Accelerate Education Academy

Come learn with us. Start your coaching journey.

Accredited personal training and coaching qualifications, with the mentoring to build your own business. Not just a certificate: a coach in your corner.

Plenty of courses sell you a login and leave you to it. At Accelerate you learn from Dave Cooke, who has run Accelerate since 2013 and spent the last 12 years educating fitness professionals across the UK, USA, Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and North Africa. A real tutor marks every piece of your work, you get live sessions with Dave, and the mentoring carries on long after you qualify.

12
years educating fitness professionals
100s
coaches helped to build sustainable businesses
6
regions taught: UK, USA, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and North Africa
1:1
mentoring that carries on after you qualify
The courses

Pick your qualification

Every course is a recognised qualification, and every one comes with the same Accelerate support: a real tutor marking your work, live sessions with Dave, and mentoring once you qualify.
Level 1

Assistant Gym Instructor

For 14 to 16 year olds taking their first step into the industry. Learn to support instructors and work safely on the gym floor.
£120
Pay in full
Level 2

Gym Instructor

The qualification you need to work as a gym instructor. Programme design, instruction and client safety.
£600
or £100 deposit, then 7 × £86 a month
Level 3 · Most popular

Personal Training Certificate

The full Level 3. Qualify as a personal trainer, marked by a real person, with mentoring on building your business.
£900
or £150 deposit, then 10 × £90 a month
Level 2 + 3 Diploma

Personal Training Diploma

Gym Instructor and Personal Trainer in one route. The complete path from first qualification to working PT.
£1,500
or £200 deposit, then 16 × £94 a month
Not sure which?

Talk to Dave first

A ten minute call to work out where you are now, where you want to get to, and which route gets you there without paying for modules you do not need.

Or ask Sophie, our AI course adviser, now

Meet Dave Cooke

12 years building coaches, not selling courses

Dave is a former military leader who founded Accelerate Coaching and Fitness, Doncaster’s award-winning personal training and sports performance centre, in 2013. For the last 12 years he has taken what he learned leading people and applied it to the fitness industry, educating fitness professionals in a bespoke way across the UK, USA, Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and North Africa, helping hundreds of coaches build sustainable businesses and mentoring them through their careers.

His philosophy is simple: Train Like an Athlete. Elite-level coaching principles, backed by up-to-date research, applied to everyone from professional athletes to everyday clients. It is how he coaches, and it is what he will teach you.

That is the difference. You are not buying a random online course. You are getting Dave’s experience, his eye on your work and his support while you build your career.

“What sets Dave apart is that he doesn’t just teach you the basics. He genuinely invests in people.”
Kieran Cross, Personal Trainer, HYROX and CrossFit competitor
The Accelerate difference

Why this isn’t just another online course

Plenty of places will sell you a fitness qualification. Very few will teach you to coach, then stay with you while you turn it into a living. That is the gap Accelerate was built to fill.
What a typical online course gives you
What you get with Accelerate
Support that doesn’t stop

With you before, during and long after you qualify

01

Before you start

A free 10 minute call with Dave to work out the right route, so you never pay for modules you don’t need. Then enrol online and start whenever you’re ready.
02

While you study

Learn online at your own pace, even on your phone, with live and practical sessions with Dave and the team. A real tutor marks every piece of work, and there are no resit fees.
03

The day you qualify

Business mentoring starts straight away, because a certificate on its own doesn’t pay the bills. You also get PT Manager business software and a free listing on the FASTER Trainer Register.
04

For the rest of your career

Free return access to your course for life, including every update, and Dave still backing you as your coaching business grows.
Coaches Dave has mentored

The coaches Dave has built

14 coaches, in their own words. From a first qualification to running gyms, building businesses and coaching elite sport.

Then 20 years teaching secondary science Now Personal trainer and fitness instructor, KN Coaching

As a Biology graduate with over 20 years of secondary science teaching I was pleased to find that the course materials were high quality and research driven. I felt fully supported throughout my study and received timely, constructive feedback on each of my assignments. The diploma enabled me to pursue an exciting career change and I have now established myself as a successful fitness instructor and personal trainer.

KNKathryn NaylorKN Coaching · Level 3 Diploma
Where they are now
  • General Manager, Functional Hub Gym
  • Cluster Clubs General Manager
  • Coaching elite rugby league players
  • Founder, Revolution Training
  • 6 years at Nuffield Health
  • Head coach, Etincelles, Rwanda
  • Trainer Assessor, Sheffield University
  • Leisure centre and gym manager
  • Masters in S&C, elite rugby
  • Group fitness, METROFITT
  • Own health and fitness business
  • Director roles in the fitness industry

“The gold standard in practical learning”

Throughout both my Level 2 and Level 3 Personal Training courses, having expert, hands-on guidance available at every step made all the difference… He gave me the skills and self-belief to successfully launch my own health and fitness business.

CSCaitlin SidneyNow runs her own health and fitness business
Level 2 and 3 Personal Training

Now General Manager of Functional Hub Gym

I completed my Level 3 Personal Training course with Dave and found it informative, well structured and easy to follow… I’m now the General Manager of Functional Hub Gym, where I also coach clients in strength and conditioning, functional fitness and hybrid race preparation.

KSKeith SharkeyGeneral Manager, Functional Hub Gym
Level 3 Personal Training

From a bad experience elsewhere to elite rugby league

After experiencing difficulties with a previous training provider… Dave Cooke’s mentorship was invaluable in helping me turn theoretical knowledge into practical coaching skills. Since qualifying, I have worked with a wide range of individuals, from 1-to-1 hypertrophy and fat-loss clients to elite-level rugby league players.

