Strength Courses

Expand your client base and the coaching skills you offer by qualifying as a Strength Coach. If you’re a Personal Trainer, CrossFit Instructor, Weightlifting Coach or someone that works in a gym or sport environment and you’re looking to grow your strength training knowledge and skills, this range of accredited courses will help you to take your fitness career to the next level.

From athletes across different sports to everyday gym-goers, group classes and individuals with personal strength targets, everyone can benefit from strength training.

The knowledge you will gain from the BWL Strength Coach courses will enable you to train individuals or groups to improve their strength regardless of their experience in the gym.

Learn to coach strength, power and conditioning to the very highest standard using the core techniques and skills we have developed through our extensive knowledge of Olympic Weightlifting.

We are proud to work in partnership with the regulated awarding body Focus Awards to accredit our qualifications.

Certification: Level 2 Award in Coaching Strength Training

Is this course for me?

This is an entry level course. If you have at least one years’ experience participating in strength-based activities and you would like to develop your knowledge to become a Strength Coach, the online Level 2 Strength Coach entry level course will enable you to start coaching.

This course is also for you if you are already working as a Trainer or Instructor within the fitness industry and would like to add Strength Coaching to your CV.

What will I learn?

Effective coaching techniques and how to work with a range of different clients with sports specific goals or strength targets, including individuals and groups. Safe coaching practices, how to design and plan strength-focused training sessions, a detailed profile of 11 key strength training exercises and an understanding of programming, anatomy and nutrition in line with strength training.

Take a look at all 10 modules.

What does this course qualify me to do?

Coach individuals or groups in Strength Training.

The knowledge you will gain during this course will enable you to coach a client or group to improve their strength regardless of their experience in the gym.

And whilst this course has been developed using our extensive knowledge of Olympic weightlifting, strength training is not just for athletes and is not limited to the Olympic lifts. The benefits of strength training include helping to achieve individual client goals and improved performance across a range of different sports.

Prerequisites:

You must be at least 16 years of age at the time of booking, have a minimum of one years experience of participation in weightlifting and/or strength-based activities and be able to communicate effectively in English.

We offer two ways to complete this course:

E-learning only

Length of course: 12 – 16 hours

Standard Price: £350

Member Price: £333

E-Learning with face to face practical

Length of course: 12 – 16 hours

Plus an additional 1-day practical session

Price: Standard £375 | Member £356

Practical Courses

With the benefit of combining online and practical learning, you’ll gain invaluable experience and feedback from a fully qualified BWL Tutor. Our tutors have a broad range of backgrounds and skills from education, strength & conditioning and coaching providing you with the most comprehensive training and skills to become a great Coach.

As part of the 1-day practical you will review the BWL Technical Model for the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk to ensure you are able to add stable and good practice components when coaching the key positions. You will understand the physiological and psychological benefits of the warm up along with having peer to peer practise and support coaching the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk.

You will spend time practising coaching 9 strength exercises following the teaching process you have learnt as part of your online learning ensuring you are able to adapt your coaching techniques using vocabulary and terminology, non-verbal cues, positioning, questioning style.

You’ll also have the opportunity to ask BWL tutors questions relating to the e-learning already covered and how it translates into practical learning including programming and session planning considerations and the principles that underpin programme design.

Book Now

Get your online Level 2 Award in Coaching Strength Training: BOOK NOW

Book our online course with 1 day face to face practical: BOOK NOW

Combine our online Level 2 and Level 3 courses and save up to £48: BOOK NOW

Certification: Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Strength and Power

Is this course for me?

Do you have a client with specific strength goals and want to take them to the next level? Would you like to expand or diversify your client reach by gaining the next level qualification in strength and power?

There are many benefits of training strength and power. People of all sport disciplines benefit from strength training to further develop their performance and fitness levels and power has a key role in any sport and any movement, so being able to effectively coach to amplify your clients power output will set you above the competition.

What will I learn?

You will be introduced to the principles of Strength Training Theory and how to use them in your coaching, you will cover the anatomical demands of strength and power training and how to use this knowledge to develop effective training programmes that improve key physical attributes.

You will learn about biomechanical concepts, nutrition to support muscle growth and plyometrics, which is a training method that uses explosive and powerful exercises to build muscle power.

The course covers a wide range of exercises (20 in total) that work the entire body including the Olympic lifts. It will also develop your profiling, monitoring and programming skills.

Plus, you will gain access to the exclusive BWL Technical Model, which is designed to help coaches identify technical errors which can result in more meaningful interventions that help an athlete to maximise their capabilities.

Take a look at all 17 modules covered in this course

What does this course qualify me to do?

The knowledge and skills learnt as part of this course will enable you to coach an individual client or group to improve their strength and power technique.

Prerequisites:

You must be at least 17 years of age on the course start-date, have a minimum of one-year experience in participation in strength based activities, be able to communicate effectively in English and you must hold one or more of the following qualifications;

Level 3 Personal Training qualification
BWL Level 2 Award in Coaching Strength Training
BWL Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Weightlifting

We offer two ways to complete this course:

E-learning only

Length of course: 16 – 24 hours

Standard Price: £475

Member Price: £451

E-Learning with face to face practical

Length of course: 16 – 24 hours

Plus an additional 1-day practical session

Price: Standard £500 | Member £475

Practical Courses

The 1-day practical covers a review of the BWL Technical model in more detail, challenging learners to determine the purpose of the exercises, key coaching points for each exercise and how a coach might programme these exercises in a training block. The session also looks at the Power Snatch, an Olympic Weightlifting derivative, looking at WD-Posture-Bar trajectory and programming considerations.

You will spend time practising coaching 18 strength exercises following the teaching process you have learnt as part of your online learning ensuring you are able to adapt your coaching techniques using vocabulary and terminology, non-verbal cues, positioning, questioning style.

