What most coaches spend 10 years figuring out, you'll master in 20 weeks.

The core Level 2 program runs for 20 weeks.

Each week, you’ll attend one live 2-hour workshop led by expert mentors, plus approximately 3–6 hours of self-study, case study work, and reflection questions—about 5–8 hours per week total. Most students manage this alongside full-time jobs or active coaching careers.

Live session attendance is encouraged, but only required if you’re pursuing NBC-HWC or HCA eligibility.

After the 20 weeks, you’ll have a two-week window to sit your final exam. But depending on which pathway you choose, your timeline may extend:

• Path 1 — PN Certified Level 2 Master Coach: 20-week core program + 2-week exam window.
• Path 2 — PN Certified Master Health Coach: Everything in Path 1, plus self-paced Health Conditions and Preventive Care units, three 90-minute private mentoring sessions, and a practical skills oral exam. Also earns you eligibility for the HCA Registered Health Coach (HCA-RHC) designation. Timeline varies by pace.
• Path 3 — NBC-HWC Board Certification: Everything in Paths 1 and 2, plus 50 logged coaching sessions and the board exam. Approximately 8–10 months total.

All pathways are included in your enrollment fee at no extra cost. (Note: the HCA and NBHWC have their own applications and annual membership fees separate from your PN enrollment.)

There are only two cohorts per year. For the Spring 2026 cohort:

• Enrollment opens: April 8th — closes April 17th
• Orientation content delivered: April 18th
• Live orientation (choose one): April 21 @ 2–4 pm ET · April 22 @ 9–11 am ET · April 23 @ 12–2 pm or 7–9 pm ET
• Live classes begin: Week of April 27th (choose one session per week: Tue 2–4 pm, Wed 9–11 am, Thu 12–2 pm, or Thu 7–9 pm ET)
• Break week: June 27 – July 3
• Live classes end: Week of September 14th
• Final exam window: September 18 – October 1
• Results delivered: October 2nd

Click here for the full schedule.

Seats are limited by design to keep this a true small-group mentorship. Miss this enrollment window and you won’t have another opportunity for 6+ months.

We’ll be honest: Level 2 isn’t for everyone.

It’s for coaches who are done settling for good enough. Who know they’re capable of more and are ready to do the work to get there. Who want to walk into any client situation, no matter how complex or emotionally charged, and know exactly what to do.

If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

Our students come from all kinds of backgrounds—personal trainers, nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists, healthcare professionals, and wellness coaches at every stage of their careers. Some have decades of experience. Others are just getting started.

What they all have in common is a genuine desire to help people change and the willingness to invest in becoming exceptional at it.

If you’re newer to coaching: You’ll get structured practice, clear tools, and weekly mentor feedback to build confidence fast. The imposter syndrome that follows most new coaches around? It gets quieter. Then it stops. All you need is at least one person to practice with—a client, colleague, friend, or family member—and you’re set.

If you’re more experienced: You’ll refine instincts into repeatable systems, tackle tougher client scenarios, and sharpen the communication skills that separate good coaches from great ones. Coaches with years of experience consistently tell us Level 2 showed them things about their coaching they didn’t know they were missing.

Because the program is skills-based and feedback-driven, your mentors meet you where you are, so both newer and seasoned coaches progress meaningfully.

If you’re ready to take your coaching to the highest possible level, make a lasting impact in the lives of the people you serve, and build a practice that reflects the coach you know you can be, Level 2 is for you.

Level 2 focuses on the coaching skills that determine whether a client actually changes—not just whether they have a good plan.

The program is built around the human side of coaching: the ability to meet clients where they are, navigate resistance, and create the kind of relationship where lasting change actually happens. After 20 weeks of deliberate practice, live feedback, and real coaching scenarios, you’ll be able to:

• Walk into any client situation, no matter how complex or emotionally charged, with confidence and a clear plan
• Have difficult conversations without dreading them—resistance, ambivalence, setbacks, and emotional blocks become things you know how to navigate
• Help clients follow through, not just make plans—because you’ll understand the psychology behind why people struggle and exactly how to help them move forward
• Coach beyond food and fitness, addressing the mental, emotional, relational, and environmental dimensions of health that determine whether change actually lasts
• Recognize when a client needs a referral and know exactly how to handle it—including edge cases like disordered eating, GI issues, and medication interactions

Everything that used to feel hard will start to feel natural.