TPTiger PaynePE Teacher and Personal Trainer
Level 2 and 3 Personal Training

From professional squash player to gym manager

Coming from a background as a professional squash player, I already understood training from an athlete’s side, but the course taught me how to coach other people properly. It was practical, well delivered and grounded in real experience… I now work as a manager at a leisure centre and gym.

JAJoel ArscottLeisure centre and gym manager
Level 2 Gym Instructor, 2023

Opened one of the East Midlands’ most successful facilities

David helped me professionally to complete my Level 2 & 3 fitness qualifications. His knowledge and professionalism gave me the starting point I needed to open up one of the most successful fitness facilities in the East Midlands.

RTRevolution TrainingFitness facility, East Midlands
Level 2 and 3

From Level 2 to a director role

I completed my Level 2 and Level 3 Personal Training qualifications under the guidance and instruction of David… Since completing my training, I have continued to develop my knowledge and experience across personal training, strength and conditioning, HYROX coaching, and athletic performance. I have also progressed into a director role.

APAleksandra PoltorakDirector, personal training and S&C
Level 2 and 3 Personal Training

“He genuinely invests in people”

Dave was the person who trained and developed me as a Personal Trainer… What sets Dave apart is that he doesn’t just teach you the basics. He genuinely invests in people, pushes them to become better and gives them the confidence, knowledge and skills to succeed in the fitness industry.

KCKieran CrossPersonal Trainer, HYROX and CrossFit competitor
Personal Training

“I have been able to set up my own PT business”

I have known him for 10 years and studied for my Level 3 PT under him. I found his style of teaching enabled me and the other students to understand the course easily, by his use of both demonstrations and written instructions. Following the training David provided, I have been able to set up my own PT business.

KTKeith ThackerTrainer Assessor, Sheffield University
Level 3 Personal Training

“More than a manager. A mentor.”

He played a huge part in helping me become the personal trainer I am today… He was more than just a manager to me. He was a mentor who genuinely wanted to see me succeed and reach my potential. His support made a lasting impact on both my professional development and my life.

LWLuke WainwrightPersonal Trainer, 6 years at Nuffield Health
Level 3 Personal Training

From sport science degree to elite rugby

The course materials and practical work helped me apply the learning from my Sport Science degree into the everyday world… Since then I’ve gone on to complete a Masters in Strength and Conditioning and work within elite rugby, whilst still applying principles I learned back then.

EMEd MilesElite rugby S&C. Now a director of Accelerate
Level 2 and 3 Personal Training

From Barnsley FC Academy to head coach in Rwanda

My coaching CV includes working within Barnsley FC Academy, coaching the St Andrews Under-21 and Under-17 teams in Malta, serving as director of football at SC Villa in Uganda, and working as head coach of Etincelles in Rwanda… I have incorporated David’s teaching into my teams’ training during the working week.

CSCalum Shaun SelbyFootball coach, UK, Malta, Uganda, Rwanda
Coach education with David

“Almost everyone on my course now holds a prominent position”

At the time, many of us were still finding our feet in the fitness industry in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. David’s course and workshops helped us build the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to develop professionally… I’m currently a cluster manager running two big fitness clubs.

IAIhab AlqayatyCluster Clubs General Manager
Course and workshops, Gulf region

“It taught me how to educate, motivate and inspire”

Before taking the course, I believed fitness was mainly about lifting weights, building muscle, and staying in shape. However, throughout the program, Coach David completely changed my perspective… Today, I’m proud to be teaching some of the best group fitness classes at METROFITT.

CACoach AaronGroup fitness coach, METROFITT
Personal Training, Dubai
Not sure which course?

Ask Sophie

Sophie is our AI course adviser. Tell her where you are now and what you want to do, and she will point you to the right qualification, with the price and payment options.

  • Finds the right course for your experience and goals
  • Explains prices, payment plans and how the course works
  • Passes you to Dave for a free 10 minute call whenever you want a person

Sophie is an AI assistant. She will never ask for card details in the chat.

Quick questions

Questions

Whenever you enrol. There are no fixed intake dates. The online material is available straight away and live elements are arranged around you.

Dave Cooke and the Accelerate team. Dave is a former military leader who founded Accelerate in 2013 and has spent the last 12 years educating fitness professionals across the UK, USA, Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and North Africa. Every piece of your work is marked by a real tutor, never an automated checker, with feedback you can act on.

This is where Accelerate is different. Business mentoring starts the day you qualify, you keep free return access to your course for life, including every update, and you get PT Manager business software and a free listing on the FASTER Trainer Register so clients can find you.

No. Accelerate is based in Doncaster, but the online course material can be studied from anywhere. For where and when the live and practical sessions take place, book a quick call and Dave’s team will talk you through it.

Yes. The Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 courses are Focus Awards regulated qualifications (RQF), recognised by employers and insurers across the UK fitness industry, and Level 2 and Level 3 are also recognised by CIMSPA. Your work is marked by a real tutor and evidenced to the awarding body.

There are no resit fees. Your tutor gives you feedback and you resubmit.

Securely online by card when you enrol, either in full or with a payment plan. Level 2 is £100 deposit then 7 monthly payments of £86; Level 3 is £150 deposit then 10 payments of £90; the Diploma is £200 deposit then 16 payments of £94. Level 1 is paid in full.

Start with a conversation

Book a free 10 minute call with Dave to find the right route for you, or enrol online now and your course opens as soon as payment clears.