You will recap on theory and programming of plyometrics along with some practical exercise demonstrations.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to ask BWL tutors questions relating to the e-learning already covered and how it translates into practical learning including the principles that underpin programme design including how to approach designing a programme, the nuances around individual session planning and how to adapt sessions for groups and individuals and create a positive and engaging training environment.

Book Now

Get your Online Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Strength and Power: BOOK NOW

Book our online course with 1 day face to face practical: BOOK NOW

Combine our online Level 2 and Level 3 courses and save up to £48: BOOK NOW

*Terms and Conditions apply. For more details please click here

Certification: Level 4 Diploma in British Weight Liftings’ Coaching Strength and Conditioning

The Level 4 Strength and Conditioning (S&C) qualification has been designed for aspiring strength and conditioning coaches, with the ambition of providing high-quality S&C support to athletes of all abilities.

This includes:

Level 3 Personal Trainers

Advanced Level 3 Gym Instructors

Coaches engaged with the BWL education pathway i.e. coaches who have completed the BWL Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Strength and Power alongside relevant experience and/or industry-related qualifications (e.g. degree in related field, armed forces PT qualifications, advanced anatomy and physiology etc..)

British Weight Lifting’s aim in developing this course was to highlight the skills and knowledge required to be an effective strength and conditioning coach and as a result, provide a syllabus of learning for aspiring coaches. We believe the information in this course can help provide the foundations for effective coaching in the strength and conditioning industry.

What will I learn?

British Weight Lifting has developed this course in partnership with several contributors from the world of academia as well as experienced strength and conditioning practitioners. This provides a blend of evidence-based insight and real-world experience to give coaches the understanding and skills required to operate effectively in the strength and conditioning industry.

The course covers the key areas associated with being an effective S&C coach. This includes understanding the technical and physical skills that are required to utilise gym-based training modes such as weightlifting (Olympic lifting), resistance training (e.g. barbells, dumbbells) and plyometric training. Coaches will also be introduced to technical frameworks relating to sprinting, change of direction and agility.

A key responsibility for the S&C coach is to design periodised programmes that allow athletes to peak for key events and competitions (including the ability to maintain high levels of performance over a sporting season). During this course coaches will learn more about the principles that underpin effective programme design and how to balance the training, competition and recovery demands required to support the performance enhancement process. Examples of S&C programmes are integrated to provide coaches with real-world context.

In the course there is a focus on providing coaches with insight into the S&C coach’s role. To help achieve this, we have integrated interviews from S&C coaches who work in different sporting domains. In addition, we have also interviewed several members of the multidisciplinary team (e.g., sports coaches, physiotherapists etc…) to provide coaches with insight into the demands of working as part of an athlete support team.

A major focus is also placed on the development of psychological or ‘soft skills’ in the role of a S&C coach. These are often highlighted as vital skills that a coach needs to possess, however, they are often paid lip service. In this course coaches will not only learn about the importance of developing skills such as making a positive first impression, developing rapport and managing conflict, they will also be introduced to strategies that can help them improve their ability in each of these areas.

The Level 4 course has 20 online modules – further information on each of the modules can be found here.

How will I be assessed?

At the start of the course, you will have an online induction session with a BWL course assessor, which can be booked by contacting courses@britishweightlifting.org or our team will contact you with the next available date . Your assessor will talk through the course requirements so that you understand what to expect as you work through the course and explain how to contact your assessor should you need any additional support during your course.

The course integrates different assessment methods to help you get the most out of your learning. These include:

Module assessments: at the end of each module learners are required to complete a short online assessment that will help to determine their readiness to progress. These are automatically marked on the BWL e-learning platform and provide you with automatic feedback (these can be attempted unlimited times).

Assessed tasks: these are distributed throughout the modules and require longer-form answers that are marked by a BWL assessor.

12-week case study: the case study provides the aspiring S&C coach with the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned in a real-world setting. The case study is marked by a BWL assessor.

Practical assessment: the practical assessment allows a coach to demonstrate they have the ability to coach an athlete using a range of training modes. The practical assessment is overseen/assessed by a BWL assessor (the practical assessment can be completed via online video submission).

Completion of these assessments will allow you to demonstrate the required knowledge, skills and understanding to receive the BWL Level 4 Diploma in Coaching Strength and Conditioning and meet the professional standards of the CIMSPA Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach.

What does this course qualify me to do?

The knowledge and skills acquired through this course will enable you to support athletes (individuals and groups) to improve the various physical qualities that underpin sports performance (note that the course will guide coaches through the process of determining the physical qualities associated with specific sports).

The course is endorsed by CIMSPA against the Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach Professional Standard, which may be a perquisite of some employers recruiting strength and conditioning coaches.

Prerequisites:

You must be at least 18 years of age on the course start-date, have a minimum of one-year experience in participation in strength and conditioning-related activities and must hold one or more of the following qualifications;

Level 3 Personal Training qualification
Advanced Level 3 Gym Instructor qualification
British Weight Lifting (BWL) Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Strength and Power qualification alongside relevant experience and/or industry-related qualifications (e.g. degree in related field, armed forces PT qualifications, advanced anatomy and physiology etc…)

Learners should have basic skills in communication that will allow them to read, write, discuss and present throughout the course (i.e. be able to communicate effectively in English).

Learners should possess foundational IT (information technology) skills so they can navigate through the course material and complete the online assessments.

Online learning only

Length of course: 370 hours

Standard Price: £1295

Member Price:£1230.25

Note: Learners have the option to submit videos as part of the practical assessment or participate in a face-to-face assessment (the face-to face assessment option will include an additional fee).

You will have the option to purchase this in person practical session via your online learning platform on completion of your written case study.