivered through FOCUS Awards, both recognised by CIMSPA.

That is it. Everything else you will be offered on day one is somebody guessing what you will need before you have met a single client.

What each part costs

What	Price	Payment plan
Level 2 Gym Instructor	£600	£100 deposit + 7 × £86, plan total £702
Level 3 Personal Trainer	£900	£150 deposit + 10 × £90, plan total £1,050
Movement Trainer	£375	Pay in full, or three payments with Klarna
All three together	£1,500	£200 deposit + 16 × £94, plan total £1,704

Bought apart: £1,875. Together: £1,500.

That is not a discount and there is no RRP crossed out next to it. Those are the live prices on this site today, and they will be the same next Thursday.

The bit nobody warns you about

Most people picture it like this. You buy some courses, you come out an expert, you get stuck in.

So they buy the bag. Ten courses, twelve courses, a Level 4 they will not touch for three years. They step onto the conveyor belt and find out how long they can hang on.

Here is what actually happens. The certificate is tougher to pass than the advert suggested. There is no support, because support costs the seller money. And the learning environment was built for the company selling it, not for you.

We know, because ours used to be one of those. We were paying £6,000 a year for a platform that was fine for the people who sold it and awkward for the people learning on it. So we binned it and built our own, for our students only.

If typing is the thing standing between you and a qualification, that is a daft reason to fail. Speak it instead.

Does the awarding body matter?

Yes, but less than the adverts imply. You want an Ofqual-regulated qualification, and you want CIMSPA recognition. FOCUS Awards gives you both.

What differs between providers is not the certificate. It is whether a human reads your work.

Ours are marked by a real person. Somebody who wants you to pass, and who writes back something you can use. Not a screen that tells you 6 out of 10 and leaves you to guess which four.

How long does it take?

Most people take a few months around a job. You can go faster. You can go slower and nobody will chase you, because there is no deadline to miss and no cohort to fall behind.

Buy today, start today. There is no sales call, because there are no salespeople.

The good bit

Here is what the conveyor belt never mentions. Qualifying is the beginning of something you get to shape.

If you are not carrying a bag of courses you never opened, you can let your clients find you. You will discover what you actually enjoy, which is almost never what you assumed.

You might come in certain you want to train athletes. You train a few. You work out it is not for you. Then you find the same skills applied to 50-plus executives are far more fun.

Gold medals, blurgh. Beating Steve from Accounts at squash, now that is worth the training.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Level 2 before a Level 3?

Yes. Level 3 assumes you already hold Level 2, so you cannot start there. With FASTER, Level 2 is £600 and Level 3 is £900, or £1,500 for both plus Movement Trainer.

How much does it cost to become a personal trainer in the UK?

The two qualifications you need cost £1,500 together with FASTER, or £600 and £900 bought separately. Payment plans are available, with the deposit and the plan total both stated before you buy.

Do I need a qualification to start the course?

No. There is no entry requirement for Level 2, no entry test, and no waiting for a course date. You buy it and you start it.

What happens after I qualify?

Your PT Manager software unlocks, your listing on the FASTER register goes live and stays free, and you keep return access to the course content for life, including every update.

Start here

The Certified PT Bundle is Level 2, Level 3 and Movement Trainer together. £1,500 paid in full, or £200 deposit and 16 monthly payments of £94, plan total £1,704.

Not sure it is right for you? Ask. John will tell you straight whether this fits or whether something else suits you better, including telling you not to buy yet. The founder answers the WhatsApp.