As a personal trainer, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of your client's health and fitness levels before starting any exercise programme. Pre-screening plays a crucial role in identifying potential risks and limitations that may impact the safety and effectiveness of the exercise programme.
This topic will explore the consultation process, including health and fitness questionnaires and goal-setting tools. We'll discuss how to interpret the results of these assessments and use them to design customised exercise programmes that cater to your client's unique needs and goals.
Throughout the topic, you will participate in activities that will enhance your knowledge and skills in pre-screening and health assessments, enabling you to become a competent and confident personal trainer.
In this topic, we’ll cover:
- Consultation
- Documentation
- Pre-screening tools
- Goal-setting tools
It's your responsibility to provide accurate and safe information to clients from diverse backgrounds. The consultation is a chance to learn about clients' goals and medical history through open and closed questions, so you can ensure the information you provide is accurate and safe.
The safety of your client and other gym members is at the core of all you do.
Uphold professional standards
The Code of Ethical Practice states that registered personal trainers will always “respect the rights and dignity of every participant regardless of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation, or any other legally prohibited grounds of discrimination” (REPs, Code of Ethical Practice, 2018).
Remember, you will work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds. Clients may include:
- People of all ages, including senior citizens
- People of all genders and sexualities
- People from different cultural, language, and social backgrounds
- People who may have limited English language, literacy, and numeracy skills
- People with disabilities (including sight, hearing, mobility, and intellectual)
You must not discriminate because of disability, ethnicity, culture, language, age, gender, sexual preference, religion, political beliefs, or socio-economic status. Not only is this specified in the Code of Ethical Practice, but it’s also just doing the right thing and being a kind and inclusive person.
This may mean adjusting a programme and your communication skills when appropriate. It's important to demonstrate an awareness of culturally appropriate practices when interacting with clients. New Zealand is culturally diverse, and practices may vary depending on your client's cultural background.
Successful consultation
A successful consultation leaves the client feeling comfortable, with dignity, and having confidence in your abilities. A successful consultation provides the personal trainer with key information to design a great programme and help the client reach their goals.
Things you can do to increase the chances of a successful consultation:
- Make your client feel comfortable. Explain why you are collecting the information and what will be done with it.
- Break the pre-screen into subtopics. Subtopics like training goals, are best discussed verbally so you can ask follow-up questions. For other subtopics, such as medical screening, you may find it sufficient to have the client tick boxes.
- If the client is busy writing, stay quiet and don’t talk to them. It can be hard to concentrate on 2 things at once.
- Observe non-verbal communication such as hesitation when answering questions.
- Ask follow-up questions for “yes” responses to medical or injury questions. E.g., Which shoulder? How did you do it? When? Did you get treatment? What did the physio suggest?
- Don’t presume. Let the client tell you.
Consultation provides the opportunity to create and build rapport while taking the client through a series of questions to obtain personal information. Clients may not want to share their personal history with someone they have just met. So, within the initial consultation process, try to build trust, establish professional credibility, and determine compatibility and trust between yourself and your client as this will help the client feel comfortable and allow them to feel a sense of genuine interest and connection.
The personal trainer/client relationship is close, and ideally, long-term. It’s important that you spend some initial time building rapport. You may find the SMILE technique helpful for this.
Effective questioning
The consultation is an opportunity for a personal trainer or coach to get to know the client better and figure out their values, beliefs, and goals. The best way to gather the client's background information is by asking open-ended and closed questions.
Examples of open-ended questions:
- What objectives do you have?
- How do you feel about beginning this fitness journey?
- What type of exercise activities do you enjoy?
- What are your top 3 goals?
Examples of closed questions:
- Is increasing your muscles your key objective?
- Have you ever attended a gym before?
- Do you have any physical conditions that affect you using weights or other equipment?
- Have you ever used a rowing machine?
