Which Personal Training Course is the best?

As someone who has done numerous courses, including 2 personal training courses, and had my level 4 in obesity and diabetes materials compared with 2 different awarding bodies I can only give limited information, and will try to be as objective as possible.

There are a couple of key terms you need to understand before reading this article, and they are: awarding body or course provider; and institute or training provider. An awarding body is the organisation that designs the course that is learnt by the student, examples include: Active IQ, Focus Awards and YMCA Awards etc. A training provider is the institution that delivers the courses to the students.

Firstly, every training provider and awarding body will say the same thing “they are the best” but realistically speaking this is impossible to say. There is very little research into the quality of awarding body qualifications in the fitness industry that are objective, in fact those that are out there sometimes contradict themselves years later. All there is in the UK is a variety of reputable organisation that can give their stamp of approval for the courses. In the fitness industry, CIMSPA is the main accreditation training providers and awarding bodies aim for to ensure they have the highest standard of qualifications on offer. CIMSPA work very closely with awarding bodies and some training providers and over time more organisations will look for CIMSPA approval. CIMSPA has replaced REPS and will be overseeing all Sports and Physical Activity provisions in the UK. There are a lot of different awarding bodies out there, some more common than others, but all that matters to current and potential fitness professionals is the qualification is CIMSPA approved. This often leads to the qualification being regulated by Ofqual which oversees qualifications in the UK and other organisations such as UK Active offering their stamp of approval too.

“But which is best?” I hear you ask. Well it’s hard to say. 1st4sport, Active IQ, Australian Institute of Fitness, City & Guilds, Focus Awards, IAO, ITEC, NCFE, OCR, Pearson, SIS40215, Skills Active, Southampton Solent University, SQA, VTCT and YMCA are all CIMPSA approved awarding bodies for personal training course. Some are easier to find than others, some are more affordable than others but ultimately this is not the awarding bodies fault. Training providers can choose any awarding body they want to teach, but providers need to meet the relevant requirements of the awarding body. “So which courses are easier to find and are better?” Well, Active IQ, Focus Awards and YMCA Awards are probably the most common courses out there. For a long time Active IQ and YMCA Awards were the most common but Focus Awards are on the rise and it appears YMCA Awards are on the decline. Active IQ have lost some training providers to Focus Awards as well and I decided to look into why.

It appears Active IQ are one of the most popular course providers because their courses are designed by fitness industry professionals for fitness industry professionals. Some training providers have informed me they have moved away from Active IQ because there are a lot of “hoops to jump through” with the awarding body. Most training providers believe that the quality of the courses are better than others but don’t want to comment on specific awarding bodies’ flaws. One of things Active IQ have stated, they may be more expensive than other awarding bodies but ultimately the cost of the course for the learner is up to the training provider not the awarding body. Often the price of the course for the learner varies so much with the same awarding body there is no cheaper course for learners. It is totally up to the training provider.

Focus Awards is on the rise, and not all training providers have updated their websites yet to inform potential students. It might be because Active IQ and YMCA awards have the bigger reputation, but that won’t be for long, especially with YMCA awards becoming harder to find. There is still very little information about how they run their courses but having spoken with a few tutors they have said the courses are just as good as other providers. Which is ultimately all that matters, but some employers may need to keep up to date with the CIMSPA records as they may not know which awards are approved or not but it should say on the certificate it is CIMSPA approved.

“So what courses did you do?” I did my level 2 gym course with Active IQ which I felt was a comprehensive course that taught me everything I needed to know, I then followed this with a Level 2 in adapting fitness instruction to adolescents course and a circuit training course with Active IQ. I have not had a bad word to say about their courses, so would definitely recommend them. I did try a CYQ Level 3 Personal Training course which I wouldn’t recommend, I didn’t get any tutoring with the training provider and the course content was very heavy. So ultimately it put me off the discipline, until I started up again during the pandemic and went back to Active IQ to do my level 3 exercise referral, personal training and level 4 in obesity and diabetes courses.

“What training providers do you recommend?” This is a tricky one because I am still learning about what makes a “good” training provider. I did my Level 3 and 4’s with Focus Training Limited and unfortunately they went into liquidation. Companies go bust, fail inspections, and change names all the time. So I would recommend you do your own research. Below is the guide I recommend you follow and why:

1) Is the training provider delivering a CIMSPA approved course?

They should be promoting this with the awarding body on their website and marketing materials. If they don’t publish it, then you can ask them directly but most will promote it as it gives the provider credibility. You can also find a full list of CIMSPA approved courses for Personal Training in the reference list below.

2) Is the training provider OFSTED approved?

All you need to do is google OFSTED and type in training provider’s trading name into their report search box. Some providers are part of training organisations so if you can’t find them with their company name, ask them if they have been OFSTED’d and what their organisation name is with OFSTED. OFSTED oversee all education providers so if they are not Outstanding or Good then the quality is not worth being trained by. Also if they get an Inadequate rating or Grade 4 then the provider gets told to cease trading, the rules for schools and colleges are different due to their size and establishment but training providers tend to be smaller.

3) Is the course affordable?

Cheap doesn’t always mean value for money, and expensive doesn’t always mean it’s better quality. Training providers can charge what they want in theory, but more research is needed into what is deemed a reasonable price for these type of courses. Some providers like to justify their prices by adding additional CPD to their packages, but unfortunately these courses aren’t always CIMSPA approved or accredited. So discuss this with your current or potential employers, as they will often have strict guidance on what CPD they can or can’t accept. There are ways to get your course funded now using the Advanced Learner Loans. If they accept Advanced Learner Loans, through Student Finance, they will have to be OFSTED’d which gives the course provider more credibility.

4) What is the feedback on the training provider?

Trust Pilot is a great tool to see what customers think about businesses and training providers are no different. You should definitely take it with a pinch of salt, as anyone can set up a fake account, but it is a good idea to read a selection of reviews at different levels out of 5. You can often see which reviews are clearly just done for the sake of it, and those are just people who aren’t happy for not being happy’s sake. If you read the replies, you soon get a good feel for the company and whether their philosophy for training fits with your own learning needs. You can also spot those who have a template of how to deal with complaints. If a provider isn’t on Trust Pilot I wouldn’t use that against them, as long as they are OFSTED’d (1 Outstanding, 2 Good or 4 Requires Improvement) and delivering a CIMSPA approved course.

BONUS: Is the training provider affiliated with CIMSPA?

CIMSPA only recently replaced REPS and their remit is constantly evolving. Quite a few providers have already been affiliated and partnered with CIMSPA, which means they trust and approve of them training people in fitness and physical activity courses. If a company hasn’t affiliated or partnered with CIMSPA I wouldn’t distrust them, but in the future it is likely this will be expected of all training providers delivering these courses.

Final Thoughts

So in summary, do your research! From my own personal experiences, Active IQ are a great course provider and if the training provider is CIMSPA or OFSTED’d, then you are on the right lines. Something else to be aware of is: there are certificates, awards and diplomas in personal training. All this means, the amount or type of modules you learn on the course or the awarding body guidance will determine its name.

Doing courses isn’t just about training people, but it is also a business and companies need to make money. So if you follow the 4-5 steps above, you will have done all you need to do to be informed and make the best decision for you. I hope this helps as I have learned all this from my own experiences, and there is still more to learn. Feel free to drop me a message or comment below where possible.

References

https://www.cimspa.co.uk/membership/sport-and-physical-activity-practitioner/personal-trainer-practitioner-–-membership-entry-requirements