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Personal Trainer - Occupational Essentials Instruction Guide (sneak peek)
Prospecting (potential clients)
Consultation PacketThis is the initial face-to-face with your potential client. Initial consultation process diagram I suggest printing and laminating this sheet. Give this to the prospect at the beginning of the consultation and talk them through the process. This makes them feel in control of the meeting and gives them an understanding of how long the process will take. It also answers some of their questions right off the bat and gives you a standardized structure to follow. This actually saves quite a bit of time for the both of you.
What we can do for you This single sheet of paper summarizes everything you can do for your prospect. Give them the sheet and then talk them through each section slowly so they don't feel rushed. Talk them through who you are, your philosophy, your prices, how your sessions work, and anything else you feel is important. This will give the prospect a good all round idea of what you're about. Leave this document with them, so they can look it over in their own time. Show them your qualifications Now is the time to wow your prospect with your personal fitness training qualifications, memberships to professional bodies, insurance, first aid, certificates, and recommendations from your other clients. Give your prospect time to look over your certificates, and read your testimonials, without feeling rushed. This is also a good time to show them a copy of the Daily Mail article on how personal trainers should be suitably qualified (PT's Can Harm You). This article should back up your own qualifications as evidence that you are suitably qualified for the job. Packages and Pricing What are you offering? Do you have discounts for multiple sessions? Do you do group sessions? Are there any add-on services you can provide such as fitness testing or nutritional advice? Do you know a masseur who you can work with? These will all add value to your business. You can now ask the prospect if everything looks good to them? Great... then why don't they give you a try? Do they have any questions before they start to fill in the following forms? Personal Information Your client's personal information is needed so that you can contact them to send information, updates, add them to your mailing list, etc. It also has their next of kin and doctors details should you (hopefully never) need them. The section at the bottom – How did you hear about us? Is useful for tracking how your advertising efforts are working out for you. You may need to start advertising in some way to grow your business, although the majority of clients will usually find you through word of mouth. PAR-Q (The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) This is very important. The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire is a vital document to ascertain whether your client is fit to undertake physical activity. It is pretty standard no matter what country you are from. It is self explanatory, and explains each section to the participant. If they answer YES to any question, you must get their doctor to give them a medical exam and and/or to sign a medical release form to cover you should something happen to them whilst you are training them. Medical History After filling out this form, you may decide to ask your client to get a medical release/physical from their doctor if anything suspect comes out of it. The form goes through the main risk factors, their current health, and any previous injuries which may affect what you can or can't do with them in your training program. If the client is currently ill, put off starting their exercise program until they are over the illness. If the client suffers from a chronic or recurring illness, care should be taken that the illness is not complicated by exercise. If a client has a chronic injury or a range-of-motion limitation, it should always be advised that he/she see their personal physician, a licensed physical therapist, or an orthopedic physician prior to implementing your recommendations. In the case of range-of-motion limitations, this therapeutic referral need be made only if recommendations involve the articulation (movement) of the injured site(s). You must also avoid recommending movements that aggravate above conditions. Inform the client to stop exercising if he or she experiences relative symptoms or undue pain of any kind, and consult immediately with you, and if need be, with his/her physician. Contraindications to exercise As a personal fitness trainer, you must inform your client of the contraindications (symptoms of overexertion or injury) to exercise, so the client will be able to distinguish the difference between discomfort that is to be expected, and discomfort that could indicate an underlying problem. If a client experiences any joint pain, dizziness, nausea, rapid pulse, excessive sweating, extreme muscle soreness, cramping, or chest pain, he/she should immediately stop exercising, consult with you, and if need be, their personal physician. Medical Release If your client answers YES to any question on the PAR-Q, they need to take this form to their doctor for them to sign, usually as part of a full medical examination. Lifestyle Questionnaire This is where you find out about their current lifestyle, their habits, food preferences, body image, and generally how healthy/unhealthy their current lifestyle is. Encourage them to be as honest as possible. The answers to these questions will give you an idea of where to start with their fitness program, and their diet. Are they always tired? Is it because of work or their eating habits? Do they have a negative self-image? How much time do you think they will have for exercise? Can they easily fit it into their schedule? Are they currently active? What fitness equipment do they already have? What types of activities do they like/dislike? You need to make it fun for them in order to succeed. You can reassess them in 6 months time by asking them to fill in another lifestyle questionnaire to see if their views/knowledge have changed. Poor sleeping habits can reduce recovery effectiveness, lower Growth Hormone release, and can cause mental fatigue and inability to concentrate. Sleep is the body’s built-in recovery mechanism. A protein builds up in the cerebrospinal fluid during waking hours that can be broken down only during sleep. Moreover, sleeping abnormalities can usually be directly linked to stress and improper eating habits. Now take a moment to summarize everything you've discussed, and how you intend to meet their goals. Ask them if that sounds reasonable?
AgreementsCommitment and Attitude, Late/Absent/Cancellation, Refund, Payment, X2
Informed Consent Waiver, Release and Hold Harmless Agreement The client agrees not to sue you. They sign this on the understanding that they take responsibility for their actions, that they understand that they will undertake strenuous activities, and may pull muscles, injure themselves etc. This is a critical document and you should not attempt to train anybody until you have this agreement signed and in your possession.
