01What it is
These are the units Active IQ registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated. Zavmo teaches towards them on your own work.
Zavmo is not an awarding body, is not an approved centre, and is not affiliated with Active IQ. It does the teaching and the mapping. Active IQ sets this qualification and awards it, and a qualified human assessor makes the assessment decision.
02The units
What each unit actually teaches you to do
Anatomy and physiology specific to sports massage Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the structural organisation of the human body
- Understand the structure and functions of the skin
- Understand the structure and functions of the lymphatic system
- Know the structure and functions of the urinary system
- Understand the effects of sports massage on the body systems
Applied human biology for exercise and fitness Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Know cardiovascular system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
- Know skeletal system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
- Know the myofascial system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
- Know nervous system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
- Know endocrine system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
- Know the energy systems and their roles in physical activity, exercise and training
- Know digestive system structure and function in relation to health and fitness
Conducting consultations with personal training clients Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand why effective communication with a client is important in a consultation
- Understand how to use communication techniques to build rapport with a client in a consultation
- Understand how to facilitate lifestyle behaviour change with a client in a consultation
- Establish rapport and engage clients in conversation about their health and fitness in a consultation
- Provide relevant information to clients in a consultation
- Collect information about clients in consultations
- Use behaviour change techniques to encourage lifestyle change
- Be able
Delivering exceptional customer care Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of customer care
- Understand the skills and behaviours needed to deliver exceptional customer care
- Understand the legislation relating to the customer environment
- Understand how to communicate clearly and effectively with customers
- Understand the value of first impressions
- Show the right attitude for customer care
- Understand how to improve a customer’s experience
- Understand customer loyalty and retention
- Understand how to promote products and services
- Understand how to interact with customers in difficult situations
- Understand how to deal with cust
Enterprise and entrepreneurship Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the attitude, skills and demands required to be a successful entrepreneur
- Evaluate personal skills and attitudes required to be a successful entrepreneur
- Plan an enterprise activity
- Manage an enterprise activity
Exercise strategies to reduce risk of injury Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the scope of practice when minimising sports injury risk
- Perform static and dynamic assessments with clients
- Analyse client assessment findings and identify dysfunction
- Plan exercise programmes for clients to reduce the risk of injury
- Prepare for exercise programmes
- Instruct an effective exercise session to improve client body alignment and movement quality
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the session and modify programmes accordingly
Facilitating Behaviour Change for Health and Well-being Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Know different psychological theories and behaviour change approaches that can be used to support health and well-being
- Understand the role of the facilitator in supporting health and well-being
- Demonstrate effective helping skills
- Facilitate group discussions about a range of health behaviours
- Reflect on own practice
Field and laboratory testing to measure health, fitness and sports performance Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of labouratory and field testing to measure health, fitness and sports performance
- Understand the protocols of labouratory and field tests
- Select appropriate labouratory and field tests to meet specified objectives
- Appropriately prepare for tests that measure health, fitness and sports performance in a labouratory environment
- Appropriately prepare for tests that measure health, fitness and sports performance in a field environment
- Carry out tests to accurately measure health, fitness and sports performance
- Appro
Health and safety in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand health and safety in the workplace
- Understand how to control hazards and risks in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment
- Understand normal and emergency operating procedures in the workplace
- Understand health and safety in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment
- Understand incident and emergency procedures in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment
- Understand security in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment
- Understand safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in a physical activity, fitness and sport environment
- Con
Managing personal and professional development Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of personal development
- Understand the principles of continuing professional development (CPD)
- Understand the planning and reviewing cycle within personal and professional development
- Understand time management techniques
- Manage own personal and professional development
Marketing products and services Real unit · Active IQ
This unit covers marketing techniques and tactics, market research methods, and the development of marketing materials. You'll produce promotional campaigns and develop marketing plans or strategies for brands, services, or products.
What you'll be able to do
- Understand marketing techniques and tactics, including their application in different marketing scenarios.
- Understand how to conduct market research to develop current or future brands, services or products, using appropriate methodologies and tools.