• Coaching foundations: Client-centered coaching, scope of practice, the PN 6-Step Coaching Process, kickoff calls, goal-setting, and the full arc of a client relationship. Plus how to assess research quality so you’re always working from the best available evidence.
• Advanced communication: Active listening, nonverbal communication, empathy and connection, and the language that builds trust fast at every stage of a coaching relationship.
• Behavior change psychology: Motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindset science, the psychology of motivation and willpower, habit formation, and how to help clients follow through when life gets messy.
• Coaching complex situations: Stress, burnout, disordered eating, body image, emotional blocks, and competing priorities. Plus referral and scope edge cases including GI issues and supplementation and medication interactions, so you always know when to refer out.
• Somatic psychology and the mind-body connection: Appetite awareness, hunger, environmental cueing of eating behaviors, mindful eating, and practical meal planning and food prep strategies you can use with clients right away.
• Diversity, inclusion, and life stages: Coaching clients across different ages, backgrounds, abilities, and life circumstances, including chronic illness and disability, so you’re prepared for whoever walks through your door.
• Deep Health coaching: Helping clients thrive across all six dimensions of health: physical, mental, emotional, relational, environmental, and existential.📚 See the full week-by-week curriculum breakdown here.

One thing worth noting: Level 2 deepens your coaching skills across any health and wellness context. It doesn’t replace specialized medical credentials like registered dietitian or physician status. What it does is make you a dramatically more effective coach within your existing scope of practice—and gives you the confidence to work right up to that edge.

Every week for 20 weeks, you join one live 2-hour session via Zoom with your cohort and one of PN’s expert mentor coaches.

The sessions build as you go. Early weeks focus on you as a coach: your identity, your communication style, how you show up.

As the program progresses, you move into working real client scenarios, role-playing hard conversations, and getting direct feedback while it’s happening. The difficult conversation you used to dread becomes something you’ve already practiced a dozen times.

This is how coaching instincts are actually built: deliberate repetition under expert guidance, in a safe environment where mistakes are part of the process.

After going through these sessions, graduates consistently tell us that working with real clients feels familiar rather than frightening. You’ve already done this. You know what you’re doing.

Multiple session times are offered each week so you can choose what works for your schedule and switch week to week as needed:

• Tuesdays @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
• Wednesdays @ 9:00 am – 11:00 am ET
• Thursdays @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET
• Thursdays @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET

Live sessions begin the week of April 27th and run through the week of September 14th, with a one-week break from June 27th – July 3rd.

A note on attendance: Live sessions are mandatory only for students pursuing NBC-HWC or HCA credentials. If that’s your path, you’ll need to earn credit for all 20 sessions. We know life happens—you can miss up to two sessions as long as you complete a make-up assignment, but you must attend at least 18 sessions in person for a minimum of 105 minutes per session.

For everyone else, recordings are provided for any session you miss. That said, these sessions are consistently what graduates say changed them the most. Once you experience them, you’ll want to show up every week. We recommend attending live whenever you can.

It depends on your goals.

Live sessions are mandatory only for students pursuing NBC-HWC board certification or the HCA Registered Health Coach designation.

If that’s your path, you’ll need to earn credit for all 20 sessions. We know life happens. You can miss up to two sessions as long as you complete a make-up assignment, but you must attend at least 18 sessions for a minimum of 105 minutes per session.

For everyone else, recordings are provided for every session so you never fall behind if life gets in the way.

That said, these sessions are consistently what graduates say changed them the most. The live role-play, the real-time feedback, the small-group dynamic—it’s the part of the program that turns knowledge into instinct. Once you experience it, you’ll want to show up every week.

Plus, the coaches you show up with week after week become something more like teammates. And those relationships don’t end when the program does. Graduates tell us the friendships they built inside Level 2 are among the most meaningful professional relationships of their careers — and they last long after graduation.

We recommend attending live whenever you can. However, we’ve built the program so that no matter what life throws at you, you can keep moving forward.

There are many excellent NBHWC-approved training programs out there—and we’d encourage you to explore them. We’re confident in what PN Level 2 offers, and we think the comparison speaks for itself.

Most NBHWC-approved programs cost between $4,000 and $8,000. PN Level 2 is intentionally priced below that—not because we’ve cut corners, but because we believe world-class coaching education should be within reach for coaches who are serious about their craft. That’s always been part of our mission.

