THE FITNESS ASSESSMENT FORM: HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN
The assessment is an integral part of fitness coaching.
Before you can work with any client you need to assess their abilities. But what should you include in the assessment? And how can you streamline the process to maximize your coaching efficiency?
A fitness assessment form is a great tool to help you conduct consistent and efficient new client assessments. This blog will cover the basics of the fitness assessment form, its uses, and what you should include in your own form.
What is a fitness assessment form?
A fitness assessment form is a way that fitness coaches and trainers, like you, gather background information about their clients. The information is then used as a reference when creating their training program.
Fitness assessment forms differ greatly depending on who created the form and its purpose. But most forms ask about the client’s prior fitness experience, their health history, and assess their current abilities.
How to Create Your Own Fitness Assessment Form
There are three parts you need to include in your own fitness assessment form.
1) Background information about your client
Provide your client with an intake form to fill out background information about themselves before meeting with them. Some questions to include are:
How long have you consistently exercised?
How many uninterrupted hours of sleep do you get per night?
Are you currently or have you ever followed a nutrition program?
These are great starting questions, but for the best results tailor your assessment form to your specific coaching needs.
2) Notes from the consultation
The second part of the assessment should include conducting a 30-minute to 1-hour consultation and recording detailed notes.
The consultation is your opportunity to get to know the client, their motivations, and most importantly, their goals for training. Here are some questions you can use during your next consultation.
What is your motivation for working together?
What areas in your life do you feel the most organized?
How do you like to spend your free time?
The consultation doesn’t end after the first session, it’s a best practice to check in monthly with your clients. Learn our method of consultation and learn how it influences their training program in this free coaching course.
3) Fitness data collected from the physical assessment
The last part of the fitness assessment form is the data you collect from the physical assessment. Before working with a client you need to assess their current abilities to give you a starting point for their training program. We recommend you assess three areas.
Body – Use a machine like an InBody to assess the client’s body composition. This will give you useful information about their basal metabolic rate and lean body mass.
Move – Assess their movement abilities. The information from this section will inform your exercise selection and movement-based goals.
Work – Lastly, look at your client’s work capacity. The data gathered here will give insight into their current level of fitness and help you determine the best Energy System Training to support their goals.
How to Use Data From the Assessment Form
Now that you have used your assessment form to collect information about your client it is time to design their exercise program. For the best results, use the information you gathered to personalize their training plan.
However, this is easier said than done. Do you know how to use the information from the assessment in your program? What about personalizing their program? Is this something you’re comfortable with doing?
For most coaches creating a personalized program can be a struggle and that’s understandable. The fitness industry has done coaches a disservice by preaching a templated approach. However, that’s not what we believe in. Sign up for our free coaching course today and learn how to create personalized exercise programs for your clients based on the information gathered in the assessment.
