Health and fitness testing is a crucial part of being a personal trainer. Tracking and recording a client’s results is as essential as getting the results in the first place – every client wants to see progression for their hard work.
Health and fitness assessments are commonly completed in addition to the initial client orientation and health screening process as part of the client’s induction to a physical activity program.
They are then performed at regular intervals to check the client’s progression. A typical schedule for a 12-week personal training program is to conduct health and fitness assessments with the client orientation (week 1), at the mid-point of the program (week 6), and at the end of the program (week 12).
Health and fitness testing can be done more regularly depending on the client’s goals and requirements.
There are many ways to track a client’s health and fitness progress that are inexpensive, easy and relatively accurate.
HEALTH TESTING SUGGESTIONS
- Resting heart rate
- Resting blood pressure
- Body measurements
- Weight
- BMI
There are machines available that will cover all of the above and much more, including body composition (e.g. muscle mass). One example is the InBody Body Composition Analyser which will also store the results and compare subsequent results on a graph. It is a very simple, non-invasive and accurate analysis; however, not many personal trainers will have access to such a machine.
FITNESS TESTING SUGGESTIONS
- Strength testing (good guide for early improvements, less effective in later stages as gains can become difficult for some clients)
- Cardio testing
- Endurance testing
-
Flexibility
All of these fitness tests can be effectively used to track your client’s improvements as long as the assessment methods are used consistently. They may be changed after a period of time to reflect new fitness levels gained.
Once the testing is showing micro gains only, it’s not only time to change your training but time to change the testing as well. Regardless of what you train, large gains are usually short-lived followed by steady gains for a period eventually petering down to small increments.
A big reason personal trainers need to do fitness testing is to ensure the client is making improvements and not staying stagnant which can then lead to the client losing trust in the personal trainer. Depending on the client’s goals and if they are sport-specific, I would usually change a client’s programing so they didn’t think the training wasn’t working anymore. Be realistic if you are not moving forward with a client they will eventually question the value of the sessions.
Be informative with clients during the fitness testing and when you discuss the outcomes. Explain the testing to the client and let them know what to expect with different stages of their training. It’s important they know that if their gains slow down its normal and now they need to be more committed and diligent – they will reach their goals if they stay on course.
If you’d like to learn more about health and fitness testing, or become a personal trainer yourself, study the nationally recognised Certificate IV in Fitness with Healthy Nation and start your journey towards an exciting career in fitness.
Share this Post