How I Design A Personal Training Plan For My Clients

If you’ve been working on a fitness goal but you’re not quite there yet, a personal trainer can help. You may be wondering how a personal trainer puts together a fitness plan and makes sure it’s a good fit for you. Here’s how I design personal training plans for my clients.

A Great Personal Training Plan Starts with Goals

When I’m putting together a fitness program, my first step is to consider my client’s goals. Someone who’s interested in weight loss should train differently than someone who wants to put on a lot of muscle mass or finish a 5K run in a certain time.

There are research-backed guidelines for how to exercise based on a specific goal, and that’s where I start. Then I take those general guidelines and tweak them based on the other information I have from my client.

Assessments

Assessments give me an objective measure of what each client needs to be successful. Without an assessment, I would be guessing about what to include in their program.

To get a complete picture of each client’s starting point, I do a combination of written and physical assessments. The written questionnaires asks clients about their goals in detail, their current habits, nutrition, sleep, time management, history of pain or injuries, and other issues.

I also do a physical assessment. In that assessment I look at their posture and the way they move, and I assess their flexibility and their strength.

I use all this information to choose the best exercises for each person. I include “prehab” exercises for specific muscle imbalances or joint issues, if necessary.

If you have a history of knee pain, for example, I will find out which movements aggravate it so I know what to modify or avoid.

My physical assessment might reveal that your knees are turned inwards, which could be contributing to your pain. In that case I would include specific exercises to help combat that posture, focusing on strengthening your glutes to help pull your thighs back into alignment and working on the muscles that surround and support your knees.

Previous Experience

Even for the same goal, someone who has never exercised before will need to approach their workouts differently than someone who has already been training consistently for years. I match my approach to each client’s experience and ability level, so the workouts are just challenging enough for them.

If they’ve had success in the past with certain types of workouts or enjoy specific exercises, I make sure to include those in their program. It’s important that you enjoy your training and that you believe it can work for you.

Lifestyle and Habits

I also take their lifestyle and other habits into account when writing their personal training plan. That means including exercises that directly translate to their daily responsibilities and their hobbies.

If you have young kids, it’s important that you’re strong enough to lift them, and to do so safely. I’ll include exercises that teach you how to lift something heavy off the ground and improve your core strength and stability, so you don’t hurt their back when your child runs and jumps on you.

If you like hiking on the weekends, I’ll include exercises that mimic the walking motion but with an additional challenge. That will make your hikes will feel much easier and more enjoyable.

Preferences

If you don’t enjoy your exercise, you’re less likely to do it. I always ask my clients about the kinds of exercise or other activities that they like and try to incorporate as much of that as I can. If they hate running, I don’t make them run. If they love it, even if they’re working on a strength goal, we might incorporate some short runs into the workout.

I once had a client who loved to get sweaty and considered that a sign of a good workout. She came to me with a strength goal, and generally strength training doesn’t get you very sweaty. So, I decided to work in some short high intensity bursts on the elliptical machine between strength exercises. By the end of each session, she got a good sweat going while also addressing her strength goals.

Putting Together Your Personal Training Plan

With all this information, I write a preliminary plan and start taking my client through it. I continuously track progress and assess the program to make sure it’s working and make tweaks as we go.

If you’re in need of a great personal trainer in Lake Mary, Florida or online, look no further! I can help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Contact me for a free consultation!