But affordability is only part of the story. Here’s what actually sets us apart:

• We’re built by practitioners, not just educators. PN is the only certification company that also coaches real clients every day—150,000+ and counting. Everything we learn from that work goes directly back into the curriculum. What you learn here reflects real life, not just theory.
• We prioritize practice over memorization. Most programs teach you what to know. PN Level 2 builds what you can do. Every week you practice real coaching scenarios with peers and receive live mentor feedback—the same way elite performers in any field develop mastery.
• We’re evidence-based. Our coaching method is validated in independent, peer-reviewed research and refined over two decades. This isn’t a program built on trends. It’s built on what actually works.
• We’re trusted by leaders. We’ve consulted for major companies, professional sports teams, and elite athletes. PN Level 2 is highly ranked by Forbes, Fortune, and Indeed. When the best in the industry need coaching education, they come to us.
• We offer more mentorship for less money. Programs charging $4,000–$8,000 often offer similar hours and curriculum but smaller networks and less hands-on practice. PN Level 2 gives you live weekly mentorship, a private cohort community, mentor office hours, and—for those pursuing the NBHWC pathway—three private one-on-one mentoring sessions. All included.

Inside PN Level 2, you get behind-the-scenes access to the same tools, strategies, and coaching methods we use every day in our personal coaching program—the one that has helped over 150,000 people make meaningful, lasting changes to their health.

We’re not just teaching theory. We’re sharing what actually works, with real people, in the real world.

You’re ready.

There are no formal prerequisites. Many of our most successful students come in with a foundation—like PN Level 1 or experience working with clients or patients. But plenty start before they’ve ever had a paying client.

If you’re newer (even with no clients): You’ll get structured practice, simple tools, and step-by-step feedback to build confidence fast. All you need is one person to practice with outside of the program—patient, colleague, family member, or friend—and you’re set.

If you’re advanced with paying clients or experience in the health industry: You’ll refine instincts into repeatable systems, handle tougher client scenarios, sharpen communication for high-stakes conversations, and (if you choose) prepare for NBC-HWC/HCA eligibility.

Because the program is skills-based and feedback-driven, your mentors help you work at your edge—so both newer and seasoned coaches progress meaningfully.

No formal prerequisites are required.

You do not need a university degree to enroll in or complete the PN Level 2 Master Health Coaching Certification.

Our most successful students tend to come in with some foundation—whether that’s PN Level 1, another coaching certification, or hands-on experience working with clients or patients in a health-related field. That background helps, but it isn’t a requirement.

What matters most is your commitment to the process. If you’re newer to coaching, the program’s structured practice, weekly feedback, and step-by-step mentorship are designed to build your confidence and skills from the ground up. All you need is at least one practice partner—a patient, colleague, family member, or friend—to work with during the program.

If you’re more experienced, you’ll refine your instincts into repeatable systems, tackle more complex client scenarios, and sharpen the communication skills that separate good coaches from great ones.

What we do ask is that you come ready to learn. Be open to feedback, willing to be challenged, and prepared to show up consistently for 20 weeks. The coaches who get the most out of this program aren’t necessarily the most experienced ones coming in. They’re the ones who engage most fully once they’re here.

Because the program is skills-based and feedback-driven, your mentors meet you where you are, so both newer and seasoned coaches progress meaningfully.

You don’t need paying clients to enroll. But since Level 2 is built around hands-on practice, you’ll get the most out of the program if you have at least one person to practice with outside of the weekly live sessions—whether that’s a current client, a colleague, a friend, or a family member willing to be your guinea pig.

Throughout the program you’ll be applying what you learn in real coaching conversations, so having someone to practice with makes a real difference in how quickly your skills develop.

Don’t have anyone in mind yet? Not a problem. Your cohort peers are there for exactly this—practicing with each other is built into the program from week one. Many of the most meaningful coaching relationships our graduates talk about started right there.

You do not need PN Level 1 to enroll in Level 2. They’re two separate, complementary programs and each stands completely on its own.

Here’s the simplest way to think about it:

PN Level 1 is where you build a strong foundation in nutrition science and behavior-change coaching. It’s self-paced, comprehensive, and ideal for coaches who want to confidently coach nutrition and deliver better client results. Think of it as learning the knowledge.

PN Level 2 is where you develop the skills to actually use that knowledge — with any client, in any situation, no matter how complex or messy it gets. It’s a 20-week, mentor-led mentorship focused on the art and science of coaching itself. Not nutrition. Not meal plans. The human side of helping people change. Think of it as developing the mastery.

As one graduate put it: “If Level 1 was like learning how to do surgery, Level 2 is like standing beside a world-class surgeon while they help you perform surgery.”

Together they’re the most complete coaching education in the industry — but either one works on its own.

As for prerequisites: there are none. Many successful students come in with a foundation like PN Level 1 or experience working with clients or patients. But plenty start before they’ve ever had a paying client. The most important factor is your commitment to growth.

And the results speak for themselves: data from over 100,000 coaching clients shows that the average PN Level 2 coach retains up to 10x more clients than the average Level 1 coach, gets better results, and reports more enjoyment in their coaching practice.

If you’re still mid-Level 1, you might assume Level 2 is something to think about later: after you finish, after you have more clients, after you feel more ready. 

