Everything here is in my opinion and what I say I feel to be true. Granted some folk will disagree, but I am sure what I’m saying makes sense even if it not 100% true.
I have been enquiring about Personal Training courses and have spoke to 2 companies directly regarding what I will get, how it works and how much it costs.
I can have a certificate in 6 weeks that will grant me a status of a level 3 personal trainer for just £1200/1300. Let’s break that down…
I pay the £1200 and then I can download all the paper work to study and answer the question sheet. I then have to do 2 days on the weekend after the 6 weeks, which will be a physical assessment in the gym. I then have a piece of paper that states I can train others. I asked what would happen if I fail the course and they both replied that I would not fail and it’s that simple. This tells me that you are essentially paying £1200 for a certificate that you are guaranteed to pass.
I asked the questions about me not ever setting foot in the gym and they said that it does not matter as they will give you everything you need to be able to train others. With 6 weeks of book knowledge and 2 days of gym assessments I can train others. I still don’t quite get it and I personally feel that it is some sort of a scam that companies are abusing for quick cash.
Now let’s get something right. If the person that was guiding me through the course was a pro trainer, I wouldn’t have so much of an issue as they know what it takes. One of the phone calls I had felt wrong in the sense that the person on the other end of the phone sounded like they were out shopping or something. When I am about to spend such a large sum of money I’d expect a more professional discussion.
I now understand why the course is as good as a guaranteed pass and this is down to the fact that industry requires a high percentage off pass rates to have the course recognised. The pass rate for these courses are 90%+. Is this down to the fact that they prioritise the pass rate over the standard of learning?
What am I going to do?
I will continue to do exactly what I’m doing now. I will continue to get hands on-in-the gym and train with others to give me a real sense of knowledge that is helpful to me. My philosophy is simple, train hard, eat well, look good and people will want to train with you and feed of your success naturally. (I have a long way to go, I’m just sharing my point)
If you had the choice to train with someone with all the qualifications the internet will let you buy or someone that had no paper work, but looked amazing, who one would you prefer to be trained by?
Let’s be fair though, I am me, obviously. This is just the way I hope to go and as It’s my blog, I am simply making notes of my journey and this is one of them I need to make. (I have wrote this several times and I have kept them private. I just needed more information before making a public version)
**I’M NOT SAYING PERSONAL TRAINING COURSES ARE A SCAM AND I’M SURE MANY OF YOU ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL**
(but did you start from absolutely nothing)
Just follow the dream…
Health and HIT 