Invaluable Tools for Fitness Trainers: The Workout Planner

The Covid pandemic changed people’s approach to staying fit. While going to the gym or the pilates studio was the thing to do, working out at home became the norm because of the enforced social distancing and lockdowns. 

This meant fitness trainers had to rely on technology to train their clients, set the pace, monitor them, enforce routines and more. Here’s a short read about one among those invaluable tools every fitness trainer’s arsenal should have: the workout planner.

What is a Workout Planner?

A workout planner is a tool or system that allows fitness trainers to create, organize, and schedule workouts for their clients. These planners can take various forms, including physical notebooks, digital apps, PDFs or even spreadsheets. 

The primary purpose of a workout planner is to ensure that both the fitness trainers and clients have a clear roadmap to follow in their fitness journey.

How Do Workout Planners Help Fitness Professionals?

Workout planners, when used right, are invaluable to both fitness professionals and to their clients. Let’s first take a look at how these planners can benefit professional trainers.

1. Customization

No two individuals are built alike, which is why a one-size-fits-all approach does not work while training people to achieve their fitness goals.  Each individual comes with their unique fitness goals, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. 

Workout planners serve as the ultimate tool for customization. Trainers can meticulously tailor exercise routines to align with the specific needs and objectives of each client. For instance, a trainer might design a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) regimen for a client aiming to shed excess weight and improve cardiovascular health. 

Simultaneously, another client seeking muscle gain and strength might receive a completely distinct workout plan, emphasizing resistance training with progressively heavier weights. These personalized plans ensure that every client's journey is finely tuned to their aspirations and capabilities.

2. Progress Tracking

Effective fitness training is all about progress, and workout planners facilitate this crucial aspect. Trainers can meticulously record their clients' progress over time, tracking metrics such as weight lifted, repetitions completed, body measurements, endurance levels, and even emotional well-being. This data serves as a roadmap, allowing trainers to gauge their clients' advancements and identify areas that need attention.

By monitoring progress, trainers can make necessary adjustments to workouts. If a client hits a plateau in their strength training, the trainer can modify the exercises, increase resistance, or introduce new training techniques to break through the stagnation. This adaptability ensures that clients continue to see tangible results, which in turn keeps them motivated and committed to their fitness journey.

3. Time Management

For fitness trainers, time management is of paramount importance. Juggling multiple clients with different schedules and fitness goals can be a daunting task. This is where workout planners come to the rescue. Trainers can efficiently plan and organize workouts in advance, ensuring that they can accommodate all their clients without compromising the quality of coaching.

By having structured workout plans readily available, trainers can seamlessly transition between sessions, maximizing their productivity and ensuring that every client receives the attention they deserve. This efficiency is not only beneficial for trainers but also enhances the overall client experience.

4. Client Engagement

Engagement and accountability are key factors in a successful fitness journey. Workout planners are excellent tools for fostering these aspects. In the digital age, trainers can easily share workout plans with their clients through various digital platforms, such as fitness apps, emails, or cloud-based documents.

This not only allows trainers to communicate what their clients need to do on a day-to-day basis even if they can’t physically come to the gym, it also shows the clients themselves that their trainer is invested in their well being to the extent that they have created a personalized workout plan.

How Do Workout Planners Benefit Clients

Let’s now dive into how clients benefit from using workout planners.

1. Clarity

One of the most significant advantages of using a workout planner for clients is the clarity it provides. When clients receive a structured plan, they are presented with clear and concise instructions, eliminating any ambiguity about their fitness routines. This clarity encompasses various aspects of their workouts, including which exercises to perform, the number of sets and repetitions, the order of exercises, and even the rest intervals.

For example, a client following a workout planner for strength training knows precisely which exercises they need to do, the proper form to maintain, and the recommended weights. 

This clarity not only reduces confusion but also boosts confidence as clients perform exercises correctly and effectively. By removing the guesswork, clients can focus on executing their workouts with precision.

2. Motivation

Staying motivated on a fitness journey can be challenging, especially when progress seems slow or imperceptible. A well-organized workout planner acts as a constant source of motivation for clients by  enabling them to track their progress and witness their achievements firsthand.

As clients consistently follow their workout plans, they can note improvements in various aspects of their fitness, such as increased strength, better endurance, and enhanced flexibility. 

Seeing these positive changes provides tangible evidence of their hard work paying off. This sense of accomplishment serves as a powerful motivator, encouraging clients to stay dedicated and committed to their fitness routines.

3. Consistency

Consistency is the linchpin of successful fitness endeavors. Unfortunately, it's also one of the areas where many individuals struggle. 

Workout planners act as reliable tools for fostering consistency in clients' exercise routines. By adhering to the pre-scheduled workouts outlined in their planners, clients are less likely to skip sessions or deviate from their fitness goals.

