A step-by-step guide to screening personal training clients

Screening your personal training clients is vital to
the initial sign-up process. 

Health screening questionnaires and initial
consultations help you determine if there are any health risks to be aware of,
and it’s your duty as a PT to ensure your client can proceed before they begin
an exercise programme. 

Understanding your client’s goals and how you can
build a plan for them based on their current health status or any past injuries
is also useful and improves your chances of client satisfaction. 

Every personal trainer should have a bespoke client consultation form that they ask their new clients to fill out, so here we’ll cover what questions you should ask and why.

Table of contents:

The importance of screening your personal training clients 

Following the proper process for screening your
personal training clients is essential for identifying risk factors and
ensuring high-risk clients gain permission from their GP before training
them. 

It’s also beneficial for protecting yourself from
costly third-party claims arising out of gross negligence to your clients, no
matter how unintentional this is. 

Specialist personal trainer insurance can help cover your legal costs if the worst should happen
and is even a requirement across many advertised fitness roles across the
UK. 

Aside from gaining insight into the health and
fitness of your client, the screening process also enables you to learn more
about their lifestyle and how it may affect their progress. 

Learning this information means you can create a safe and personalised exercise programme for your client, which sets a good foundation for your relationship and keeps the experience positive for everyone. 

A step-by-step guide to the client screening process

1. PAR-Q form and screening questions

PAR-Q form

Asking your client to state whether they have any
existing or previous medical problems is vital to the personal training client screening
process. 

Failure to ask clients about this could result in
legal action if they are injured in your care. 

Aside from legal ramifications, you need to know
whether your client has had something like a knee reconstruction and therefore
cannot squat as much, or whether they suffer from asthma or heart problems and
need to go easy on the cardio. 

You must also be aware of whether your client has
diabetes and whether they are taking any medication for legal and safety
reasons.

Instead of memorising these points, you should
familiarise yourself with the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q form). 

This form covers all the basic questions you must
ask your client before they partake in an exercise programme. 

It helps you establish whether clients between the
ages of 15-69 require their GP’s permission to train or whether they can make
this decision themselves. Clients above this age should always do so as a
precaution.  

The process is simple—if clients answer YES to any
of the questions on the form, ensure they consult their doctor and provide you
with a written letter of permission before agreeing to train them. 

Want to improve your knowledge and expertise in
these areas? You may want to gain a Level 3 qualification in GP Exercise Referral. 

Related: 6 essential legal forms for your personal training business 

Lifestyle questions

Outside of highlighting any pre-existing health
conditions, you need to establish just how healthy your client already is by
taking into account various aspects—this will help you build a tailored workout
plan.

These questions should include the following:

occupation—they may lift heavy objects all day or sit in an office, so you need to create a workout based on these factorslifestyle—do they have an active or inactive lifestyle?diet—do they eat healthily, or do they currently have a high-sugar diet?alcohol consumption —does your client drink alcohol regularly? This may affect their ability to lose or gain weightstress levels—are they stressed out at work or in their daily life? Do they need a more relaxing workout, or should they work their fury out on the pads with you?hours of sleep—sleep will affect energy levels and a person’s ability to recover from injuries or workouts. Knowing how much someone sleeps daily will help you craft an appropriate plan, as not everyone gets eight hours a night

Have they ever had a personal trainer before?

It’s good practice to learn as much about your
client’s needs as possible. Part of this process is discovering whether they
have seen a personal instructor before and why they may have decided not to
continue a programme with that trainer.

It could be something as simple as “they moved away”
or more complex, like “we didn’t get along” or “I didn’t see any
results”. 

This information will allow you to create a class
and a workout that addresses concerns and helps you determine where the other
PT got it wrong. 

This will also help you build a rapport with your
client as it shows you are genuinely interested in their goals and are
committed to not making the same mistakes.

Related: 7 ways for building rapport as a personal trainer

2. Gaining informed consent 

While liability waivers cannot completely shield you
from third-party claims (they are only applicable if your client is proven to
have not experienced
gross negligence), gaining informed consent from your client is still
useful. 

It demonstrates your diligent attitude towards your
role as their trainer and establishes a foundation of trust. 

Informed consent forms can vary, but they should
include information such as:

purpose of gaining consentbenefits and risks of participating in the exercise programme nature of exercise supervision (close or occasional monitoring)emergency procedures (notifying a client’s doctor of symptoms, adapting the exercise programme)a section covering client confidentiality and freedom of consent 

You should complete an informed consent form with
your clients before physical fitness assessments. 

Related: Informed consent form template for personal trainers 

 3. Physical fitness assessment 

Once you’ve covered all the initial health, fitness,
and lifestyle-related questions, you can move on to the physical element of the
personal training client screening process. 

This involves a full physical assessment of your
client’s fitness current fitness levels, covering each of their performance
variables:

If you need more inspiration, check out this extensive list of assessments
for the various components of fitness. 

By running these tests, you can identify strengths
and weaknesses in your client’s fitness and create their exercise programme
accordingly. 

You’ll also be able to record this information and refer back to it as they progress to keep them motivated and on track to achieve their goals. 

 4. Goal setting 

Establishing your client’s goals is an important
part of the personal training screening process. 

You should find out exactly what your clients want
to achieve with their personal training regime and stick to SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,
and time-bound. 

You may feel your client needs to lose weight,
but their goal
may be to build muscle. Build a workout plan based on what they want whilst
mixing in certain exercises that you know will help them achieve those goals.

You know that six-pack abs are achieved with cardio as much as weight training, so explain that this is all part of the process.

Screening personal training clients: next steps 

So, you’ve completed the screening process, and your
new client is ready to begin training. Now what?

This part may not be obvious if you’re new to
personal training, especially since it’s not always covered during your course.
But the first thing you should do before throwing your questionnaires to one
side is securely record that information so you can refer to it down the line.

Personal trainer apps are a great way to store client information for easy
access. They create a more visual representation of their progress, so you can
easily pull up the fitness stats and goals recorded in their questionnaire and
demonstrate how far they’ve come at any point. 

Not only is this great for boosting their confidence
(and your PT client retention as a result), but it also protects clients with health
risks such as injury or exercise-induced aggravation. 

This means you’re fulfilling your duty as a personal
trainer and avoiding any third-party claims due to negligence or providing
incorrect advice. 

If an individual’s requirements should change after the personal training client screening process, ensure you update their information and make any necessary changes to their training. 

Training clients is extremely rewarding, but accidents can still happen. You may want to consider specialist personal training insurance to give you peace of mind. 

At Insure4Sport, you’ll receive £1m Professional Indemnity cover free of charge
when Public Liability is included in your policy. This protects you if you
provide a client with incorrect advice that leads to an accident. 

You can also opt for Personal Accident and Loss of
Earnings cover for financial protection in the worst-case scenarios. 

Learn more about how we can help here, or click the button below to get an online quote in minutes.