Open and closed questions help you to:
- gather detailed medical and exercise history
- create specific and measurable goals
- determine any weaknesses or barriers to exercises
- find out about lifestyle factors such as nutrition, stress, and support
- build rapport and find common ground with your client
Importance of pre-screening
Pre-screening is a preliminary process of identifying any potential risks or reasons for exclusion before starting an exercise routine. This is done to ensure that the exercise program is safe and appropriate for the individual. You pre-screen your client to determine:
- If your client is medically and physically safe to exercise and if so, determine the appropriate intensity and other variables within the FITT principle
- If medical referral and/or clearance is required
- If you are a suitable professional to safely, and effectively, meet their medical and exercise needs
It’s important to provide an initial screening of all potential clients to determine risk factors and discuss limitations prior to starting an exercise routine. This is to ensure the safety of the clients during exercise testing and to help you produce a specific, individualised, safe and effective programme.
Pre-screening is a 2-way process. You should use this stage to determine if your client is a suitable candidate for exercise and if the needs of your client fall within your scope of practice. Are you qualified to safely guide them through their exercise and health needs? If not, ask for further advice from your gym manager, a more experienced personal trainer, or refer to the appropriate health professional such as a general practitioner or a clinical exercise physiologist.
All health and fitness professionals conduct pre-screening sessions to:
- optimise safety
- develop sound and effective exercise prescription
- identify individuals with disease symptoms and risk factors for disease development who should receive medical clearance before starting an exercise programme
- identify and exclude individuals with medical contraindications to exercise
- identify individuals with other special needs
In this module, we’re looking at exercise prescription for general population. You’ll learn more about exercise prescription for special population in the next module.
General population refers to individuals who do not have any specific health concerns or medical conditions that require specialised exercise programming or supervision. These individuals are typically healthy and can participate in most forms of exercise without significant risk. Examples of general population clients may include those looking to improve their overall fitness, lose weight, or build strength.
Special population refers to individuals with specific health concerns or medical conditions requiring specialised exercise programming and supervision. These individuals may require modifications to their exercise programme or additional supervision to ensure their exercise routine is safe and effective. Examples of special population clients may include individuals with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, pregnancy, elderly, obesity, or osteoporosis.
It’s important to find out why your client has decided to start an exercise programme. What was the catalyst or motivation behind engaging a personal trainer?
Think back to the Stages of Change Model from Behaviour Modification. Clients engaging with a personal trainer may be in the preparation, action, or maintenance stage. How you communicate with your client depends on where they are at in the model.
In the pre-screening consultation, you want to find that emotional driver. You need to find out exactly what your client wants from their training with you.
Goal-setting tools are resources that can help you and your clients define, plan, and achieve goals. These tools may include forms, mobile apps, worksheets, or templates. They provide a structured approach to goal setting. Some examples of goal-setting tools include SMART goal worksheets, habit trackers, vision boards, mind maps, and to-do lists.
These tools can establish both short-term and long-term goals, track progress, identify barriers, and make adjustments to achieve desired outcomes. Goal-setting tools can be valuable aids for individuals who want to improve their health and fitness.
Set staircase goals
Staircase goals are a type of goal-setting strategy that breaks down a larger goal into smaller, more manageable sub-goals. Each sub-goal represents a step towards achieving the overall objective, like climbing up a staircase one step at a time.
This approach can be helpful for several reasons. First, it makes the larger goal less overwhelming by breaking it down into smaller, achievable steps. This can help to prevent procrastination and increase motivation. Second, by focusing on achieving each sub-goal, you can track your progress and see how far you've come, which can also help to boost motivation.
Staircase goals can be a useful strategy for health and fitness goals. By breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable sub-goals, clients can make steady progress towards improving their health and fitness.
Case Study: Staircase Goals for Strength Training
Client Goal:
Increase overall strength and muscle mass
Sub-Goal 1: Master Proper Form
- Research and learn proper form for basic strength training exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, and overhead press.
- Practice each exercise with proper form using light weights or bodyweight until form is perfected.
Sub-Goal 2: Increase Endurance
- Complete a full body workout 2-3 times per week consisting of 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions per exercise.
- Increase weight used each week as form allows.
Sub-Goal 3: Increase Strength and Muscle Mass
- Focus on progressive overload by gradually increasing weight used, reps, and/or sets as form allows.