- Produce marketing materials for promotional campaigns, ensuring they are aligned with the target audience and marketing objectives.
- Develop a marketing plan / strategy for a brand, service or product, incorporating market analysis, objectives, and tactics.
Nutrition for sport and exercise performance Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the need for a healthy, balanced diet to optimise sports performance
- Understand how to access credible information about sports and performance nutrition
- Understand the benefits and risks of specific nutritional protocols that may be used to prepare for sports or fitness events
- Understand the current scientific evidence relating to the safety and efficacy of common, legally available supplements and ergogenic aids
Opportunities in higher education Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Research the variety of opportunities available in higher education
- Understand the personal value of applying to higher education
- Understand the application process for higher education
- Apply for a higher education course
Plan, deliver and evaluate sports conditioning programmes Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Gather appropriate information to plan a sports conditioning programme
- Plan sports conditioning programmes to improve performance
- Prepare to deliver sports conditioning sessions
- Instruct effective sports conditioning sessions
- Evaluate sessions and modify programmes accordingly
- Evaluate sessions to modify and develop own instructing performance
Planning and instructing gym-based exercise Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Consult and support clients to change exercise behaviour
- Consult/interview and support clients changing exercise behaviour
- Understand how to maintain a safe and effective gym-based exercise environment
- Deliver a safe and effective gym-based induction
- Plan a safe and effective gym-based exercise session
- Plan a safe and effective gym-based exercise session
- Deliver a safe and effective gym-based exercise programme
- Evaluate own practice
Planning and instructing outdoor fitness sessions Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the types of outdoor fitness training environments
- Understand the health and safety requirements specific to delivering outdoor fitness sessions
- Manage risks in outdoor fitness training environments
- Understand the considerations for conducting outdoor training sessions with groups
- Understand a range of exercises suitable for use in outdoor fitness training environments
- Plan outdoor fitness training sessions
- Deliver outdoor fitness training sessions
- Deliver safe and effective outdoor fitness training sessions
- Evaluate out
Principles of anatomy, physiology and fitness Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the skeletal system and the effects of exercise
- Understand the neuromuscular system and the effects of exercise
- Understand the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and the effects of exercise
- Understand how energy is produced in the body and the effects of exercise on energy production
- Understand health and wellbeing
- Understand the components of fitness and the effects of exercise
Principles of nutrition for healthy lifestyles Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Know common nutritional terms and evidence-based nutritional guidelines
- Know the nutrients required to maintain health in humans
- Estimate daily energy and nutrient requirements for clients with different goals
- Know the risks of poor nutritional and lifestyle practices
- Operate within professional boundaries and systems
- Know how nutrients from food are used to fuel, and recover from, physical activity
Principles of sports conditioning Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the role of a sports conditioning coach
- Understand how to develop self as a sports conditioning coach
- Understand the principles of programming for sports conditioning
- Understand sporting demands and how they can be used to inform effective sports conditioning programming
- Understand how fitness assessments can support the planning of sports conditioning programmes
- Understand how assessment and programming can support the planning of sports conditioning programmes
Professional practice in sports massage Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand legislation required in sports massage
- Understand scope of practice in sports massage
- Understand the standards relevant to the sports massage profession
- Understand the principles of professional practice in sports massage
- Understand how to produce, maintain and store client records
Programme design and delivery for personal training Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Collect and interpret health screening and fitness assessment data
- Understand the principles of safe and effective personal training programme design
- Collect and interpret health screening and fitness assessments
- Design safe and effective personal training programmes and session plans
- Provide a session introduction that prepares the client for exercise
- Instruct safe, effective exercise technique
- Monitor a client during exercise sessions
- Monitor client progress and adapt the programme accordingly
- Re
Psychology of health and exercise Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the main schools of psychology and theories to explain health and exercise behaviours
- Know the roles for psychologists in exercise and health
- Understand approaches to research in exercise and health psychology
Research methods for academic study Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the research skills needed for higher education