But you don’t have to wait. You can enroll in Level 2 now, and since Level 1 is self-paced with no deadline, you can finish it whenever the time is right for you.

And everything you’ve already learned in Level 1—the nutrition science, the coaching frameworks—gives you a strong foundation to draw from in Level 2.

Level 1 teaches you what to do. Level 2 builds the instincts to actually do it, with any client, in any situation, no matter how complex or messy it gets.

For most graduates, yes—significantly.

Many Level 2 Master Health Coaching graduates charge $120+ USD per hour for their services. The top 10% earn over $240,000 USD per year. And board-certified coaches earn approximately 55% more on average than non-credentialed coaches.

But the way Level 2 increases your income isn’t what you might expect.

It’s not a business development course. You won’t find modules on software, bookkeeping, or marketing tactics here. What you will find is the thing that matters most to any coaching business: the ability to get results.

Clients who get results stay longer, refer their friends, and become your best marketing. Data from over 100,000 coaching clients shows that the average Level 2 graduate retains up to 10x more clients than the average Level 1 coach. That kind of retention changes everything about how a coaching business grows.

Beyond that, all Level 2 graduates are listed on PN’s Certified Coach directory, making it easy for potential clients to find and verify your credentials.

For students who go on to pursue NBC-HWC board certification, the career benefits expand even further, including a listing in the National Directory of Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches and access to the NBHWC career center, which connects board-certified coaches exclusively with employers who are actively hiring. (See a list of companies that regularly hire health coaches)

Students who earn the HCA-RHC designation are also listed in the HCA verification registry, so clients, employers, and medical professionals can confirm you’re a registered professional in good standing.

You’ll also graduate with access to PN’s global network of over 175,000 certified coaches worldwide. Many graduates tell us the connections they made inside Level 2 became some of the most valuable professional relationships of their careers.

So while we won’t teach you how to run your books, we’ll give you something more valuable: the coaching skills, credentials, and professional network that make everything else easier.

Yes. PN Level 2 is an approved training program recognized by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), meaning graduates are eligible to sit for the board exam and earn the NBC-HWC designation—one of the most respected credentials in the industry.

Earning the esteemed NBC-HWC credential and completing a rigorous training program is an opportunity to bolster your reputation as a qualified health and fitness professional—allowing you to stand out from the pack and coach with more confidence than ever before.

When you enroll, you choose the pathway that’s right for you:

• Path 1: PN Certified Master Coach. Complete PN’s 20-week core program. You’ll earn the PN Certified Master Coach designation along with the knowledge, instincts, and hands-on experience to take your coaching to a world-class level. Live session attendance is highly encouraged but not mandatory for this pathway.
• Path 2: PN Certified Master Health Coach. Everything in Path 1, plus self-paced Health Conditions and Preventive Care units, three 90-minute private mentoring sessions, and a practical skills oral exam. Additional mentorship and knowledge, all included in the cost of your program. (This path makes you eligible for the HCA-RHC credential.)
• Path 3: National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). Everything in Paths 1 and 2, plus one additional step that happens outside of the PN program itself. Once you’ve earned your PN Certified Master Health Coach designation, you’ll then need to log 50 health and wellness coaching sessions with clients before you can apply to take the NBHWC board exam. PN students pass the board exam at a 92% rate—well above the national average. This pathway may take a total of 8 to 10 months depending on your pace, and comes at no extra cost for the PN portion. See NBHWC website for full requirements and timing.

The credentialing landscape is shifting fast. What was once a nice-to-have is quickly becoming a need-to-have.

More employers now require NBC-HWC rather than simply preferring it. The NBHWC recently launched a career center connecting employers exclusively with board-certified coaches. And board-certified coaches earn approximately 55% more on average than non-credentialed coaches.

But the benefits go beyond the paycheck:

• Stand out in an unregulated field. Health coaching is largely unregulated, which means anyone can call themselves a health coach. The NBC-HWC credential signals to clients, employers, and healthcare professionals that you have the proper experience, education, and expertise to back it up. You’ll also get a complimentary listing in the National Directory of Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches, making it easy for clients and organizations to find and verify you.
• Access more job opportunities. Many healthcare organizations specifically require NBC-HWC when hiring coaches. This credential puts your resume at the top of the pile—and the NBHWC actively shares job opportunities with certified coaches so you stay informed about openings.
• Build unshakeable confidence. The rigorous training and third-party validation of board certification does something that experience alone can’t always deliver—it quiets the imposter syndrome for good. You’ll know you’ve earned it.
• Future-proof your career. As the health coaching field matures and moves toward greater regulation, being board certified positions you ahead of the curve. No scrambling to meet new requirements later.