Imagine a client who has set a goal to run a marathon. With a workout planner specifying the distance, duration, and frequency of their runs, they are more likely to maintain their training schedule. This consistency is essential for gradually improving performance and ultimately reaching their goal.

4. Goal Achievement

Clients embark on their fitness journeys with specific goals in mind, whether it's losing weight, building muscle, improving cardiovascular health, or mastering a new skill. Workout planners play a pivotal role in helping clients work towards and achieve these goals.

By having their fitness journey mapped out in a planner, clients can visualize the steps required to reach their objectives. For instance, if a client aspires to lose a certain amount of weight, their workout planner will detail the combination of exercises, cardio, and nutrition needed to facilitate that transformation. 

This clear path towards goal achievement not only makes the process more manageable but also instills a sense of purpose and direction in clients, motivating them to stay on track.

How to Make the Best Use of Workout Planners

Here are some pro tips to help fitness trainers and their clients make the best use of workout planners. 

1. Set Clear Goals

Setting clear and realistic fitness goals is the foundational step in making the most of workout planners. Both fitness trainers and clients should work in tandem to establish these objectives. 

Goals can encompass a wide range of outcomes, such as weight loss, muscle gain, improved endurance, or specific performance achievements like running a certain distance in a set time.

The importance of setting clear goals cannot be overstated. These objectives serve as the guiding light throughout the fitness journey, helping both trainers and clients determine the direction of the workouts and the milestones to reach. 

Without well-defined goals, workout plans may lack focus and fail to deliver desired results.

2. Regular Updates

Fitness is a dynamic process, and clients' needs, abilities, and progress change over time. Therefore, it's essential to recognize that workout plans should not remain static. 

Trainers should schedule regular reviews and adjustments to ensure that workout plans stay challenging, effective, and aligned with clients' evolving goals.

For example, if a client initially aimed to build strength and has successfully achieved their strength gains, the trainer can modify the workout plan to include more advanced exercises or shift the focus toward hypertrophy or endurance. Regular updates are key to preventing stagnation and maintaining clients' enthusiasm for their fitness routines.

3. Communication

Open and effective communication between fitness trainers and clients is a cornerstone of successful fitness training. Clients should feel comfortable providing feedback about their workouts, including their experiences, challenges, and any discomfort they may be experiencing.

On the trainer's part, being receptive to client feedback is crucial. Trainers should actively listen to their clients, take their concerns seriously, and be willing to modify workout plans based on this input. 

This collaborative approach ensures that workouts remain tailored to clients' needs, preferences, and comfort levels, ultimately enhancing the overall training experience.

4. Variety

Monotony can be a significant motivation killer when it comes to fitness. To keep workouts engaging and prevent plateaus, it's essential to incorporate variety into workout plans. 

This variety can take many forms, including changing exercises, altering workout structures, introducing new equipment, or even exploring different fitness modalities.

For instance, if a client has been following a strict weightlifting regimen, the trainer can inject excitement by incorporating elements of functional fitness, yoga, or outdoor activities into the routine. The key is to keep clients challenged, mentally stimulated, and excited to show up for their workouts.

5. Tracking Tools

In the digital age, tracking tools provided by workout planners or fitness apps can significantly simplify progress monitoring. These tools offer features such as workout logs, performance analytics, and visual representations of progress over time.

By leveraging these tracking tools, both trainers and clients can gain valuable insights into their fitness journey. Trainers can use this data to fine-tune workout plans and identify areas that need improvement. 

Clients can see their achievements, which not only boosts motivation but also provides a clear overview of how far they've come and what lies ahead.

Get an In-Built Workout Planner With CoachGenius

When you build your personal trainer website with CoachGenius, a workout planner comes built into your new website. Here’s how you can use it. 

• Enter the Workout Planner dashboard.
• Based on the client profile you have created, using the client’s current fitness level, fitness goals and other parameters, you open a tab and start specifying which exercise the person ought to begin with.
• Be sure to add how many repetitions, how many sets, what type of weights (if required), and other details for that particular part of the workout.
• Add rows to include different exercise types until the workout plan for Day 1 is complete. 
• Similarly, create a workout plan for each day of the week that you want the client to workout, and label them.
• You can create workout plans for the whole month this way. 
• You can save this workout plan as a PDF and share it with your client as and when needed. 
• You can create a library of workout plans on your website, which you can recall and customize to suit different client personas. 

Of course, a workout planner is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the features you have at your disposal when you choose to build your website with CoachGenius. 

With everything from easy to use and customizable templates, payment gateway integrations, an e-store and much more, you’re going to be blown away by how much your new personal trainer website can do!

Start your free demo with CoachGenius today, and discover why we’re so much more than just another ebay to use website builder.