- Understand different research methods
- Understand reading techniques needed for academic study
Research skills for academic study Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Plan a research project
- Use learning and revision strategies to suit own learning style
- Research information for a specific project
- Manage a research project
- Present the findings of a final research project
- Evaluate the research project
Sports massage treatments Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the history and development of massage
- Understand the fundamentals of sports massage treatments
- Understand how to assess and screen clients for sports massage treatments
- Carry out client assessments
- Devise sports massage treatment plans
- Apply sports massage treatments
- Understand evaluation of sports massage treatments
- Evaluate sports massage treatments
Technology in sport and exercise Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the evolutionary development of technology in sport and exercise
- Understand the benefits of technology applications in sport and exercise
- Understand the ethical considerations of technology applications in sport and exercise
- Evaluate the application and effects of technology in a range of sport and exercise scenarios
The role of exercise referral for managing medical conditions Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the role of exercise referral for managing medical conditions
- Understand the medical conditions managed by exercise referral schemes
- Understand the process of exercise referral and the roles of professionals involved in the process
The role of public health promotion Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand public health and health promotion
- Understand the role research plays in informing public health and health promotion
- Understand the major determinants of health relevant to health promotion
- Understand multidisciplinary approaches to public health and health promotion
Understand the principles of soft tissue dysfunction Real unit · Active IQ
What you'll be able to do
- Understand soft tissue dysfunction
- Understand the process of repair of soft tissue
03The standards
The national standards these units are built against
What the job actually needs, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
- Standard
Demonstrate constructive alignment in enterprise and entrepreneurship education curricula
- Standard
Design Sports Coaching Programmes
- Standard
Design and Manage an Exercise and Physical Activity Programme for Clients with Medical Conditions
- Standard
Design and manage personal training programmes with clients
- Standard
Evaluate Your Personal and Professional Development Needs
- Standard
Inspire learners in enterprise and entrepreneurship through own enthusiasm and knowledge
- Standard
Maintain your own knowledge of enterprise and entrepreneurship research and education
- Standard
Plan, deliver and evaluate a strength and conditioning programme
- Standard
Promote and contribute to healthy, safe and secure working environments and practices
- Standard
Work in a healthy and safe way whilst seeking to achieve excellence in your sport
04The credits
The credits, and who awards them
Level 3 credits are regulated, and they are awarded by Active IQ rather than by Zavmo. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you have covered and what is next.
What you would be collecting
Anatomy and physiology specific to sports massageApplied human biology for exercise and fitnessConducting consultations with personal training clientsDelivering exceptional customer careEnterprise and entrepreneurshipExercise strategies to reduce risk of injuryFacilitating Behaviour Change for Health and Well-beingField and laboratory testing to measure health, fitness and sports performance
Each one is a real unit registered against this qualification.
What you leave holding
The standards this credential builds, in the shape the product keeps them
Nothing here is marked learned. There is no learner on a public page, so the map shows what the qualification covers rather than what anybody has done.
Active IQ Level 3 Extended Diploma in Personal Training for Health, Fitness and Performance
- Demonstrate constructive alignment in enterprise and entrepreneurship education curricula
- Design Sports Coaching Programmes
- Design and Manage an Exercise and Physical Activity Programme for Clients with Medical Conditions
- Design and manage personal training programmes with clients
- Evaluate Your Personal and Professional Development Needs
- Inspire learners in enterprise and entrepreneurship through own enthusiasm and knowledge
- Maintain your own knowledge of enterprise and entrepreneurship research and education
- Plan, deliver and evaluate a strength and conditioning programme
Free tools
Want a read on where you stand?
Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.
This qualification is closed to new learners.
Ofqual lists it as no longer available to new learners. It cannot be started today. The last day to register was 31 October 2025. People already registered can complete it until 31 October 2028.
These are open to new learners in the same subject.
- NOCN Level 1 Award in Skills for Employment, Training and Personal Development
- NOCN Level 2 Diploma in Skills for Employment, Training and Personal Development
- ATHE Level 3 Award in Education and Training
- City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Education and Training
The title, level, credits, guided learning hours and unit learning outcomes on this page are taken from the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Where this data comes from.