Everything PN provides to prepare you for the NBC-HWC pathway is built into your Level 2 enrollment at no extra cost. The one step that happens outside of PN — logging 50 health and wellness coaching sessions with clients—is yours to complete after graduating. Once you’re ready to sit the board exam, you’ll be well prepared: PN students pass at a 92% rate, well above the national average. Please note that the NBHWC has its own separate application and annual membership fees.

PN Level 2 is an approved school through the Health Coach Alliance (HCA), meaning the program has gone through a rigorous audit process to verify it meets HCA’s standards for educational hours, testing, support, learning objectives, and instructor expertise.

To qualify, you’ll need to complete Path 2 of Level 2—meeting all live session attendance requirements, passing the 20-week core curriculum, completing self-paced Health Conditions and Preventive Care units, three 90-minute private mentoring sessions, and a practical skills oral exam. You’ll earn the PN Certified Master Health Coach and are then eligible to apply for the HCA-RHC designation. No separate board exam is required.

The HCA-RHC is an internationally recognized designation that signals to the public, potential employers, and healthcare professionals that you have the proper experience, education, and expertise to call yourself a health coaching professional.

As an HCA-RHC, you also get access to:

• A complimentary listing in the HCA verification registry, so clients, employers, and medical professionals can confirm you’re a registered professional in good standing
• Job opportunities, as many organizations actively submit openings to the HCA specifically to find credentialed coaches like you
• Comprehensive liability coverage at low member rates for coaches in Canada and the USA

Combined with your eligibility for NBC-HWC board certification, PN Level 2 gives you a clear path to two of the most respected credentials in the health coaching industry. Everything you need from PN to qualify for both is included in your enrollment fee. Please note that the HCA and NBHWC are separate organizations and each has their own application and annual membership fees.

If you’re keeping up with the weekly lessons and lectures, you’ll do fine. The quizzes aren’t designed to trip you up—they’re just another chance to deepen your learning and prepare for the final exam. No cramming required.

To successfully complete the program, you’ll need to:

• Complete at least 75% of the weekly reflection questions
• Complete at least 75% of the quizzes
• Complete 3 written case study assignments with a score of 75% or better
• Attend and participate in 20 live weekly workshops (one per week)*
• Pass a 100-question multiple-choice final exam with a score of 75% or better

The final exam is designed to help you synthesize what you’ve learned over 20 weeks—not to catch you off guard. As long as you’ve put genuine effort into the material throughout the program, it shouldn’t be a source of stress.

*Live session attendance is mandatory only for students pursuing NBC-HWC board certification or the HCA Registered Health Coach designation.

No. Your course content is delivered 100% online. So you can participate from anywhere in the world as long as you can access the internet.

Fair warning: We’ll deliberately throw you some tough stuff during these simulations. We’ll give you the “trial by fire” by asking you to work through difficult and puzzling coaching scenarios.

You’ll make your mistakes now—with us guiding, mentoring, and helping you out, as well as offering you feedback at key moments. That way you’ll feel fully confident in any coaching scenario after you finish the program.

Click here to see a sample case study.

Once you’ve completed Level 2, your credential requires renewal every two years from your date of completion.

This isn’t just administrative housekeeping. The health and wellness coaching field is evolving quickly, and recertification ensures you stay current with the latest research, methods, and best practices. It’s also a signal to clients and employers that your commitment to excellence didn’t stop when you graduated.

As long as you complete the renewal process before your credential expires, you’ll maintain your status as a PN Certified Master Health Coach.

Absolutely. You get a Certificate of Completion, as well as separate files with information about all the CECs you earned with the courses.

The FREE bonus program (worth $697 USD) is only available until April 13 at midnight. After that, it’s gone. Your Specialist Program helps you apply them where clients struggle most.

✔ Coaching Dietary Strategies

✔ Change Psychology

✔ Nutrition Coaching for Athletes

✔ Nutrition for Metabolic Health

Choose your program after checkout. Not sure which one to choose? You can always reach out to our Certification Advisors to learn more about each program.

100%.

The courses in each of the Specialist Programs are eligible for continuing education credits / units at the following institutions: ACE, AFAA, CPTN, ISSA, NASM, REPs NZ, and UKIHCA.

Plus, if you complete your Specialist Program within two years of completing your PN Level 2 Certification, it fulfills all of your recertification requirements for Level 2. (As a PN Level 2 Certified coach, your credential is valid for 2 years. Buy now, and you are getting a FREE recertification!)

You do not need to choose your FREE Specialist Program until after you enroll. It is only available until April 13 at midnight ET.