What Is Trainer+

Trainer+ is an automated fitness management platform for gyms and trainers that changes how personal training services are delivered through technology. It captures all of the relevant information about a client’s fitness (assessments, workouts and feedback) creating new ways to deliver the combination of in-person and online support.

It consists of:

1. This web app for trainers and managers to create exercise, workout, program and assessment libraries, as well as manage clients
2. There are also mobile apps (iOS and Android) for both trainers and their clients to track workouts, enter assessments and view results/progress
3. A lead generation tool called ExerGuide
4. A database where Trainer+ and Organization content is stored and accessed

Trainer+ changes the services you can offer clients in the short term and focuses on long term engagement as they can move up and down through the levels of support as needed. Learn how:

How To Use Trainer+

The best way to learn how to use the platform is to follow along this guide for a complete understanding of each feature. You can always come back to it if you get stuck.

This video gives a quick overview of how the Trainer-Client Feedback Loop works:

Why use Trainer+

There are many reasons to use the tool. For a complete explanation, you can check out our webpage about it that also compares it to other fitness software options.

While it creates new ways for you to sell and deliver training, you should also be able to explain to your clients why using Trainer+ is important:

1. You won't lose the information
2. Every day accountability
3. Technique demonstration/reminders
4. Poper and timely feedback
5. More measures of progress

They will also get an email with links to our blog about it and this video:

Now that you know the what and why of Trainer+, it’s time to dive more into the how, starting with building your libraries.

Exercises

Every program and workout starts with the exercises. We have a large database of exercises with a variety of equipment and are continuously adding new ones. Go to the Library menu in the top left, then select Exercises to open the list.

Every exercise has a high quality photo, along with an animation performed by a trainer that are displayed both on web and mobile. The animations allow for the exercises to be stored in the phone to be available online and offline, as well as minimize the data needed to run the app.

Each exercise also has written instructions for the setup, movement instructions and any

comments in regards to safety. They are also tagged to help with search by:

1. Primary muscles
2. Supporting muscles
3. Equipment
4. Environment
5. Root exercise Movement
6. Description tags
   1. Type, focus, force
   2. Qualifiers and measurement units
   3. Leg, body, arm position
   4. Grip, attachment, cable position

Searching For Exercises

We have made searching for exercises as intuitive as possible, with a goal of you being able to find a group of exercises or a specific variation as quickly as possible.

Exercises are grouped and searchable by their root movement. Once filters are applied, the library returns exercises according to their root exercise movement with all of it’s variations.

You can use the high level tags (Type and Focus) to get to the basic group of exercises you need, then use the more specific tags (Muscles, Equipment and Environment) to further reduce the group to the equipment available to you. For clarity, the Equipment tags are more focused on the implement being used for the exercise or to move the weight (ie dumbbells, barbell, cables, etc), whereas the Environment tags are more focused on the space and supporting equipment where the exercise is performed (ie floor, bench, exercise ball, machine, etc).

If you need to start a new search, just hit the Clear button on the top right. Any custom exercises you have created can be found by hitting the ‘My Exercises’ button also in the top right (more on that next).

Creating Custom Exercises

While our database contains lots of exercises, we know it can never have everything that you need or will think of for your clients. In these cases you can create custom exercises of your own to save in the database.

All you have to do is click create, upload a video and then

fill out these fields

1. Exercise Name
2. Write out the setup, movement instructions and comments
3. Primary and Supporting muscle tags
4. Equipment and Environment tags
5. Place any other appropriate tags

It only requires you to fill out the name and muscle tags, but the more information you put in, it will be easier to find this exercise in search. It is also a good idea to put in the written instructions, so that your clients can read them if they forget the exercise technique. Find the created exercise in ‘My Exercises’

Workouts

The next step is to start building workout templates that can be used in your programs. Workouts are just a list of exercises for your clients to perform on any given day. Every time you build a workout, it is saved as a template that can be further customized before being assigned to a client as part of a program

Go to Library>Workouts to open this library, or you can go to Library>Build Workout to jump right in.

Select the ‘BUILD NEW WORKOUT +’ button at the top of the library to start a new template. You can also edit 1, copy 2 or delete 3 existing templates from your library by hovering over the workout card and selecting the appropriate icon.

