Nearly every personal trainer is passionate about fitness. If you choose this as your profession, odds are you want to help others get in shape and live healthy lives. However, being a successful personal trainer can also mean being diligent about required paperwork. It may make things a little less enjoyable, but for any personal trainer, paperwork is essential.
Next Insurance works with thousands of personal trainers, providing them with affordable, tailored, and easy to use insurance. Below we’ve compiled some of the forms and paperwork that will help you run your practice as smoothly as possible.
PAR-Q
The PAR-Q form for personal trainers is your first chance to assess a potential client. In personal training, it’s the initial consultation form that’s become standard in the industry. It covers basic information about a person’s medical history, lifestyle, and diet. If a client has had surgery recently or suffers from a chronic condition like asthma, you’ll want to know about it before you create a training program for them. The information on the PAR-Q form will also let you know if a client needs medical clearance before he or she begins an exercise program, which is a detail you don’t want to overlook for the sake of your client’s health.
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Personal Trainer Liability Waiver
Your personal trainer liability waiver helps protect against an accident while training someone. Even if you have personal trainer insurance, it’s still wise to have a personal trainer disclaimer form that all of your clients sign. If a client is injured in a way that relates to your actions, instructions, or advice, the waiver can help protect you from a lawsuit. It’s usually best to have your client sign the liability waiver before you begin to train them. As long as the form is signed and dated, it should be legally binding.
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Certificate of Insurance
If you are a personal trainer who works at a gym or fitness center, odds are they will want you to have personal trainer insurance. Most facilities will ask trainers for proof of personal trainer liability insurance, through a certificate of insurance before they’re allowed to train people under their roof. Even if it’s not required, getting personal trainer insurance serves as an extra layer of protection in case a client suffers an injury under your instruction and guidance.
Personal Trainer Contract
Many fitness professionals ask their clients to sign a personal training contract. This form helps to outline the services you offer and the prices you charge. It’s also good to include your cancellation and refund policy. Having this information in writing lowers the chance of a misunderstanding between you and your client. As a personal trainer, client forms should also avoid language that makes a guarantee of results from your services. After all, everyone’s body responds differently to training. Such a contract isn’t mandatory for fitness professionals. However, when it comes to personal training, a client agreement form can help you avoid a dispute with one of your clients over money or your job performance.
Fitness Assessment
Giving your clients personal training assessment forms is not mandatory, but it can prove useful. A basic fitness assessment form will include a person’s height, weight, body fat, and exercise history, as well as measurements for their cardiovascular health, flexibility, and other physical attributes. You may continue to fill out the fitness assessment periodically to see if the client’s performance changes. As a personal trainer, client tracking forms can show the progress you’ve made with a particular client. It can serve as concrete proof that you’ve made a positive impact on someone’s life, which can be quite rewarding.
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AFPA is excited to announce a new partnership with Next Insurance. Next Insurance is the leading provider of personal trainer and fitness instructor insurance in the US. As a technology-focused company, they have put a huge emphasis on creating affordable, tailored, and easy-to-use insurance policies for small businesses and entrepreneurs like you. A few reasons we’re really excited to be partnering with them include: affordable coverage, monthly payments, free online certificates of insurance, free online “additional insureds”, and excellent customer service.
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