How to Program Workouts as a Personal Trainer | Client Workout Design 

Of course! Thanks for watching!

That’s awesome to hear! I really appreciate the kind words and support! 💪

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!

Thanks for your kind words!

Thank you! I appreciate that!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful! If this is the first of our videos that you’ve watched make sure to check out some of the newer ones too! I’m sure you’ll find them even more helpful!

Thank you! I’m glad that you’re finding them helpful!

Thank you! I’m glad that you found that helpful!

Thank you! I really appreciate that! That sounds good! I’m sure that you’ll be able to take our system and adapt to your business well!

Of course! Thanks for support! I really appreciate it!

So glad you find it helpful!

So glad that you find the content helpful! You’ll do great when you start working with clients!

Only 20 more days!

Thanks! I’m glad that you found it helpful!

Of course!

Thank you!

Thank you I really appreciate that! The link to the phasing system is right here if you’d like to check it out: d370878b-2e90-493b-8bef-5ccc2b93a349.filesusr.com/ugd/adb0c5_7e55d907a8c04b12ad8f8677630414e7.pdf

Glad you find them helpful! It’s not often that you will be overloading a client but you should of course always take their activity level into account. This is something you might discuss at their consultation to see how much they’re already moving/how much they want to be moving. Most often, they’ll only be seeing you maybe 2-3x a week so it’s unlikely that you’ll be close to overload unless they’re working out intensely on their own 4-5 other days of the week. We will often give clients “homework” to do when they’re outside of the gym so we can keep tabs on what they’re working on, make sure it aligns with their program and goals. You can always offer that to clients so you know what they’re doing when they’re not with you and plan your sessions accordingly.

Thanks for your support! You would still switch their phase at the end-either go back to phase 1, or adjust for a new goal.

Thanks! Yup that’s correct! You try to feel each situation out to figure out what’s best for the client.

That’s not a bad idea! Thanks for the support!

I would use the new chart which I break down in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PIuRRU-3siI.html. You’ll notice that in each column, whether it’s lower body, upper push or any of the others there are open boxes in the exercise column for each. If I want to do an exercise that’s not on the chart I just write it down there. Most of the workouts done with the chart are either superset workouts or circuits so that shouldn’t be a problem either.

It will definitely depend first on goals, and also frequency, how a program is designed. Essentially though, yes. A well-rounded program will have all major muscles/planes included within it.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation thank you for replying! When picking the exercises, how do you personally do it (bearing in mind that the consultation and assessment have been done and you are designing the program) Do you search online or do you just have exercises that appear straight in your mind?

We use our workout chart that lists out what we deem the most essential exercises and then write out the program on that sheet. It’s broken down by legs, push, pull, core! You can find that on our site www.sortahealthylifestyle.com if you want to take a look.

Thanks! These are good questions too. Always focus on your clients goals first. So which ever option is best for their goals is the one that you should go with. I use all kinds of different splits with my different clients though. I go into more detail on that in this video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JrEI5BB-E4E.html

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation thank you when you have a client In the last phase metabolic conditioning do you still do the normal workout and just add in those exercises? Also is metabolic conditioning the same as HITT workouts if so can I add in some HITT workouts if that’s the same at metabolic conditioning

@@coryfitness1841 yup exactly. It’s still a normal workout consisting of mostly compound exercises. You’re just putting in more metabolic work along side that. Pretty much any HIIT move would work in that phase as well.

Any client who’s capable of doing all of those moves with good form and no pain should do all of them. You’d rotate between them at that point. Otherwise it comes down to what the individual has going on. Clients with knee issues will likely do better with bridges and and deadlifts. Clients with back issues will likely do better avoiding deadlifts, at least for a while. There are many things to consider.

Thanks for the support and we're glad that you're finding the videos helpful! Your clients can absolutely get very good results coming to see you twice a week. Clients will typically see their trainer 2-3 days a week on average. Most clients are focused on losing weight and when it comes to weight loss nutrition is more important than anything else. Clients with different goals (strength or hypertrophy) may require more sessions per week or a little more guidance when they're not working with you. We constantly monitor clients nutrition, whether they are in for a session or they are at home. We use my fitness pal for this most often. We do design routines for clients to do when they're not in the studio, but they are by no means essential. Having worked with a few thousand clients over the years, I can tell you that most clients will not get supplemental routines done on their own. Most clients seeking personal training are seeing you for the accountability. I still offer these routines to my clients when I feel like they'd be beneficial though.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation Thanks for the warm response, you explained well . Also can you make a video on working with some 50+ year clients who may have medium risk conditions(arthritis etc ) they got a clearance from a doc and wants to look for PT , if they come across with some unrealistic goals that you know cannot be fulfilled and if they are stubborn to understand.

