Level 4 award in Strength and Conditioning

Improve your body strength, technique, movement efficiency and power whilst avoiding injury and supporting your mental wellbeing with the Virgin Active academy.

Become a Strength & Conditioning Coach

in under 12 weeks

Why Strength and Conditioning?

  • Accredited and CIMSPA-endorsed qualification
  • Blended learning experience - face to face and online
  • Radically expand your knowledge and skillset
  • Make a bigger impact through your work
  • Attract truly dedicated clients and get them serious results

Why Virgin Active?

  • Industry-leading Academy with private strength & conditioning studio, modern equipment and gym space
  • World-class content developed and delivered by industry experts
  • Feel confident to redefine your career
  • We live and breathe fitness. We love nothing more than helping you live happily ever active

Course outcomes

  • Increase your Strength and Conditioning knowledge and skillset
  • Deliver successful coaching and get results for your clients
  • Reach your full potential. Gain tools and the mindset to build an amazing coaching business and career
  • Access to vacancies across all Virgin Active clubs

What does the course include?

With 17 comprehensive modules you will complete this course feeling confident in Strength and Conditioning to redefine your career. If you have a passion for fitness and want to become the very best coach, this course is for you.

How will the course be assessed?

To complete your qualification you will need to complete all the online learning plus the 2 day assessment day. Day 1 will consist of practical teaching points regarding specific Olympic lifts. Day 2 will be the practical exam. 

CIMSPA-endorsed

Our course is CIMSPA-endorsed, meaning you'll have a nationally recognised qualification to be able to start coaching with advanced knowledge of Strength and Conditioning. We'll even introduce you to our club teams and we have live vacancies for you to apply to!

Accordion in HTML5
Course breakdown

Cost: £999 (external) £799 (employee discount)

Modules included in the course:

  • 1: THE NEEDS ANALYSIS - How to structure a good needs analysis to select appropriate performance assessments based on the client’s situation

  • 2: DESIGNING THE MACRO, MESO & MICRO CYCLES - Develop and build macro, meso and micro cycles when designing client programmes

  • 3: DESIGNING RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAMMES - To be able to explain the key principles of designing the resistance components of a client’s programme

  • 4: SPEED & AGILITY PROGRAMMING - To be able to explain the key principles to designing the Speed and Agility components of a client’s programme

  • 5: PLYOMETRIC TRAINING & PROGRAMMING - This module will provide direct guidance for how to implement plyometric training

  • 6: BUILDING THE PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME - Design performance programmes that address a client’s needs based on their chosen activity

  • 7: PERIODISATION ESSENTIALS - Periodisation models and fundamental periodisation principles

  • 8: ENDURANCE TRAINING PROGRAMME DESIGN & ESD - This module will explain the key principles to designing endurance programmes and Energy System Training

  • 9 ADVANCED PROGRAMME DESIGN - Implement advanced training methods within your client’s programmes

  • 10: RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRESSIONS - Understand how to progress resistance-based training and ensure continued client adaptation and progression

  • 11: ADVANCED STRENGTH & POWER TRAINING - To learn more advanced training techniques whilst understanding when and where to use in your client’s programmes

  • 12: TRANSFER OF TRAINING - To understand the key principles of the Transfer of Training to better affect client’s results

  • 13: MOBILITY & STABILITY TRAINING - To understand and explain the key principles of mobility and stability when designing client’s training programmes

  • 14: CORE TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS - Understanding the principles of implementing core training within a client’s programme

  • 15: DESIGNING INJURY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES - This module will provide direct guidance when designing any injury reduction training programmes

  • 16: RECOVERY & REGENERATION - Learn how to understand, explain and prescribe strategies to aid in the recovery and regeneration for clients following injury or time away from exercise

  • 17: LONG-TERM ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT - Learn the fundamentals of training youth clients and how such clients should be progressed over a period of time
  • Accordion in HTML5
    Upcoming dates Improve your Strength & Conditioning knowledge with the Virgin Active Academy.

    The course itself takes on average 10-12 weeks, with a total of 406 hours of online learning. This equates to just over 4 hours a day or around 30 hours per week.


    The practical part of the course is ran over 2 days, with the assessment on the final day. 9am - 5pm both days. Upcoming practical dates:

     
  • Thursday 28th & Friday 29th March
  •  

  • Thursday 25th & Friday 26th April
  •  

  • Thursday 30th & Friday 31st May
  •  

  • Thursday 27th & Friday 28th June
  •  

  • Thursday 25th & Friday 26th July
  •  

    Alternative face-to-face course:

  • 24 April, 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 May
  •  


    Price: £1,200
    Accordion in HTML5
    Extras

  • Strength and Conditioning courses will be held at Mansion House, London (Virgin Active head office).
  • 16 students per cohort.
  • Course practical takes place on the last Thursday and Friday of every month.
  • You must have completed level 3 before taking this course.


  • Take your skill set further by combining some of our courses with your Strength & Conditioning training and save yourself hundreds of pounds.

    Level 4 Personal Trainer

  • Level 4 Strength and Conditioning
  • Level 4 Nutrition coach
  • Level 3 personal trainer
  • Level 2 gym instructor
  • Total cost for all four courses as a package: £3,150.

    Level 4 Strength and Conditioning Coach

  • Level 4 Strength and Conditioning
  • Level 3 personal trainer
  • Level 2 gym instructor
  • Total cost for all three courses as a package: £2,654.

    Take your career up a level. Interested? Speak to one of our team today.

    Before you sign up, make sure...

    • You have a good level of physical fitness (this is a hands-on course with practical demonstrations involved!)
    • You have basic skills in communication (discussing, presenting, reading, writing)
    Back To Top