Health club operator Fitness First has launched a new training initiative for personal trainers.

The gym chain has joined forces with Wiltshire-based training provider Faster Health and Fitness to run a pilot programme aimed at personal trainers.

The initial scheme will see Faster offering training programmes for personal trainers in five of Fitness First's 159 clubs - Poole, Solihull, Cardiff, London and Leeds - under the banner Fitness First Elite Trainer Scheme.

AS part of the scheme, candidates are issued with an iPad to store all the training information and an iPod for video content.

John Hardy, founder of Faster, said: "Our training focuses on ensuring that candidates who leave us have the technical knowledge they need to be the best in the business but we are also innovative in our approach."