FTE
Challenge your own bias for a year and watch what it does to your coaching
The short answer
Most trainers stop learning once they qualify, then repeat the same myths for a decade. The myths survive because they are rarely tested against evidence, and the industry has no reason to test them. Supramaximal eccentric training, still taught as a strength shortcut, was found no better than traditional loading in a 2018 meta-analysis (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Buskard et al., 2018). FTE is a year built to break that cycle: research skills, bias-checking, myth-busting and live practice, rebuilt every year. It is £3,600, or £600 deposit and 18 monthly payments of £200, plan total £4,200.
Key Takeaways
- Myths persist because nobody who profits from a course is paid to test it.
- Supramaximal eccentrics, sold as a strength shortcut, beat nothing in a 2018 meta-analysis.
- The skill nobody teaches trainers is communication. FTE trains it through improv and acting.
The guru is dead, the conveyor belt took over
Staying in this industry a while, the courses start to feel like the same ones going round on a belt.
The big fitness guru got killed by the internet, and good riddance to most of them. What replaced them is worse in a quieter way. Conveyor belt education companies, shifting as many courses as they can, each one a slight repackage of the last.
You feel it as CPD fatigue. Same five topics, new cover, another certificate for the wall. And underneath it, the myths you absorbed at Level 3 sit untouched, because nothing in the machine is built to challenge them.
Why the myths survive
Here is the mechanism, said plainly. A company selling you a course is not paid to find out the course is wrong.
So things get taught because they were taught. Take supramaximal eccentric training, lowering loads heavier than your one-rep max, still sold as a superior strength method. A 2018 meta-analysis found it no more effective than traditional resistance training for lower-body one-rep max, while carrying higher injury risk and worse soreness (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Buskard et al., 2018). Taught anyway.
Or movement tempo. A 2020 study found tempo significantly changes one-rep max bench results (Journal of Human Kinetics, Wilk et al., 2020), which means a trainer prescribing slow eccentrics without testing at that tempo is assigning the wrong load. A small myth, quietly costing results in real sessions.
And the pelvic floor gap turns up here too. A 2023 survey of 636 health and exercise professionals found widespread failure to screen exercising women for pelvic floor symptoms (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Dakic et al., 2023). Not because trainers do not care. Because nobody trained them to.
What a year of not stopping looks like
I built FTE as the opposite of the belt. You pay once and keep coming back, and it is rebuilt every year, and it pushes hard against the industry it sits in.
It is not a social club, though the community is half the point. It is a year of actual work.
Learning how to research, and how to challenge your own bias, which is the hardest one. Working through every part of training a client. Busting the myths above and the ones we have not caught yet. Meeting live to sharpen the things you cannot learn from a PDF, observing movement and designing exercise in the room.
And the bit nobody teaches trainers at all. Communication, worked through improv and acting skills. Because the best-programmed session in the world dies if you cannot get the human in front of you to believe in it.
Who this is actually for
Not everyone. This is for the trainer who has noticed the belt and refuses to ride it for another decade.
If you have climbed the ladder and you want to stay at the front, questioning what you were handed rather than reheating it, this is the top. It is a yearly professional anchor, and most people who join come back the next year.
If you are not sure you are ready, ask, and I will tell you straight, including not yet.
Frequently asked questions
Why do fitness myths persist for so long?
Because the businesses teaching them are not paid to test them. Practices survive on repetition, not evidence. Supramaximal eccentric training is still sold as a strength shortcut despite a 2018 meta-analysis finding it no better than traditional loading (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Buskard et al., 2018).
Is continuing education worth it for an experienced trainer?
Yes, if it challenges what you believe rather than repeating it. Even settled basics move. A 2020 study found movement tempo significantly affects one-rep max results (Journal of Human Kinetics, Wilk et al., 2020), which changes how you load a client.
What makes FTE different from a normal CPD course?
It is a year, not a one-off, rebuilt annually, and you keep coming back for a single fee. It trains research and bias-checking, busts myths, runs live practical work, and teaches communication through improv, which standard CPD ignores.
What does FTE cost?
£3,600 paid in full, or £600 deposit and 18 monthly payments of £200, plan total £4,200. Completing an Expert-level course unlocks lifetime access to the PT Manager and register.
Start here
FTE is £3,600, or £600 deposit and 18 monthly payments of £200, plan total £4,200. It is the top of the FASTER ladder, a year of research, myth-busting and live practice, rebuilt every year.
Not sure you are FTE-ready? Ask. John will tell you straight, including not yet. The founder answers the WhatsApp.
Sources
- Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, "Supramaximal eccentrics versus traditional loading in improving lower-body 1RM: A meta-analysis," Buskard et al., 2018, retrieved 2026-07-29, https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2018.1472365
- Journal of Human Kinetics, "The effects of the movement tempo on the one-repetition maximum bench press results," Wilk et al., 2020, retrieved 2026-07-29, https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0001
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, "Screening for pelvic floor symptoms in exercising women: A survey of 636 health and exercise professionals," Dakic et al., 2023, retrieved 2026-07-29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2023.01.008
What every FASTER student gets
Built around you, not around the course
- A real person marks every answerEvery answer is read and marked by a tutor, with written feedback.
- Marked as you goEach teaching point is marked as you answer it, not at the end of the module.
- Dictate instead of typeA microphone on every written answer: say your answer and it types it for you (Chrome, Edge and Safari).
- Listen to the lessonsVoice-overs on the lessons, and the audio to download.
- Built for the way your brain worksShort lessons, one point at a time, marked as you go, with the choice to listen, read, print or speak your answers.