Here are all the ways you can build and customize workouts:

Adding, Copying, Deleting, and Rearranging Exercises

1. You can add an exercise simply by selecting the 'ADD EXERCISE +' 1 button at the bottom of the workout, then searching and finding the exercises you want from the library.
2. Rearrange exrcises by clicking on the icon 2, then dragging the exercises to the spot in the list that you want it.
3. If you are on a tablet, you can press the up and down arrows to move exercises in the list
4. Copy an exercise 3
5. Delete exercises from the list 4

Adding sets, reps, weight and time

Add sets to your exercises by clicking on the up and down arrows 5 under the Sets label. You can use the same arrows under Reps/Time 6 and the Weight 7 labels to change them, or click in the box and change the numbers directly. You will only be able to enter numbers into these boxes. You can also toggle between exercises done for repetitions or timed. 8

Exercise notes, rest time and tempo

Add notes to any exercise by selecting the ‘Add Note’ section A and type it in the box. These notes show up in the mobile app beside the picture of this exercise, so this is a chance to give further details, cueing or other reminders about this specific exercise.

You can also add rest time and tempo to each exercise by selecting that section B. For rest time, use the arrows to add or reduce the rest time, and the mobile app will instruct your client to rest for that time, then start the next exercise when it is elapsed. For tempo, just write in any tempo instructions you want to give for this exercise (ie 4-1-2-1 or slow).

Supersets

If you want to superset exercises together or build circuits, it is a simple a selecting the bracket in between exercises C. If you link exercises together, the mobile app will move between each set of the superset exercises until the end of the circuit, before returning to the first exercise and repeating.

Name, workout descriptions and saving your template

Once your workout template is built you can name the workout in the box at the top (Note: you will have to name the workout before saving it). In the box below that, you can write out a workout description that will show up at the top of the list in the mobile app when the workout is started. The description can include everything from what the goal of the workout is to any special instructions for it.

When everything is ready, hit the "SAVE WORKOUT" button at the bottom of the list

Types of workout templates

When you are building up your library, think about the different types of workouts you may prescribe. This includes making templates of everything your clients should do when they are at the gym or breaking it down into separate workouts:

1. Mixed - a complete workout template that consist of everything your client should do while in the gym.
2. Strength/circuits - templates focused jsut on the strength work or circuits that can be done.
3. Cardio - if you just want to assign some cardio, group class or other activities, just create a workout with that respective cardio exercise and the details.
4. Warm up/Stability - if you have regular warm up or stability work your clients should do each time they are in the gym, build up the templates to prescribe them.
5. Stretching/Recovery - regular post-workout or other recovery work can also be built into templates to be prescribed.

Programs

Now that you have some workout templates built, it’s time to start building programs. You can either build a program from workout templates and assign it to a client or save it as a template to your library. You can see your program templates by going to Library>Programs

Selecting workouts

To start a program, choose the workouts for it by selecting the box on the right side of the workout card and it will turn green with a checkmark 1. Then press the green ‘MAKE A PROGRAM’ 2 button at the bottom of the screen, which will open the Program Builder with the selected workouts. If you click on a workout card, it will expand to show you the exercises and details of that workout.

Customize, adding, deleting an rearranging workouts

With the workouts selected, you can now start customizing the program by clicking anywhere in the grey area of the workout card, then making any of the changes listed in the ‘Workouts’ section above.

Add additional workouts by clicking on the ‘ADD WORKOUT +’ button at the bottom of the list 1 or remove them by clicking the trash icon on the right of the workout card 2. You can also rearrange the workout order by selecting the move arrow on the left of the workout card 3 and then dragging and dropping the card in the place you want it.

Program End Date

After you have made all of the adjustments to your client’s program, make sure to provide the end date. Trainer Plus will notify you and your client when this phase of the program is about to end through notifications on the web and mobile platforms as well as by email. It’s important that you reconnect or meet up with your client to explain the next steps.

Click the ‘END DATE’ box in the top right corner and select a date.

Naming and saving your template

Once the program template is all ready, you need to name the program4 and then press the ‘SAVE PROGRAM’ button 5 to save the template to your library.

You can also add an end date to the workout so that you and your client will be notified by email and within the platform when it is time to start a new program.

Assessments

The first interaction you are likely to have with a view-only client is a consult or assessment, and we have made it easy to build out templates to capture this information and start the follow up process. We will discuss entering this information and different ways we help with reassessment reminders and follow up in later sections, but the first step is building out some templates.

Selecing Protocols

We have provided over 100 standard fitness testing protocols for you to choose from in building your assessment templates. It is a simple list where you can either select individual protocols 1 or select the entire group 2 to add to this assessment. For protocols that are number based, that is how you will enter them at the time, and for others it will simply let you write in the results.

