Knowledge-hungry fitness professionals gathered in London earlier this month to explore how education can form the bedrock of personal development.

This year’s FitPro Live London, which took place on 8-9 April in Hammersmith, featured a new format focusing on high-quality education from UK and global personal training thought leaders. The event’s intimate venue (Novotel London West) formed part of a concerted effort to ensure attendees gained more face-time with presenters by capping workshop and seminar numbers.

“The feedback we have received from PTs is that they are crying out for high-quality face-to-face education, particularly as so much fitness education is now online,” said Jane Waller, director of event organiser FitPro.

“An opportunity like this gives them the confidence to get meaningful and lasting results for their clients using the latest evidence-based research.”

Key topics at the event – which comprised seminars, workshops and lectures – included a greater focus on business development, with industry-specific advice and evidence-based sessions on nutrition, health and wellbeing, biomechanics, mobility, functional training and third age.

Among the range of UK and international speakers delivering talks were functional ageing expert Cody Sipe; global educator Peter Twist on the importance of quality learning for fitness professionals; and the UK’s number-one ranked calisthenics athlete Stephen Hughes Landers.

Waller added: “By converting FitPro Live into this new, tightly focused format, we have been able to tailor it entirely to the specialist topics like functional ageing, calisthenics and Olympic Weightlifting, which we know personal trainers want to learn about, in a collaborative atmosphere where ideas could be exchanged.”

The next FitPro Live London event takes place in Q2 2017 and will see the return of several established presenters, as well as new additions to the line-up.