- Incorporate more complex exercises such as pull-ups, chin-ups, and dips into the routine.
- Increase protein intake and track progress by taking measurements and progress photos.
By focusing on one sub-goal at a time, the client can build a solid foundation of proper form, endurance, and strength before moving on to more complex exercises and increasing muscle mass. Achieving each sub-goal can also help to boost confidence and motivation, making it more likely that the client will continue to work towards their overall strength training goal.
By focusing on these smaller, achievable goals, the client can build momentum and make steady progress towards their larger health and fitness goals. Plus, achieving each sub-goal can help to boost their confidence and motivation, making it more likely that they’ll continue to stick with the plan over time.
Goals should be a combination of outcome goals (results-orientated), process (attendance-based), and lifestyle.
SMARTER goals
By this stage, you should be feeling comfortable with SMART goals. Here, we introduce 2 more elements to make goals SMARTER: Evaluate and Re-adjust. These 2 steps ensure the goals remain relevant and effective as circumstances change.
Note - there are a few variations of the acronym SMART. The main thing is that SMART goals provide a clear road map for the goal setter and the person monitoring their progress.
To revise SMART goals, expand the accordions.
A specific goal is clear and concise. It answers the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how. E.g., "I want to lose weight" is not specific, but "I want to lose 5kg in 3 months by exercising 3 times per week and eating a balanced diet" is.
Questions to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- What do I want to achieve?
- Is anyone else involved/needed to achieve success?
- What challenges may I face when working to achieve my goals?
A measurable goal can be quantified or objectively assessed. It allows for tracking progress and measuring success. Using the previous example, the goal of losing 5kg in 3 months is measurable.
Questions to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- What do you want to achieve, and by when- what is your timeline?
- How will you know when you have accomplished your goal?
An achievable goal is challenging but realistic. It considers the individual's abilities, resources, and circumstances. An unrealistic goal can lead to frustration and failure, while an achievable goal can boost motivation and confidence. E.g., losing 5kg in 3 days would not be achievable, but losing 5kg in 3 months with a healthy diet and exercise plan could be.
Questions to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- Is this goal realistic?
- Can you identify any factors which may prevent you from achieving this goal?
A relevant goal is important and meaningful to the individual. It aligns with their values, interests, and priorities. Setting a goal that is irrelevant to the individual can lead to a lack of motivation and disinterest. E.g., if an individual is not interested in running, setting a goal to run a marathon may not be relevant to them.
Question to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- Why am I choosing this goal?
A time-bound goal has a specific deadline or timeframe for completion. It provides a sense of urgency and helps to prioritise actions. Without a deadline, goals can drag on indefinitely, leading to procrastination and lack of progress. In the previous example, losing 5kg in 3 months provides a specific timeframe for completion.
Question to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- When do I want to achieve this?
Let’s focus on these 2 new elements: Evaluate and Re-adjust.
Evaluate
After setting a SMARTER goal and taking steps towards achieving it, it's important to evaluate progress periodically. This can involve tracking metrics like time, frequency, and progress towards the goal and analysing the effectiveness of the actions taken to achieve it. Evaluating progress can help to identify areas where the plan is working well and where it may need to be adjusted.
Goal setting is not a one-time task. Things change and you may realise that a goal requires adjusting. E.g., some of the FITT principles need to change due to lifestyle changes, such as school holidays or changing work hours. Goals and sub-goals should be evaluated to ensure your client stays motivated and has achievable and relevant goals.
Questions to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- Are my goals still SMART goals?
- Have any factors within or outside my fitness routine changed since these goals were set?
Re-adjust
Based on the evaluation, it may be necessary to re-adjust the plan to stay on track towards the goal. This could involve changing the action plan, the timeline, or the metrics used to measure progress. Re-adjusting can help keep the goal relevant and achievable, especially if circumstances change or progress has stalled.
Questions to ask your client (or have them ask themselves):
- Do I need to make any adjustments to continue the path to achieving my goals?
- What adjustments do I need to make?
- What adjustments can I make?
Discuss your client’s goals and record them following the SMARTER process.
