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A career in fitness and personal training can be extremely rewarding for the right person. If you have an interest in fitness training and a real passion for helping people then it could be just perfect for you.

If you have decided that being a fitness instructor or personal trainer is for you, the next question you’re certain to ask is how to become a fitness trainer. This article aims to give you all of the necessary steps and advice you need to become a personal trainer in the UK.

What are the things I need in order to be Personal Trainer?

There are 4 things that you’ll need in order to become a Personal Trainer in the UK:

1. Level 2 Gym Instructor qualification

2. Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification

3. Personal Trainer Insurance

4. Job opportunities

Level 2 Gym Instructor qualification

There are two courses that you will need to take in the beginning. The first of which is the level 2 gym/fitness instructor course, which is the standard starting point for most people’s fitness careers.

The level 2 course material is around GCSE level and anybody that has a prior interest and some knowledge with fitness should find it relatively straightforward. Upon gaining your level 2 qualification you will be able to work at a gym as a fitness instructor but not a personal trainer; there is a difference.

A fitness instructor is able to assist with members inside the gym and perform induction sessions but they won’t be able to work with clients on a 1-2-1 basis.

A fitness instructor qualification is generally cheaper in terms of price than the Personal Trainer qualification and you could save even more if you do a combined course like the Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing & Personal Training.

Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification

The level 3 course is a step up from level 2 and can be likened to the beginning of A-levels or a college Diploma so it can be quite challenging to some people. Luckily, we have a 90% first-time pass rate for our Personal Trainer course. You will also find you get a lot more freedom and the chance to be more creative with your work during the level 3 course; it is really where things start to get exciting.

Once you have gained your level 3 qualification, you now have the appropriate education to begin your career as a personal trainer in the UK.

Personal Trainer insurance

Once you are qualified you will want to get yourself some insurance. The official type of insurance you need is public liability insurance. This is there to cover you if a client ever gets injured under your instruction and loses income as a result. There are different types of insurances that cover different situations so be sure to do your research and find one that covers all of the activities you are likely to be doing with your clients. REPS is of course one of the most popular companies that provide insurance.

Job opportunities

Once you are fully qualified, health and safety trained and insured, you can begin looking for work. Deciding where you want to work can be a tricky decision as there are many options to choose from.

The most common struggle is to decide whether you want to be a freelance trainer or become a trainer at a gym and work for that gym. There are many pros and cons to each and getting into them is outside the scope of this article.

However, I will say that being employed by a gym and not working as a freelance trainer is probably going to be the better option for most new trainers. Usually, this route involves doing a mix of gym instructor work and personal training, which is great for building confidence and knowledge. We help our students get interviews thanks to our links to the big named gyms.

Summary and overview of becoming a personal trainer

To sum up and give you a quick outline of the process to working as a trainer in the fitness industry, here is the step-by-step guide:

1. Take and complete the level 2 gym instruction course.

2. Take and complete the level 3 personal training course.

3. Purchase appropriate public liability insurance.

4. Find your first job in fitness.

Of course, there are many other add-ons and continued education courses that can and should be taken. However, they are not vital to get started.

Speaking of “getting started”, that really is the first thing you need to do. Once you decide a fitness career is for you then it’s time to take action and not allow yourself to procrastinate.

The fitness industry truly can be rewarding. So, if you really do have the drive for it, start taking the appropriate steps today!