Personal Training Questionnaire for New Clients: Template & Examples

After starting your personal training business, you need a solid strategy for attracting and retaining paying clients. 

Start by understanding your potential clients' fitness needs and history and whether you can help them achieve their goals.

If you're going to get off on the right foot, consider creating a personal training questionnaire for new clients. 

We're going to explore why questionnaires are essential for professional trainers, break down the key components that make them effective, and provide you with example questions plus implementation strategies so that you can streamline your client onboarding process.

Why Use a Personal Training Questionnaire?

You need a personal training questionnaire for new clients, also called a fitness client intake form, to gather critical information about your clients before you start training them.

With one, you can understand your client's:

• Medical history
• Fitness goals
• Exercise preferences
• Lifestyle factors

When you have this critical information, you'll be able to:

1. Create Effective Programs

When you create your personal trainer consultation questions, you'll discover each client's exercise history, current fitness level, and specific goals.

This information will help you design workout plans that match their capabilities and preferences from the first session. 

You'll understand their exercise preferences and motivation factors so you can select appropriate drills, rep ranges, and progression schedules that keep them engaged and moving toward their goals.

2. Prevent Injuries Through Smart Programming

When you ask medical history questions, you'll identify physical limitations that could affect exercise form and intensity. 

For example, a client with chronic lower back pain will need careful attention to hip hinge movements and core stability before progressing to deadlifts.

Or, someone with shoulder impingement will require modified overhead pressing and specific warm-up protocols.

Through their answers, you'll also understand their current fitness level to avoid overloading beginners or under-challenging experienced clients. 

3. Build Rapport and Figure Out Scheduling

You can use the questionnaire to connect with new clients before your first consultation.

By asking specific questions about their previous training experiences, failed attempts, and current challenges, you'll better understand what hasn't worked for them before and show genuine interest in their journey.

You'll also need to determine a realistic training frequency and preferred session times that fit their actual lifestyle.

If you work in a specific personal training niche (such as training shift workers, busy parents, or older adults), these answers can also reveal valuable context, like their work schedule, stress levels, and whether they prefer energizing morning workouts or evening stress-relief sessions.

Personal Training Questionnaire For New Clients: Template

You'll want to structure your questionnaire around several essential components that gather the information necessary for safe, effective program design.

Here are five key areas to consider and the questions to ask before you can create the best workout programs:

1. Personal and Contact Information

You can start with basic demographic and contact details to establish client records and emergency protocols.

You typically need this information for all future communication to be able to reach clients or their emergency contacts if needed during training.

Template: Create simple text fields for these basic details:

• Complete name and what you prefer to be called
• Birth date and current age.
• Primary and backup phone numbers.
• Email contact information.
• Current home address.
• Emergency contact details (name, relationship, contact number).
• Where did you learn about my training services?

2. Health and Medical History

You want to understand your client's health and medical history, so use the PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) to screen for pre-existing health conditions. 

The PAR-Q contains seven essential questions that identify any pre-existing medical conditions that an increase in physical activity might aggravate.

Template: Structure these as yes/no checkboxes with space for additional details when answered "yes":

• Has a physician ever told you that you have heart problems and should only exercise under medical supervision?
• Do you experience chest discomfort during physical activity?
• Have you had chest pain while at rest in the past month?
• Do you experience dizziness or fainting spells that cause you to lose balance?
• Do you have any bone or joint issues that might worsen with exercise?
• Are you currently taking prescription medication for blood pressure or cardiac conditions?
• Are there any other medical reasons why you should avoid physical activity?

You can expand this section by asking about current medications, previous surgeries, family medical history, and recent physical therapy.

These questions can also focus on chronic conditions, such as heart health, especially since vigorous exercise may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death as much as 16.9-fold during and immediately after physical activity.

You can ask these questions and include text areas for detailed responses:

• Current prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements.
• Past surgical procedures or significant injuries.
• Ongoing health conditions such as diabetes or joint problems.
• Family medical background, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
• Recent rehabilitation or physical therapy treatments.

3. Fitness Goals and Exercise Preferences

To discover what drives your client, ask about their primary goals and motivation for starting training now. 

Some clients are motivated by upcoming events like weddings or vacations; others want to regain fitness after injury or illness, while many seek stress relief from demanding jobs or want to set a positive example for their children. 

Understanding these deeper motivations will help you create effective workout programs that connect with what truly matters to them, increasing long-term adherence and success.

Template: Design these with dropdown menus for structured answers and text boxes for detailed responses:

• What specific fitness outcomes are you hoping to achieve?
• What prompted you to seek personal training at this time?
• Have you previously worked with a fitness trainer? What was your experience?
• Which forms of exercise do you find most enjoyable?
• Are there any workout styles you prefer to avoid?
• On a scale of 1-10, how would you assess your current fitness?
• Describe what achieving your goals would look like at 3, 6, and 12 months.

4. Lifestyle Habits

You can assess daily habits that impact training results by asking about sleep hours, stress levels, smoking, alcohol consumption, and typical diet.

For example, poor sleep affects muscle recovery and energy levels, while high stress can interfere with progress and increase injury risk.

Template: Set up these questions with specific input types: number fields for hours, rating scales for stress levels, and text areas for diet descriptions:

• How much sleep do you usually get each night?
• On a scale of 1-10, what's your typical stress level?
• Do you frequently smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products?
• How much alcohol do you typically drink weekly?
• Please walk me through what you usually eat on a typical day.
• Are you currently taking any nutritional supplements or vitamins?
• How would you describe your daily work activity level?
• What recreational physical activities are you currently doing?

5. Availability and Scheduling Preferences

You can determine realistic training frequency by asking how many days per week they want to train and what times work best.

Many clients overestimate their available time when they want to start working out, so understanding their actual work schedule, family commitments, and energy patterns can help you create sustainable programs they'll follow.

Template: Format these with checkboxes for multiple selections and dropdown menus for specific preferences:

• How many training sessions per week would you like to schedule?
• What part of the day works best for your workout schedule?
• Do you have a preference for morning, midday, or evening training?
• Which days of the week are typically open in your schedule?
• What's the ideal length for each training session?
• Are there any upcoming trips or schedule changes I should know about?
• Would you prefer the same weekly time slots or more flexible scheduling?
• Are you interested in additional support like nutrition guidance or independent workout plans?

Best Practices for Implementation

You can maximize the effectiveness of your questionnaire by following these strategic implementation practices.

Send questionnaires before the first session.

Ask clients to complete forms ahead of time so you can review responses and identify any medical clearance needs before the meeting.

Protect client data with secure storage methods.

Store questionnaire responses in password-protected electronic formats or locked physical locations and obtain written consent explaining how the information will be used.

Use encrypted messaging apps for any communication involving sensitive health information and limit access to authorized personnel only.

Update information regularly during your working relationship.

Keep in touch with industry trends and best practices to identify areas where your questionnaire needs improvements, and schedule periodic reviews with existing clients to capture changes in health status, medications, or goals that affect their programming.

Conclusion

By now, you know how to create and implement a personal training questionnaire that helps you better understand your clients and build lasting relationships from day one.

While it's possible to manage these forms manually, handling responses, storing sensitive data securely, and keeping track of client details can quickly become overwhelming as your business grows.

That's where PT Distinction comes in. With our all-in-one personal training software, you can streamline your workflow using pre-built questionnaires like PAR-Qs, lifestyle assessments, and medical forms, all completed directly in your fully branded app.

Start your free 1-Month trial today and simplify the way you work with clients.

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