- Streaks that never punish youYou set how many days a week you want to study. Miss a day and your streak pauses; it is never lost.
- Accessible to WCAG AA, with an AAA optionEvery page measured against the WCAG accessibility standard: no faults at level A or AA, with a skip link, screen-reader labels and pages that hold together zoomed to 400%. A high-contrast option takes it to AAA.
- Keep it plainOne switch turns off the extras, the streaks, the badges, the celebrations and the movement, so the site stays plain and calm. Switch them back on whenever you like.
- Bigger text and wider spacingTwo steps of bigger text, and more room between lines, words and letters, on every page.
- Calmer motionOne switch stops animations and videos that play on their own. It is on already if your phone or computer asks for reduced motion.
- A personal video lessonWhen an answer needs real explaining, your marker records a video that lands in your course.
- A note before you sendBefore you send, the page tells you if your answer copies the lesson word for word, so you can put it in your own words.
- The skeleton and muscle labsTap any bone on the skeleton, and see the muscles light up on the model.
- Print the notesPrint the lessons and go old school.
- Case studies on your phoneBuilt into the site, saved as you go, there on your laptop when you sit down.
- Pin it to your home screenNo App Store and no Google Play. It is just there.
- No resit feesWork sent back is a chance to add more, with no resit fee.
- Return access for lifeQualify once and come back to the content whenever you need it.
- PT Manager from day onePT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
- The FASTER Trainer RegisterA free listing on the Register once you qualify.
- Your certificates in one placeEvery course and its certificate on one page.
- Ask JohnThe Ask John button on every page, and his WhatsApp.
And PT Manager, free
51 tools to run your business, with no monthly fee and no cut of your money
PT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
See all 51 tools
Set-up
- Import clients Bring a whole client list across in one go.
- My quotes Daily lines your clients see — yours, not stock.
- Programme templates The programme shapes you reuse — a session or twelve weeks. Pick one for a client, get your own copy.
- Exercise library Every exercise with FASTER coaching detail.
- Money Products, payments and who owes what.
- Send from your own email Connect your own email service so invites arrive from you, on your domain.
- My brand & client view What your clients see when they walk in — views, header, accent, logo.
- Your enrolment pack What every new client gets the moment you enrol them — your forms, ours, or a mix.
- Products and services What you sell — blocks, packages, memberships and one-offs, with their prices.
- Insurance Your policy on record — provider and expiry. Client features unlock while it is valid.
- My menu Switch any tool on or off — for your menu, your home and your whole account.
- Your website A free website on your own web address, filled from PT Manager. Or just the client sign-in door on your domain.
- Your public page Your verified Trainer Register listing, linking out to your own site and socials.
Business day to day
- Clients Your client list — invite, open a client, manage their space.
- Clubs Group your clients — a board they share, a programme or a monthly price if you want one.
- Challenges A dated push everyone logs against — for everyone you train, or for one club.
- Calendar Sessions, classes, capacity and bookings.
- Reminders The dates your business can't let lapse — insurance and first aid, nagged ahead of time.
- Nudges Who needs a nudge today — opportunities, one tap each.
- Who needs chasing Every conversation about money, in the order to work through them.
- What needs doing Your own list, in your own words — the jobs you keep meaning to get to.
- Till Sell at the desk — cash, card or on their phone — and download the sales sheet.
- What you are making What is coming in every month, what was paid in the last 30 days, and what sells.
Templates and systems
- Forms & interviews PAR-Q, consent, consultations and your own forms.
- Coaching room The coaching tools shelf — wheels, journeys and resources in one place.
- Radar wheels Build a life or performance wheel a client fills in — see change over time.
- Nutrition by FASTER Nutrition sheets and habits without meal-plan pretence.
- Pathways Automated coaching journeys you assign to clients.
- Programmes Start a programme — a session, a month, 12 weeks or a season — and find the ones you have built.
- Games & drills planner Build game-based sessions and drills.
- Sport screens Pick a sport — the shots to film, the analyser, and a ready-made radar of the qualities that matter.
- Movement screen → radar Read joint angles off the analyser — they auto-score and fill a radar wheel.
- Assessment builder Build and run client assessments and re-tests.
- Tag analytics Every tag across your clips, grouped and exportable.
Client
- AI prompts Your reusable prompt library for coaching copy.
- Before & after Side-by-side progress comparisons.
Trainer tools
- Exercise generator Fresh exercise ideas from constraints you set.
- FASTER dice & wheel Spin-and-roll session variety for groups and games.
- Movement demonstrator A 3D model of the FASTER movement patterns — body or skeleton view, prime movers lit up, live joint angles.
- Client video analysis Your media library — client folders and your own. Pick a clip to analyse.
- Movement by FASTER (HMAC) Human movement analysis charts — see how a client moves.
- Live analysis Mount your phone and coach live — skeleton, reps, angles and depth in real time.
- Tell a group One thing, to the right people — and you see exactly who it reaches first.
Media centre
- Video builder Reels, stories and client report videos, in your own branding.
- Image builder Branded posts and cards for your socials, at the right size.
- Shot list builder Every shot with its size, angle, lens, location, people, kit and sound; sorted into shooting order, ticked off on the day, printed or sent as a sheet.
- Storyboard builder Plan a video shot by shot: what the camera sees, what is said, the move and the cut.
- Script writer Write what you will say, with the word count and how long it takes to say.
- Teleprompter Read your script off the screen at your speed, and film yourself behind it.
- Video and image organiser Everything you have made and every source you can pull from.
- Ad builder Make your own ads, coached as you go, in your branding. As many as you like, no fee, no cap.
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