Fitness AssessmentFitness Assessment Form This is one of the main documents to wow your client with. You will use it in your first session with clients to note their baseline measurements and fitness tests. Adapt it to your needs and the needs of your client. After the session, type up their data and email it to them as a colorful PDF. This makes them feel they are getting added value from you. It gives them something to compare with future fitness testing sessions, show their friends, and even works as a marketing strategy; they show it to their friends, their friends then want to be able to compare themselves to your client; you get a new client! Body fat scales are an excellent addition to your fitness equipment. They will give many different measurements quickly and are non-invasive. When you get to the step recovery test, input the data into the table and it will automatically draw the graph for you. Nutrition Diary Ask the client to give you a detailed account of their food and drink intake for a week following your first meeting. They should be honest and include everything they eat or drink, along with how much of everything they're eating or drinking. This should include sweets, snacks, and alcohol. You need this in order to evaluate the types of food they are eating, the quantities, and their calorie intake. You will use this data to work out whether they are consuming the right kinds of nutrients, and whether they are eating the right number of calories in order to sustain/increase/decrease their weight whilst undertaking your fitness program. You should then work out roughly how many calories they are consuming for each day during the week, the ratio of macro and micro nutrients, and any other obvious problems with their meals. There are various free websites that will do a calculation based on the foods you enter into their forms. RPE Scale For someone who is new to exercise it's often difficult for them to understand how hard they're working. You will be able to tell from their breathing rate, their talking, and their sweating, but they won't know how hard to work. Explain to them that they will feel hot, they will sweat, their breathing rate will be faster, they will feel out of breath, their heart will pound, and they may find it difficult to talk, and that this is normal. You can use the chart by saying something like “today I want you to be working at a level 7” or by asking them... “what level RPE do you feel you're at?” Take away their nutrition diary, and analyze it. Call your client a day or so later and ask them how they feel after their fitness tests. They will appreciate you looking after them.
The First Training SessionBefore starting your session, report back to them on their fitness assessment from the previous week. Give them a print out of their Fitness Assessment sheet for them to keep. They will likely show their friends the sheet which may lead to new clients! This sheet also gives them the feeling of value for money; something tangible they can take away, their very own fitness report. Also report back on the Nutrition Diary, but don't give them too much information in one go, or you'll overload them and they'll forget. This is why I split up the main nutrition advice over several sessions. Break them in gently to their new healthy nutritional lifestyle! I start the first training session by telling them that we will be working up slowly to full effort, but only over the next few sessions, as it is more important to be able to do the exercises safely and with correct form. I go through a basic full body resistance session, using large muscle groups during this session. What To Expect During Your First Session This outlines what to do before the first session with you. It covers what to eat, what to wear, what to expect during the session, and will take away some of the anxieties of the client. You might be surprised how many men would otherwise show up in jeans and work-boots and women in full make-up! Circuit Plan and Scorecard Use this form to track your client's progress each week. You should tell the client they are aiming to increase the number of reps within a certain amount of time each week. Depending on the time available and the number of exercises, your client may complete 2, 3, or 4 circuits. After several weeks I begin to add exercises they can do safely with correct form to this plan, so that they can do at least one session per week without me. Exercise Activity Log Give this to the client to keep track of their exercise during the week. It will either keep them motivated, or shock them into doing more exercise! Tell them that you will check it each week to keep them on track. Exercise Diagrams Use this sheet to keep track of the various workouts you do with your clients. I also use these to give clients workouts I want them to do when I'm not around. Once I am comfortable they can do a workout on their own safely with correct posture and technique I will either print one out that I've previously scanned, or email a PDF version to them. On their version I use the notes section to add any additional points for them to remember whilst doing each exercise (tummy in, head up, etc.) Exercise Plan This is the same sheet as the Exercise Activity Log. I use this to plan out their workouts for the week, with me or otherwise. Exercise Record I use this to keep track of what sessions I have done with clients, and also to track what extra sessions they might have done if I am not there. This is useful to track any gaps in their training; holidays, illness etc, and as your backup when they ask “why haven't I lost weight?” You can say “well I said you needed to do ____ times per week to see an improvement, and from my records, from the 8th march - 15th may, you only did an average of 1 workout per week.” Foods More and Less This sheet gets the client to think about changes they can easily make to their meals while at the same time reinforcing the good/bad foods they should be eating or avoiding.
Call your client the next day, and ask them how they feel after their first workout. They will appreciate you looking after them, you can reassure them that muscle soreness is a good thing! and their answer will give you an idea of the intensity for their next session. Call them after each session for several sessions to gauge their body's reaction to your program. Payment Log Use this to keep track of your payments from your clients.
payment minus sale
The Second Training SessionNutrition Advice This is the clients 'what to eat' reference guide. I usually talk the client through it after their first week with me. Sometimes as trainers we forget how little the average person knows about nutrition, and this is a good way to find out what they know or don't know, and as a little mini-lecture on the types of food to eat or avoid. I give this guide to the client after the first week in which they have completed their nutrition diary. That way I know I'm getting a more accurate and realistic representation of their meals for that week and not an adapted version based on what they think I'm looking for! The guide explains what a balanced diet is, the components of balanced diet, and how to read a food label. For the second session I do a cardio session, usually Fartlek or intervals, with a heart rate monitor (HRM) to gauge their cardiovascular capacity. This is usually jog-walk-jog-walk, getting them used to the HRM bleeps, how the level of exercise affects their heart rate and how quickly. I end with a good stretch session, while talking over the cardio session, and how cardio is a vital part of their training program, how it affects metabolism, and calorie-in-out-balance. Food Portions This sheet should be used alongside the Nutrition Diary to help your client explain the volume of food and drink they are consuming. Depending on the fitness schedule for the client I usually alternate resistance and cardio sessions from here on in, changing the type of cardio every couple of sessions to keep things interesting. Other Useful Documents
Template Document The standard header and footer for each of the documents, for you to produce your own/modify existing documents to match mine if you wish. If you have any feedback on how these documents have helped you and your business, or ideas of additions/improvements/changes I would love to hear from you.
If there is anything that you feel has been overlooked or if you would like something added to this, please contact me: Good luck with your business! Jerry. |
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Session – What the session consisted of
