Personal Trainer Forms Required for Your Fitness Business

You have earned your fitness certification, done your market survey, and taken every other step to get your fitness business up and running. That’s a laudable achievement already. Now, to make the most of your investment in your fitness certification and in setting up your business, you need to run your business as smoothly as possible and make it successful. For this, you have to get a set of essential personal trainers documents together so you can manage your clients well and prevent any legal problems from arising. Here are 9 personal trainer forms you should use to make your fitness business successful.

1. Welcome Letter

A welcome letter is the perfect way to show your appreciation to a new client for choosing you out of all the other options they had. Personalize it by using their name instead of using a generic salutation like “Dear client” and thank them for training with you. Write a line or two about the guiding philosophy behind your business and the values it stands for.

2. PAR-Q Form

PAR-Q, short for Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire, is a standardized screening tool consisting of 7 questions that helps you assess if a client has any preexisting medical conditions that may become worse by becoming much more physically active than they presently are. 

If the client answers no to all questions, they are ready to start training. If they answer yes to one or more questions, they should obtain clearance from a doctor to start the program. PAR-Q should be filled out again if the client returns after 6 months of lapsed training. Make sure to keep all PAR-Q forms in the client’s file.

3. Medical Clearance Form

Use this form with clients who you have determined to be at risk using Par-Q. Additionally, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that a person who has heart disease, kidney disease, or type 1 or type 2 diabetes but no symptoms, and doesn't normally exercise should also see a doctor before engaging in moderate or vigorous exercise.

Include in the form the client’s fitness and/or nutrition goals and how you plan to help them achieve those goals. Also include your name and contact information in case the doctor wants to discuss anything that may affect their patient (your client) in the course of your program.

4. Fitness Assessment

Whereas a PAR-Q helps you assess a client’s readiness for your program, a fitness assessment helps you measure the client’s present state of fitness (the baseline) against which you can later on compare the client’s progress with your program. Include basic things like the client’s height, weight, and body weight and measurements like chest, waist, biceps, hips, upper thigh, mid-thigh, and calves. Other things you can include are current resting heart rate and caloric intake.

5. Personal Training Agreement

An agreement helps you set out the terms and conditions of your services in writing and helps prevent disputes or resolve them if they ever arise. Mention all the forms they are required to fill out, failing which they will be unable to start training. Describe your policies such as with regard to clothing requirements, late arrivals, scheduling, rescheduling, cancellation, and refunds, and anything else that the client must know in advance. Mention your duties and responsibilities to help your client achieve their fitness goals.

6. Liability Waiver Form

This is a very important form for you to have to protect yourself in case a client sustains an injury during or after a training session and sues you for damages. By signing this form, the client indicates that they have reviewed all the terms and understands the potential risk of injury. It’s important to note that this waiver will only protect you if your services expose your clients to reasonable risk associated with exercise but not it puts them at unreasonable risk of injury.

7. Goal-Setting Form

This form sets the expectations of the client in writing. Additionally, it serves the purpose of being a useful reminder to them every time they struggle to find the motivation to keep going.

Use a mix of closed and open questions to identify the goals they would like to achieve during the program in the priority that matters to them, why those goals are important to them, and what they think you as a personal trainer can do to help them achieve those goals.

8. Food and Activity Diary

Food and fitness go hand-in-hand. Create a document in which your clients can record all the things they eat each day of the week and the physical activities they perform within and outside of their training sessions with you. This will help the clients track their habits, identify the areas they need to work upon, and take steps to regain control over their lives and better achieve their health and fitness goals.

9. Client Progress Tracking Form

Every few weeks, take stock of how a client is doing with your program. Take their measurements and head-to-toe photographs, and compare them to previous records. Ask the client to describe their accomplishments, disappointments, and challenges. Ask them what they can do to improve the results and how you can help them better achieve their goals. Finally, offer any insights or suggestions you have to motivate them to move forward.

Give your clients sufficient time to go over each document and have them sign each one of them barring the welcome letter. This will indicate that they have consented to what the documents contain and will come in handy in case a dispute arises.

A personal trainer certification is a great start to a fulfilling fitness trainer career. Of course, not all fitness certifications are cut from the same cloth and you have to make your selection wisely. If you are still looking for a personal trainer certificate that will prepare you for your career, you can sign up for this comprehensive Online Personal Training Certification course that is both internationally recognized and economically priced. For more fitness certifications, click here.