Creating Custom Protocols

If there is a testing protocol that you use and it is not on our list, you can create your own custom protocols. Just scroll down to the bottom of the list and hit the green ‘CREATE CUSTOM PROTOCOL’ button, then write in the name of the test. When applying the using these custom tests for clients, they will appear as fields that you can enter any text or numbers into.

Naming, describing, and saving assessment templates

Once you have selected all of the protocols you want for an assessment, name the template 1 and write in a description of it 2 before you save the template to your library. 3

With some content built in your libraries, the next step is to start inviting and assessing your clients to get them into the Trainer+ platform.

Inviting Clients

It’s time to start inviting your clients to use Trainer+ with you. When you invite a client, we will send them an email with the links to the free mobile apps and a temporary password to get them started. Just tell them to look for that email and once they have downloaded and signed in to the app, it will prompt them to set their own password along with some profile information.

Inviting clients in web and mobile

There are multiple places that you can invite clients from on both web and mobile.

Web

From the web app you can invite clients either from the Client List by hitting the orange ‘INVITE NEW CLIENT +’ button in the top right 1

or from the Assign Program pop up in the Program Builder by hitting the green ‘INVITE NEW CLIENT +’ button (2), then entering the first name and email of your client and hitting ‘INVITE’.

Mobile

From the mobile apps, you can invite a new client from the Client List screen. In Android it is in the bottom right 3 and in the iOS app it is the ‘+’ in the top right. 4

Resending Invitations

If your client missed the invite email or you to resend it as a reminder, you can do this from the client’s card in the Client List on web. Select the client from your list, then hit the ‘Resend Invitation’ below their name. 5

Client Lists

All of the information you need to manage your clients can be found on the Client List, on both web and mobile. These screens lists all of your ‘Active Clients’, and allow you to select them to see more information.

Client Card on Web

On the web app, the Client Card contains all of the information you need about a client and the places for you to take action. This includes:

• Their name, picture and status
• Their program name, end date and place to edit it
• A calendar of their recorded workouts where you can select a day to see those workout details
• Their last assessment, reassessment date, and places to add assessment results or compare past assessments
• A summary of workout results for each month

Entering Assessments

The first type of information you will most likely enter for a new client is an assessment or consult. With Trainer+, you can enter this information even for clients who might not be ready for a program or your oversight just yet (more on client statuses below) and we will help set up the reassessment for you.

Adding a new assessment in web

To add a new or reassessment in web, just go to the client’s card on your Client List and select the orange ‘ADD NEW ASSESSMENT +’ button. 1

From there, you can select from your list of assessment templates in the pop up and hit ‘ADD ASSESSMENT’ 2, then the Assessment screen will pop up.

Fill in the assessment results in their respective boxes and a reassessment date 3, then hit the green ‘SUBMIT ASSESSMENT’ button at the bottom. 4

Adding a new assessment in mobile

You can also submit an assessment from the mobile apps when working with a client. First, select that client from your Client List, then go to Assessments from the menu in the top left. From the Assessment screen you select the ‘+’ button on the top right in Android and iOS 5

From there a pop up with your assessment template list will come up6, select the assessment you want to perform. Enter all of the testing results into their respective boxes on the list, then at the bottom you will see a place to put in the next assessment date7. Once completed, hit the ‘SUBMIT ASSESSMENT’ button at the bottom. 8

Printing Assessments

In some cases and for some trainers, there is still a need to use a paper copy of an assessment to enter results. We have made a print option that allows you to enter results in the spaces provided, and you can later enter those results into Trainer+. To print assessments, go to that client on your Client List, then hit the ‘ADD NEW ASSESSMENT +’ button and select the assessment you want to perform from the list. Once the Assessment screen has opened up, just hit the green ‘Print’ icon next to the assessment name9. You can also send the assessment by PDF this way.

Setting up a Reassessment

You will notice that Trainer+ will not let you submit an assessment without a reassessment date entered. This is to ensure that follow up with your client happens, and we can do the work for you. After selecting a reassessment date and submitting the assessment, Trainer+ will send an email to your client with you cc’d one week before the reassessment is due. This way both you and them are informed about your next check in, without you having to worry about it. There are more ways to manage client follow up in the sections below.

Client Status

Trainer+ lets you manage a variety of different types of client engagement using the Client Status. This allows you to get view-only clients into the system for follow up and showing them some of the value of training support, while also archiving or deleting clients who you are no longer working with.

