Module 14 : Preparing fitness

plans for clients

In this module you will learn:

How to prepare a fitness plan

About adapting exercise plans for the client’s needs
The difficulties with creating a plan
What you need to know about your clients
The standards you should follow as a trainer

14.1 Introduction
One of the most important tasks for a
Physical Fitness Coach is to design an
exercise routine for the clients.

Whether an exercise routine is effective for a client is the

most important criteria to gauge the competency of a physical
trainer. Since each individual’s need is different, it is
understood that the exercise programme for each client will
have to be created keeping in mind the body type, fitness
level, physical training goals, and the health status of each
individual.

One programme does not fit everyone. You have to make changes
to adapt to each individual.
Your reputation as a Personal Trainer or a Physical Training
Coach will depend upon how well you design a programme and how
effective it is for your client.
14.2 The Pitfalls faced while
Creating a Plan
It is fairly easy for a trainer to fall prey
to the temptations of the amount of
equipment and various disciplines that are
available now.

This is the biggest danger you will face – how to decide what
is a fad and what is genuinely beneficial to your clients. You
also have to keep up with the times so that you are not left
behind, so it is a difficult choice to make.

Following popular trends has only temporary benefits as soon

they will be replaced with newer fads and can distract from
the most important point, which is providing for a majority of
your clients.

It is essential to introduce new equipment, routines and

exercise programmes, but you have to be careful not to run
after every new trend that emerges on the physical fitness
horizon.

Many of your clients are likely to be people who are

overweight, over 40 years of age and interested only in
keeping fit. They are not likely to bother with the latest
high intensity workouts being peddled around, as their goals
are to be fit and maintain weight.

A very small percentage of your clientele will demand such

equipment or workouts from you, so pay attention to their
demands and introduce what you feel will benefit all your
clients and not just a few.

Another pitfall to watch for is changing the programme too

frequently or including too many variations.
Though variations are good and have their own benefits, too
many variations and frequent changes in the routine can be
confusing to the client and may end up being a total disaster,
as it may fail to deliver the desired effect. Stick to the
basics and introduce new things slowly over a period of time
and only if the client is comfortable with it.

14.3 Before Creating an Exercise

programme
Before you start to design an exercise plan for your client,
you need to consider not just age, weight, and level of
fitness, but also the exercise factors that will affect
physiological changes.

Here is what you should do to know your client:

Screening and Interview

You need to interview your client and discover their
lifestyle, physical activities, food habits, leisure
activities etc.

You need to determine whether the client leads a life that is

stressful, requires travelling, and is desk bound or not. All
these should be factored in while designing a physical
programme.

The interview should also include the physical goals that your
clients wish to achieve through their exercise regimen.

Also find out who the client is, what are their preferences,
special needs or requirements. Only when you have all the
relevant information will you get a clear picture of what your
client needs from an exercise plan.
Health Record
You need to look at the health record for the client to see if
there are any pre-existing medical issues that you need to
address. You also need to assess the risk factor for various
diseases and then decide on an exercise that would help to
mitigate the risk factors.

Physical Assessment
Another thing to keep in mind is the body type and physical
fitness level of the client before you start to design a
fitness routine. People with the same body type but different
fitness level will need very different treatment, as will
people who have the same fitness level but different body
type.

14.4 While Designing an Exercise

Plan
While designing an exercise plan, there are certain standards
that a trainer has to follow.

These are:

Standards of Personal Variances

Each person’s body responds to exercise in different ways.
While designing a programme you will have to make allowances
for these differences.

Standards of Workload
This principle is based upon the fact that when exercising,
the body is working harder and under more stress than it would
normally be. An exercise programme has to be designed in such
a manner so as to increase the workload that the body and its
tissues have to undergo, in order to increase its capacity to
endure stress, increase strength and stamina. The workload
needs to be increased gradually over a period of time until
such time that the body is adapted to the new workload and can
take it without undue side effects.

Standard of Progression
Everybody has an optimum level of workload that their body can
achieve in a given period of time. This level cannot be
achieved in a short period of time, but has to be built up
progressively. A gradual increase in workload will result in
better fitness without the risk of injury. The workload needs
to be systematic. If it is too slow, then there is likely to
be little or no improvement. If it is too rapid, it could be
harmful. This standard embraces the concept of rest and
recovery, as well as regular workouts.

Standards of Modification
The body alters, modifies and adapts itself according to the
activity level it is exposed to. This is a good way to learn
to coordinate muscle movements.

When a person practises a skill repeatedly, it soon becomes an

automatic action, which a person performs without having to
think about or pay attention to. This is the reason, when we
first begin an activity, that we may feel pain or soreness.
That disappears as we continue with the activity over a period
of time.

