Level 4 sports nutrition course
Take your knowledge of sport and exercise nutrition to the next level and learn how achieve optimal results from clients and elite athletes
The UK's leading sport and exercise nutrition course
Get the most current and up-to-date sport and exercise nutrition knowledge to help your clients achieve peak physical and nutritional performance.
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Course type:
Home study
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Time to qualify:
8-10 weeks
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Entry requirements:
Level 2 fitness instructor qualification
Course overview: Sport and exercise nutrition coach
Help your clients to achieve peak physical and nutritional state with our Level 4 Nutrition to Support Sport and Exercise Performance course.
Participation in sport and exercise is at an all-time high with more people than ever now participating regularly in both. Interestingly, since the London 2012 Olympic games, sport and exercise participation has grown steadily across almost all sports, with running, cycling, football, swimming and golf being the frontrunners.
Outside of recreational sports, the interest and uptake of mass participation events like marathons, triathlons, duathlons, Spartan Runs and Tough Mudder for example has also risen sharply in recent years. Whether people are looking for new opportunities and challenges to stretch themselves physically, or to raise money for a good cause, the data suggests that the UK population quite literally has an appetite for sport and exercise.
Against the above backdrop, the demand for qualified and competent exercise and nutrition professionals that can provide high-quality, evidence-based nutrition support is high.
If you are an exercise professional looking to venture in to the world of sports nutrition, our Level 4 Nutrition to Support Sport and Exercise Performance could be just what you are looking for. This is our most advanced nutrition course.
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Entry requirements
We strongly recommend that you hold a recognised fitness instructor qualification (e.g. gym instructor, exercise to music, personal trainer, Pilates or Yoga teacher) with an Ofqual-approved awarding body (e.g. YMCA Awards, Active IQ, NCFE, Pearson etc).
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Accreditations
This Level 4 Nutrition for Sport and Exercise course is fully accredited by the YMCA Awards, ensuring that your knowledge and skills will be recognised and valued worldwide.
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Premium learning materials
Our level 4 sport and exercise nutrition coach course includes a wide range of learning materials which are technically rich, visually vibrant, easy to follow and developed with expertise. They are designed to help you get the most out of your studies, supporting your course and career.
Free ready-made meal plans
Included as a standard feature in this Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course are over 300 healthy meal plans that will reduce the time and effort it takes you to create meal plans for clients. These amazing, high-fidelity meal plans will literally save you weeks of work.
These delicious and ready-to-use recipe packs will expand your nutrition coaching potential, allowing you to confidently offer a broad range of clients a healthy variety of meals to meet their specific requirements. The meal plans and recipes that you get with this course include:
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5-ingredient meal plans
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Gluten-free recipe pack
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High-protein power pack
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Creative low-carb recipe pack
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Smoothie recipe pack
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Meat-free vegetarian selection
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Extensive range of vegan recipes
Coaching nutrition couldn’t be easier with this broad range of high-quality recipe packs. Every meal plan comes with a full shopping list and easy-to-follow instructions on preparation and cooking. What’s more, they are also accompanied with a MyFitnessPal barcode so clients can more accurately and conveniently track their calories and macros.
You're in safe hands
Our dedicated team of learner support tutors are on hand to help you with the technical content or any other support you need. We're here when you need us, via any of the following options:
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Email
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Phone
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Video call
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Webinar
What you'll learn
Becoming a competent sports nutrition coach requires a strong grasp of the science of human physiology and sports nutrition. You’ll also need to be able to apply the science to real-life situations to support your clients. Listed below are a range of subjects that are presented throughout this course, although this list is far from exhaustive:
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Principles of sports and exercise nutrition
Professional roles and responsibilities
Dietary reference values
Food quality and nutrient density
Optimum diet for athletes
Introduction to micro & macronutrients
Sourcing credible information -
Metabolism and bioenergetics
Metabolism and different metabolic measurements
The measure of energy and energy expression
Metabolic needs of different athletes
Factors affecting metabolism
Calculating macronutrient requirements
Bioenergetics in sport and exercise performance -
Nutrient science for sport and exercise
Carbohydrates: guidelines for sport and exercise performance
Protein: Guidelines for sport and exercise performance
Fat: guidelines for sport and exercise performance
Micronutrient requirements for different athletes
Optimum fluid and hydration strategies
Introduction to eating disorders is sport and exercise -
Developing effective nutrition strategies
Nutrition, health and disease, including metabolic, cardiovascular, gut health and epigenetics
Factors affecting diet and nutrition
Functional foods and nutrition
Nutrition through the life stages
Creating an effective nutrition strategy
Analysis of sports and their technical needs -
Supplements and performance enhancing substances
When to consider supplements and when to focus on foods first
Types of nutritional supplements
Optimum strategies for different nutritional supplements
Image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs)
Types and prevalence of IPEDs
IPEDs and the law
*Images and videos are for illustration purposes and may not depict specific course materials.
What will you bring to the table
as a sport and exercise nutrition coach?
Join thousands of nutrition graduates supporting clients to reach top-level physical performance at some of the UK's leading gyms, health clubs and institutions. Or will you take the self-employed route, training and providing nutritional advice to elite athletes or renowned sports teams for optimal performance? Your career as a sport and exercise nutrition coach can go as far and wide as you want it to.
How you'll be assessed
This nutrition course is assessed informally assessed throughout with a range of online multiple choice knowledge tests to ensure that you are absorbing the content and understanding the technical information. The course will conclude with an online interactive case study where you will need to demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge to real life situations.
25%
Workbook
- Multiple choice
- Completed online
- Need 100% to pass
- Unlimited resits
25%
Knowledge
- Informal style
- Embedded into course
- Varied styles
50%
Coursework
- Interactive case study
- Athlete profile
- Scenario-based questions
Stay in touch
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