My Personal Training Onboarding Routine for Beginners to Cross-Training or General Fitness

I see a lot of posts talking about what people do in terms of exercise, but not a lot about what it's like to have a trainer, the ways different trainers organize their programming, and what an onboarding experience looks like for someone new to personal training, cross-training, or a general fitness journey.

To keep this post from being miles long, I will focus on how I organize the first 12 weeks with someone who is new to the gym entirely, someone trying strength training for the first time, someone trying cross-training from a sport for the first time, or someone with an aesthetic goal like fat loss or muscle gain.

ONBOARDING PAPERWORK

Once the rate is sealed and they are ready to start the onboarding process, I send out all the intake paperwork. This includes a health history, a questionnaire, PAR-Q, liability waiver, different types of activities of daily living forms (if they apply), and the general personal training contract so you can review the payment schedule, cancellation policy, what is included in your package, and finish negotiations (because yes, you are allowed to negotiate with me; it's your right as a consumer).

While this is happening, I am behind the scenes taking some notes on what I'm seeing and what I want to evaluate in your free evaluation session. I send these findings over along with any secondary questions I may have about things in your paperwork. That is why it is important that you fill this out as soon as possible so my tinkering brain can get the wheels turning on how I want to structure your evaluation. The more time I have, the better the session will be tailored to your specific needs.

FREE CONSULTATION EVALUATION SESSION

I like to do these in person if I can; otherwise, I may send specific tests for them to do on their own and send back to me before the session. Or, during a live chat, I'll have you demonstrate certain things at different angles so I can take notes. This is so that I can see how your body is moving, what small changes I can make to improve what I'm seeing, and how I can best serve you.

Sometimes I discuss what I'm seeing as it is happening, and other times I take notes right then and there so I don't forget. This is the session where I will do the most note-taking, or I will voice record myself saying the notes out loud so I can go back to it later. This session is very important so that I can get to know you, and likewise, you get to know me and see how my brain works. I'm a think-out-loud kind of girl, and you'll start to see that as soon as the first session. I ask a lot of questions on purpose. I want to know how your body is feeling and responding so that I can adjust on the fly. This feedback is very important, so don't be shy in giving your honest opinion.

STANDARD 3-Month | 12 Week Intro Experience

The first three months are always what I like to call the dating phase. This is where you get to try out having a trainer, see if you like having one at all, and determine if you can afford it. You think about your needs and whether this is the right fit, and lastly, you discover things about yourself. I split this phase into two parts: the first being the EVALUATION PHASE and the second being the PROGRAMMING PHASE.

PHASE ONE: EVALUATION PHASE

My evaluation phase is designed to mitigate beginner soreness. Typically, the first time training, you'll be very sore. I try to design the first six weeks so that you can adapt to the training lifestyle as well as work out any kinks.

The workouts will have a blend of evaluating different aspects of fitness combined with moving you in different ways, challenging the prime moving muscles as well as the stabilizing muscles. Ultimately, my goal is to get you used to a routine but NOT to destroy you. That isn't the goal here. I want to see what your body can do under low to moderate stress - with and without weight.

I do this for six weeks so you can get a baseline on your own flexibility, strength, modalities you like and dislike, as well as get you working different machines in your facility. I encourage more cardio in this phase to help you with recovery as well as discover the cardio modality that you like and want to stick with so that it becomes an everyday aspect of your life.

Notice how I don't include much emphasis on nutrition right now. I do this on purpose for new clients. I want to see how the body responds to training first, ask you about how you're feeling, your diet, etc., without feeling like I'm nitpicking everything you eat in a day. Also, it's best to not overwhelm you at first, so I focus strictly on ability before adding more things for you to worry about. I like it this way so that myself and my client are focused on one specific thing - the client discovering themselves and myself learning about them from a fitness perspective.

Over the six weeks, I will likely take notes at the end of the session on what exercises I want to add, keep doing, modify, etc., so that I can write it into the phase two programming for the client. At the end of the six weeks, I will ask how it's going so far and if there's anything I need to change and will include those notes in phase two, the programming phase.

PHASE TWO: PROGRAMMING PHASE

So typically I write three workouts that will be repeated for six weeks. This is so I can see how your body responds to these exercises specifically over time. I do this because I'm looking at which areas of the body progress quicker, which areas are slower, what needs refining, etc. Trends are important, and if I include too much variety in the beginning, I can't narrow the focus on areas that are most important.

Most clients meet with me only once a week, so usually I go through each workout with them twice over the period of six weeks. That way I can really go into the details of each movement, the form, what muscles should be firing, and modify if needed.

This is also the time when I get into a structured routine I built for each client targeted to their goals. This might include starting with cardio for 5 minutes or 5 minutes of a dynamic warm-up. This may include mobility drills in the beginning designed to improve your performance before the exercises. This will include different pieces of equipment with 4-8 exercises targeted for specific goals. And lastly, I may end with foam rolling or assisted stretching tailored to the muscle groups I was targeting in the workout.

This is the time to ask me questions. Get to know me. Pick my brain. Ask about my kids. And overall, develop a routine and a relationship that we both enjoy. Trainers can be intimidating at first. As much as I mean business when I'm with a client, I do like to discuss aspects of my life along with getting to know yours. What you do in your free time does impact how your body responds to training. Your stress levels and things that keep you up at night also affect your training. Knowing these things about you is important for me to focus on what matters for your wellness and health. It's hard to do that if you don't want to talk to me. BUT if you choose to keep the sessions quiet and just want me to send you emails/check-ins with questions, you can let me know too.

END OF 12 WEEK EMAIL

Close to the end of the twelve weeks, I will likely ask if you want to extend your contract or move on. I hate having these conversations, and I know as a client, neither do you. So we discuss it, and my final email at the end of the 12 weeks will depend on whether you are ready to fly on your own or what we will do next upon renewal.

In this mesocycle closing email, I will discuss positive trends that I'm seeing, what I think we should prioritize over the next six to twelve weeks, and modifications that I think will be best. Whether you do it on your own or with me is completely up to you. But I don't like leaving people empty-handed, so hopefully, at the end of our time together, you learned something about yourself and you're ready to keep going in the direction towards your health.

That's it. I hope this clears things up for people that have no idea what it's like to work with a personal trainer, as well as get to know how I program and to pick my brain.

See you at the gym!

-Abbi

AI was used to correct spelling and grammar only