The standards of modification is essential to vary the

exercise routine to include all the different muscles and
joints of the body to get a full body benefit.

Standard of Use and Disuse

This standard means that as long as a person is exercising
regularly, the fitness level remains. If the person stops
exercising, the fitness level decreases.
Clients cannot sit on their laurels and expect the body to
remain fit if they stop exercising. One needs to keep up the
routine in order to maintain the fitness level. This has to be
explained to the clients at the outset and they should be
encouraged to exercise regularly.

Standard of Specificity
Training must be relevant to the individual and their sport.

This means specifically tailoring the training to the sport

and the areas and muscle groups that are most used in order to
produce the desired effect. It requires the client to perform
the skills on a regular basis if they want to improve on that
specific exercise or skill.

Having an exercise routine that adheres to all the standards

is not an easy task. It takes a lot of work and experience to
know what to do, how to do it and how much to do, in order to
get a specific desired result and attain the goals that have
been set.

14.5 Designing an Exercise Plan

If you are in Personal training, you need to
fit your exercise module in accordance with
the client, their needs, fitness, and health
and exercise goals.

And not try to fit your client into your exercise routine,
which is a mistake some physical instructors make. Each client
is an individual so treat them as unique. You may have to
tailor make programmes for all your clients, which is hard
work, but then this is what builds up your reputation as a
good instructor.
Do not make the mistake of using one plan for all. Pay
individual attention to all your clients and it will lead to
greater satisfaction for you as well as your clients.
When planning an exercise routine, you will have to take into
account the experience and physical fitness of your client.
Based on physical fitness, the exercise routines can be
divided into Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Special
training exercises. Each level requires its own intensity,
frequency and duration. Some of the exercise routines that
will be included in almost all programmes are:

Warm up exercises
These prepare the body for the physical activity. These are
generally light intensity aerobic exercises like walking or
spot jogging, to get the blood circulation going, warm up the
muscles and loosen up the joints for a more intense workout.
This is a very important step which should not be missed.
Exercising without a proper warm up can cause injury.

Stretching Exercises
These allow better flexibility and work the joints through all
their motions. These exercises stretch the muscles and tendons
that have shortened and stiffened through misuse, so that they
can perform normally again.

Cardiovascular and Aerobic Exercises

These exercises are medium intensity exercises that increase
your heart and respiration rate. These include physical
exercises like running, jogging, cycling, swimming, etc.

Strength, weight and resistance training

These are exercises that help to build up the muscle mass,
increase strength and stamina. There are different exercises
that are targeted at different groups of muscles. Working with
weights and elastic bands are examples of strength training.
Cool Down
These exercises are used at the end of a routine of strenuous
exercise of medium and high intensity. These exercises allow
the heart and respiration rate to come down slowly. Cool down
exercises are slow jogging, walking, etc. Cool down is as
important as warm up and should not be skipped.

While designing a workout routine, you should try and

incorporate all the types of exercises into it. This ensures
that every part of the body is worked and benefits from the
routine.

14.6 Sample Workout Routine for

Beginner
This is a sample workout for a beginner.

This is just a general workout that could be recommended for a

person of normal health who is starting physical training.

Warm up
Simple walking or spot jogging, some simple stretching
exercises to warm up the muscles and joints.

Cardiovascular exercise
Begin with aerobic exercises, like fast walking, running,
jogging, stepping exercises. For 20 – 30 minutes, four to five
times a week.

Strength Training Exercises

One set of exercises for each major muscle group to start
with. Use a weight that the client can handle easily over 10 –
12 repetitions per set. This should be done at 2 times a week
in the beginning. Do not work the same muscles on consecutive
days.
Stretching exercises
These should be done 5 – 7 times a week. Each stretch can
start with 10 seconds and gradually increase up to 30 seconds.

Cool down
You should end with cool down and, if possible, a 5 – 10
minute meditation session to completely relax your body and
breathing.

As the weeks pass, you can increase the speed, intensity or

repetitions of the exercises for greater benefit.

In the end, your clients rely on you and your knowledge and
trust you with their health and fitness, you are expected to
know what you are doing. In case you are in doubt, it is
always better to consult someone else rather than continue
with a client and cause him or her injury. Health and Fitness
is a serious business, which cannot be taken lightly.

You need to be committed to your clients and their wellbeing

if you wish to continue in this business and succeed.

Take a Quick Recap Test

Module Summary
Lessons learned

Exercise plans need to be created for each individual

client, taking into account their body type, fitness
level and health
The plans may need to be adapted over time to suit the
client’s needs, but don’t change the programme too
frequently as this may confuse the client
You need to know all about your client’s lifestyle to
create an effective exercise plan
 Trainers must follow certain standards when designing
exercise plans for their clients
It is important to include warm up and cool down
exercises in your plans

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