Personal trainer studies in English in Finland
This blog post has been written by Maiju-Emilia Huppunen, a Customer Success Specialist and a teacher in nutrition and biochemistry at IntensivePT's Finnish-language education.
Is your dream to become a personal trainer (PT) and help others to reach their goals in health and wellbeing? Or are you interested in deepening and supporting your own workout or healthy lifestyle? However, have you ever thought about how challenging it might be to become a PT while living in Finland, where most of the programs are in Finnish? Good news! At IntensivePT, we provide education in Finnish, English, Estonian, Swedish and Icelandic! Whether you don’t speak Finnish at all, or are learning it, you can choose either our Finnish or English education paths, or even both meaning you can have materials in both languages at the same price! Next, I will present how the education path is built here at IntensivePT and give you some basic information about both Finnish and English educations since they differ a bit.
What does the personal trainer education include?
The task of a personal trainer is, in simple terms, to help the person they coach reach their goals. Every client is different and unique resulting in as many goals as there are clients. This requires extensive knowledge in various subjects related to health, exercise and nutrition. Our goal at IntensivePT is to give the best possible scientific knowledge to our students and help them to apply the theory into the practice. In this education, you will have full support before, during and after the course. We invest in our students and truly promote the personal development of each individual towards becoming a knowledgeable and responsible PT.
Our education consists of two or three parts based on the education path chosen. Theory lessons and exams to demonstrate your knowledge are mandatory in both Finnish and English educations. The practical lessons (one weekend) are mandatory only in Finnish education but can also be included in English education if wished.
Theory lessons in the personal trainer education
You will receive a very broad theoretical foundation covering all essential knowledge for a PT. These topics include, among others, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, sports sciences, diet and nutrition. You will also learn about the different career pathways and tools needed while working as a professional PT.
In the Finnish education, theory lessons will be held as live lectures on weekdays for a period of 6 weeks. During these lessons, you have the opportunity to ask or answer the lecturer's questions and receive direct feedback. Each lesson will also be recorded, so you have the opportunity to go back to the lessons on your own whenever it suits you. All recordings will be saved within your study portal, and you will have access to them as long as you need them. This is also useful for revision or for breaking down the content into shorter segments.
If you prefer to study in English, you have the opportunity to access IntensivePT English course materials as well. You just need to get in touch with our customer service, and we will arrange the material for you as quickly as possible. The English education is fully remote and 100 % self-paced. All the lectures have been recorded in advance meaning you can choose the study pace that fits you the best. If you have any questions about the lectures you can either contact the teacher giving the lecture or our customer service.
The practical part in the personal trainer education
The practical lessons take place over a weekend and involve very intensive studying. However, do not worry, breaks will be provided, and your well-being during the days will be taken care of. During these days, you will learn a lot about customer-centered work and how to interact with a client. You will also meet lots of new friends and future colleagues. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss, question and learn new things, and gain perspectives from other students and teachers.
You will learn, among other things, the basics of various forms of exercise (e.g., compound exercises, kettlebell movements, Olympic lifts), what techniques exist to instruct someone (verbally, tactically, visually), and last but not least, you will have the opportunity to develop your own coaching style. Therefore, the focus of the practical days is not directly to develop, test, or improve your personal physical abilities. You will certainly receive a good foundation for that, but the goal is to evolve as a PT more than as an athlete.
The practical weekend is held in Finland in Finnish alternately in Vantaa and Tampere. As mentioned earlier, the practical weekend is only mandatory in Finnish education. However, if you want to do the practical weekend as an English speaker you are more than welcome to join! However, we encourage you to contact our customer service and let them know that you don’t speak Finnish. We regularly have several English-speaking students participating in our courses, and thus, we can try to find out if other English-speaking students have signed up for the same practical weekend as you. Even though the practical days are held in Finnish, our teachers speak English and therefore can give instructions in English as well. Just mention that you don’t understand Finnish very well at the beginning of the practical days and our teachers can help you with the translations if needed.
Exams in the personal trainer education
To graduate as an international personal trainer, you need to pass two exams: one theory-based and one focused on practical skills. Both exams are also divided into several subject-specific sub-exams. The theory part consists of multiple-choice questions with some calculation tasks. The practical exam can be done after passing the theory exam, and here the answers are written in the form of essays. To pass the exams, a minimum of 80 % correct is required in each sub-exam. All exams will be conducted completely online and do not require physical presence at a specific location for a certain period! Once you start the exam, you have 10 days to get all parts approved. You can take as long break between theoretical and practical exams as needed. The exams can be taken in both Finnish and English!
Practical information about the personal trainer education
The price for the education is 1980€ including VAT, even though you wish to have access to both Finnish and English materials. It is possible to pay as a one-time payment either by card or invoice. Monthly billing in 12 (165€/monthly) or 24 (85€/monthly) installments is also possible, both by card and invoice. Unfortunately, our education does not entitle you to the student support from Kela, but if needed, you can apply for unemployment benefits at the TE Office in your area. Upon request, we will provide the necessary documents to support the application.
After the education, when you have been certified as an internationally certified PT
Our goal with the education is to train you to become a knowledgeable and responsible future professional in the fitness and health industry. After passing the exams (and participating in the practical weekend), you will receive the certification and graduate as an international personal trainer (EQF level 4). Our education follows European quality standards and is accredited by EuropeActive. After graduation, you will have access to the EREPS register (European Register of Exercise Professionals), after which you also have the opportunity to transfer the registration to the REPS register (Register of Exercise Professionals), which is recognized in, among other places, the USA, the UK, Australia, and Dubai.
Did you become interested in studying to become a personal trainer in English?
Sign up for the PT education here.
After registration, please contact us and mention that you wish to start the PT education in English.
Feel free to contact us with any questions. We strive to assist you in the best possible way and our customer service also serves you in English. Welcome to join us!