I made a video on training older people. You can check that out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TeTVpdrm1_Y.html As far as dealing with unrealistic expectations and goals goes. I handle all of that in the initial consultation or meeting with my client. It’s definitely an ongoing conversation as we train together as well. There might be a video there but I think it would most likely be focused on client communication and goal setting could be part of it.

In our studio clients are always set up with cardio after their 45 minute sessions. Cardio can last anywhere between 15-45 minutes depending on their schedule and goals.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation thank you!

This is only meant to be used for one one one or very small groups. This wouldn’t work as well in a lager group setting

Good questions! I cover a lot of that in this of that in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JrEI5BB-E4E.html As far as the how many compound lifts should the person do in a session, that fluctuates based on your client, their goals, and how long your sessions are. I try to do at least 4-5 compound lifts per session but that number does vary quite a bit.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation thank you for your response! I watched the video and it was informative but I didn’t see where you talked about supersets or circuits, the video was more so about splits? Is it better to train clients with supersets? I feel with supersets I can add in more exercises than compared to doing exercises regularly ( finish one exercise and go to the next type thing). I haven’t seen any trainers talk about is it better to do supersets with clients or what, so that’s why I feel stuck.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation you can disregard my question, because I’m binge watching your videos I found the video where you talk about supersets and Trisets lol thank you!

DB is dumbbell. BB is barbell and Kn is kneeling. I just use abbreviations so you can fit everything in the daily boxes. I typically write everything down in pencil but typing it all in is easier to read in the video

If I have a client who’s coming in 2-3 days a week and is focused on weight loss, the first thing I’ll do with them is make sure that they’re on top of nutrition. That’s what’s going to get them the weight loss results they’re after. After that I’ll recommend an additional 1-2 days of exercise outside of the fitness facility that they’ll be doing on their own. Typically, I’ll recommend very simple things such as hiking, walking, etc. if they’re willing to do a home workout though, I’ll create one or two very basic total body home routines for them to do on off days. I find that if I don’t make them very basic, clients tend not to get them done.

We program weight gain clients in our hypertrophy phase. We’ve got a video on it here if you’re interested:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Fy6yqkOfXQY.html

Thankyou

I usually end up with 10 exercises give or take. That’s in a 45 minute session with 2-3 sets of each exercise. Btw, this is an older programming video. If you’re finding these helpful make sure to check out the updated ones! Here’s one here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ADLjzEr3a-4.html

I use supersets more but both are good!

No in this case in the first session we intentionally kept the weight on the lighter side to work on form. Her form improved over the course of the first session after doing a few sets and by the next session her form was significantly better than it was originally

This is how I train clients focused on weight loss: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zSfy8KOcgG0.html As far as their shoulder fracture is concerned, how long ago was the injury and did they complete physical therapy afterwards?

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation the client didn’t complete physical therapy and the injury was 4 years ago

My workouts are all 45 mins so, if I understand you correctly, you should be able to get done what you see in a full day in that time period.

Good question! You start back at the first phase. The first phase is meant to be two things. It primarily focuses on making sure the client becomes proficient at the compound movements that should be the main focus of the resistance training program. The second thing that makes the foundation phase unique is that it has a very wide rep range. 8-20 reps per set. This means that the trainer has more say on what the client does in this phase. This gives the trainer many options for how they want to program for their client once they end up back in the foundation phase again.

Honestly, the only thing you can do is not let them take advantage of your time. If they booked a 5pm session with you and they show up at 5 20 pm they get a 40 minute session instead of a 60 minute session. Obviously, this only applies to people who are abusing your rules. If someone is randomly running late and that’s not typical of them, do what you can to provide them the best customer service. Give them an extra 20mins if you can. Don’t let people take advantage of you though. You will get clients who will try. It’s a painful process sometimes, but you’ll have to stand up for yourself in those situations.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation that’s true!! thank you so much for your response. ☺️

Honestly, I don’t program a client who is coming in 5 days a week any differently. I keep the rep ranges and the exercise selection pretty much the exact same. I definitely think total body routines can be useful for clients like that though. Your idea of the 3x a week with foundational exercises and 20 minutes of cardio sounds good too! Again, I would just mix it up a lot, do lots of total body days and add in lots of metabolic exercises. Those metabolic/HIIT moves are challenging but not as likely to make your client super sore. You don’t want them to be super sore all the time since they’re training so often.

Thank you so much. That is super helpful.

Hey Stephanie, pretty much all forms are meant to be printed off and used by trainers. I’d need to know which forms you’re talking about in particular though. Btw, this video is older and a bit outdated at this point. If you’re looking to understand more about programming our newer ones are better. Here’s one here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ADLjzEr3a-4.html

I think it’s good to change up some of the variables like exercise intensity, sets, reps, etc every six weeks but that’s usually all I would change.

@@SortaHealthyTrainerEducation thank you!

What do ya mean?

Thanks! I appreciate that!