Level 3 exercise referral course
Make a difference to the lives of clients living with chronic illnesses and conditions with the industry-leading expert-delivered GP referral course
Fitness industry's leading awarding bodies.
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The industry-leading GP exercise referral course
Discover a course designed to help fitness professionals work with clients and manage chronic illnesses and conditions. This is an essential qualification for progressing to Level 4 and beyond.
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Course type:
Online or attended
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Time to qualify:
16-20 weeks
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Entry requirements:
A recognised fitness instructor qualification, plus Level 3 Anatomy and Physiology
How we support you
On top of extensive learning materials, your studying will be backed up by unlimited tutor support. Your friendly personal support tutor will be available to help you whenever you need, however you need it, including:
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Video calls
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Phone calls
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Emails
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Webinars
What you'll learn
Becoming a leading exercise referral specialist takes a certain level of commitment and the right combination of specialised knowledge and skills. To give you an idea of the knowledge and skills you'll develop in this exercise referral course, here is a list of some of the topics covered. You can also watch the video to see the standard of our learning materials that you can expect.
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Professional practice for exercise referral
Health, safety and welfare
Legal responsibilities in exercise referral
Setting up and monitoring referral schemes
Understanding professional competencies
Fundamental principles of referral schemes
Role of exercise and physical activity in exercise referral -
Understanding long-term health conditions
Arthritis & Osteoporosis
Joint replacement surgery
Simple mechanical back pain
Hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia
Obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Mental health conditions
Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism
Coronary artery disease
Peripheral artery disease -
Planning and delivering exercise for referred clients
Evidenced-based exercise guidelines
Resistance training for referred clients
Cardiovascular training for referred clients
Teaching and instructing methods
Monitoring exercise intensity
Adapting exercise for referred clients
Understanding medication and exercise prescription -
Communicating with and supporting referred clients
Creating a positive impression
Communication and rapport with clients
Introduction to motivational interviewing
Supporting lasting behaviour change
Benefits of communication
Probing, clarifying and leading
Overcoming barriers to physical activity -
Social determinants of health
Socio-economic influences of health
Health inequalities (nationally/internationally)
Health literacy and education
Social and community support
Lifestyle factors
Access to healthcare
*Images and videos are for illustration purposes and may not depict specific course materials.
Where will your exercise referral career lead you?
We supply a range of exercise referral courses and qualifications to a variety of commercial clients, some of which are featured below. Our team are therefore well placed to ensure that your journey in exercise referral gets off on the right foot.
How you'll be assessed
We use a range of assessment methods to determine your exercise referral knowledge and skills. Most of the knowledge assessments are completed online (e.g., multiple choice knowledge workbooks), whereas the planning and practical skills are completed offline, either at one of our training venues, or remotely via video assessment.
45%
Workbooks
- Medical conditions and medications
- Professional practice
- Planning and instructing
30%
Coursework
- Case study design
- Case study implement
- Professional discussion
25%
Practical
- Consultation
- Instructing
- Evaluation and review
Online exercise referral course
The online GP exercise referral course is a self-paced level 3 qualification that is delivered through a combination of home study, online learning and live support from a team of friendly learning support tutors.
The content is presented using a combination of training manuals and online lessons to ensure that you develop a deep and rich understanding of a wide range of medical conditions and how exercise can help to better manage them. The online lessons are presented by a medical doctor with over 15 years’ experience of working in GP and exercise referral schemes. This is the only exercise referral qualification delivered by a GP in the fitness industry.
With our online exercise referral course, you’ll work through the home study and online learning remotely in your own time, and record your practical assessment in an appropriate environment (gym, studio, outdoors) and submit this to us for assessment. Everything that you need to complete this qualification is included and provided as standard, including the support.
Learning contentAssessmentQualification
The online version of this qualification is exactly the same as our face-to-face programme. However, instead of attending one of our regional training venues, you’ll simply work through the online learning content remotely at your own pace.
We find the online course allows students to take a more bite-sized approach to their learning and to spread their study and assessment over a longer period. With the online programme, you get 6 months to complete your course so you can progress as fast or slow as you like.
When you need a little expert guidance or tuition, our team of experienced Learning Support Tutors will be on hand to help.
Again, the assessment methods are identical to those listed above. However, instead of completing a practical assessment at one of our training centres, you’ll record yourself teaching your client remotely, and submit this to us for assessment via our Learner Engagement System (LES). You don’t need any specialist equipment, as most students use their phone to record their practical assessment.
The workbooks and coursework is also completed online in LES. This includes a range of web-based multiple choice, drag drop and match activities to assess your knowledge and understanding of key exercise referral subjects. You’ll also have a few worksheets and a real-life case study to complete.
Whether you choose to complete this exercise referral course online or at one of our venues, you’ll receive exactly the same industry recognised and Ofqual regulated qualification.
On completion of this course, you’ll be awarded with the YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Supporting Participation in Physical Activity: Long-Term Health Conditions.
This qualification is also recognised by CIMSPA and can therefore be used towards your annual CPD points.
Attended course: GP referral
If you would like to complete your exercise referral course in person, then our attended programme will be perfect for you.
This course is delivered through blended learning, combining a short period of home study with 2 days of practical training and assessment.
The practical training is delivered at weekends from one of our regional training venues, which include London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Cardiff and York.
We’ve supplied a little more detail below about our attended programme. If however you do have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our Careers Team who will be more than happy to assist.
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Home study
You'll be required to complete the home study learning activities remotely (reading, watching videos, online quizzes) under the guidance of our Learning Support Team.
We generally recommend that you allow yourself around 6-8 weeks to complete this, which is based on an average of 1 hour of learning per day. -
Attendance
You'll need to attend 2 days of practical training and assessment and these courses are usually held at weekends to maximise access for our students that are already working.
During the course, you will participate in a range of classroom and practical activities that are designed to consolidate what you have learned at home and show you how to apply this knowledge to real-life scenarios in the exercise referral workplace. -
Assessment
During the home study period you will complete a range of online knowledge workbooks to demonstrate you are developing a good understanding of the medical conditions, medications, and how exercise can positively and negatively affect these.
The final day of your attended course will require you to teach an exercise session to a simulated client (another student on the course) who has been referred to you with one or more long-term medical conditions. You’ll need to demonstrate to your assessor that you can teach safe and effective exercises to this client.
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