Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training

Regulated by OFQUAL and approved by CIMSPA and REPs, The Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training is aimed at learners who are looking to become a personal trainer and who have achieved a Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instruction.

The Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training aims to provide the learner with the knowledge and skills required for an individual to work unsupervised as a personal trainer. This includes being able to offer one-to-one training, baseline assessment, nutritional advice and progressive programming which is specific to the individual needs of a client.

The Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training is worth 20 CIMSPA CPD points.

In order to achieve the Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training learners must complete the below mandatory units:

• Anatomy and Physiology for Exercise and Health
• Applying the Principles of Nutrition to a Physical Activity Programme
• Programming Personal Training with Clients
• Delivering Personal Training

These units will be assessed through a range of methods, including a portfolio (workbook), online multiple choice exam and practical assessment

• Prior to enrolling on the Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training, learners must have the necessary underpinning knowledge at level 2. Therefore, learners must have already achieved a Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing in Gym, or equivalent.
• The course requires physical exertion and individual participation is essential, therefore a degree of physical fitness is necessary.
• There is an element of communication (discussing, presenting, reading and writing) and application of number involved, and learners should have basic skills in communication and application of number at levels 3 and 2 respectively.

This qualification is fully endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). Learners who achieve this qualification are eligible to become a fitness instructor and become a member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). As a personal trainer, learners could progress directly into employment in a variety of contexts, which include: 

• Commercial gyms
• Public leisure centres
• Specialist personal training studios
• Independent/self-employed/mobile/home-based training settings
• Television, media and fitness
• Private health and fitness clubs
• Armed forces
• HM prison service
• Cruise liners


• Whilst the primary purpose of this qualification is to prepare learners for employment, learners may choose to develop their knowledge and skills further by completing an exercise referral qualification and then progressing to a specialist qualification including developing further at level 3 or 4 in one or more of the following areas:


• Exercise referral
• Exercise to music
• Physical activity programmes for antenatal and postnatal clients
• Physical activity programmes for older adults
• Mat-based Pilates
• Low back pain
• Obesity and diabetes
• Mental health
• Cardiac disease
• Fall prevention
• Stroke
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Cancer rehabilitation
• Long term neurological conditions