Before starting an exercise program, I require my clients to get a thorough assessment. A properly designed assessment should form the framework for the client’s program going forward. Without it, we are starting without a clear benchmark of where the person is beginning. This makes it difficult to gauge progress and results.

The assessment also screens clients to ensure they’re ready to start a program. The assessment uses a form called PAR-Q – Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire. Clients answer yes or no to seven questions. If a client answers yes to any question, they are referred to another health care practitioner better able to determine the client’s readiness to start an exercise program.

PAR-Q is the recognized questionnaire around the world for determining a client’s readiness to begin exercising. It was designed by the leading exercise authority in this country, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. You can find the form at csep. ca, under the “publications” tab. Every personal trainer should be using PAR-Q as part of an overall assessment.

Once a client has been cleared to exercise, there are only two other mandatory measurements needed: a person’s resting heart rate and blood pressure. Each of these measurements are critical to ensuring the person is able to exercise. A healthy blood pressure is 120/80. If the top number is more than 140 or if the bottom number is more than 90, the person may have high blood pressure. If the individual isn’t being monitored by a family doctor, they should be sent there before starting the exercise program.

An average resting heart rate is 70-75 beats per minute. Anything higher puts the person at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

The remainder of the assessment is based on the trainer and the client. Most trainers will do some sort of girth measurements for problem spots, like the waist and hips. Others will include a body fat percentage. A thorough exercise and health history would be gathered, too.

At my studio we conduct a strength test (pushups), a sit-and-reach test that measures flexibility in the legs and lower back, and a nutritional lifestyle questionnaire.

There are an endless things that can be assessed. But the assessment should help the client achieve their goals. The more specific a person’s goals are, the more specific their assessment should be.