Changing client status

You can change a client’s status by selecting them from the Client List then clicking on the dropdown to the right of their name.1

Your Client List will default to your ‘Active Clients’, but if you want to see other types, especially to change their status, just use the ‘Client Status’ sorting dropdown on the top of your Client List.2

Active

Active clients have the full function of the mobile apps and you have complete oversight on their program. This means that you can see the details of their workouts and make ongoing changes to the program. It is only active clients that you pay for in Trainer+.

View-Only

View-Only client status is for those that are not ready or paying for your oversight yet. For these clients, you can enter assessment information and assign them a program, but you can not see the workout details or make ongoing changes to the program. On their end, the View-Only clients can still track workouts. This status gives you a way to get them into the system and show them some of the value of training support, with a reassessment date to follow up with. At the reassessment, if they have tracked the program you assigned, you have just proven the value of them at least having a monthly program from you, and if they haven’t, you have proven they may need more help from you for their fitness goals.

Archived

When a client stops working with you, you can archive them in Trainer+ which will keep their information in the system for when they come back. On the client side, when they sign in to the mobile app, they will no longer be able to see their program or track workouts, but instead will get a message to contact you in order to get a program.

Delete

If instead you want to delete the client when they stop working with you, just select that status. When the client tries to sign in to the app, it will not let them.

With your libraries built and your clients in Trainer+, it is time to start using the platform to help support them on an ongoing basis: prescribing, tracking and updating programs.

Prescribing and Assigning Workouts

To get started with your client’s workout tracking, you first need to prescribe them a custom program and then assign it. This is easy using the templates you have already built, or building new ones that you can save to use with other clients later (after customizing them accordingly of course).

Customizing programs

Customizing programs for your clients is easy. You can either select a program template from the Program Library1,

or you can select a group of workouts from the Workout Library and the green ‘MAKE A PROGRAM’ button at the bottom.2

Either one will open up the Program Builder where you can customize the entire program in the ways described in the previous section:

• Add, copy, delete, or rearrange exercises or workouts
• Change reps, sets, weight, time and details
• Prescribe rest time and tempo
• Provide an end date for your program

Assigning Program to Clients

Once you have customized the program accordingly, you can assign it to the proper client from the Program Builder using the orange ‘ASSIGN PROGRAM TO CLIENT’ button in the bottom right. The Assign Program pop up will appear, select the client and then hit the orange ‘ASSIGN PROGRAM’ button at the bottom of the list. You can invite the client from this pop up if you have not yet.

Make sure to assign an end date2 to the program so that you and your client will be notified when it is time to reconnect and update it.

You can also save this program template for another client later with the ‘SAVE AS A TEMPLATE” ’ button in the bottom left of the program list. 3

Tracking Workouts

With the program customized and assigned, it is time to start tracking workout results on the mobile apps. The apps have been designed for you to use when you are working in person with your clients, and for them to use when they are on their own. This is one of the unique features of Trainer+ and one of the ways we are helping to create new ways for you to deliver and sell training (more on this in the next section).

Why Track Workouts? What you need to tell your clients

We already discussed in the first section of this guide all of the reasons why to track workouts in Trainer+ and for a refresher, you can check out the video here:

In addition to telling them why it is important to track their workouts, it is also a good idea to tell them how to get started:

1. They will get an invite email from us (once you have done it)
2. Download the mobile app from the link in the email
3. Enter the temporary password (also in the email)
4. Enter their profile information and password after they sign in the first time

It also helps to give them some instructions on the type of feedback to give you through the app when they are tracking on their own:

• Entering sets, reps, weight and time accurately
• Using exercise notes to communicate issues or questions
• Using the feedback emojis to let you know if you need to change the intensity of the exercise
• Writing a workout note before submitting to include any additional information about how they were feeling, questions or any changes/additional work they may have done

Starting Workouts

This is the key function for the mobile apps: tracking workouts. We have made it as easy as possible to enter workout results, especially since they have been prescribed by you. First off, from the Program View select the right workout by either swiping left and right on the workouts, or from the workout names in the sub-navigation (grey) bar. The workouts will show up in the order you have listed them in the Builder from web, with the last workout completed getting moved to the end of the list (the far right). Once you or your client has the right workout selected, then hit the orange ‘START’ circular button in the bottom right (Android) or the orange ‘START WORKOUT’ bar at the bottom (iOS).

Entering Workout Results: Workout View

Once you or your client starts a workout, the mobile apps will change to the Workout View with the ‘Workout Name’ in the top bar1 and the ‘Workout Description’ appearing at the top of the list2. At the bottom of the screen is the and the ‘Workout Timer’3 which keeps on overall time for the workout. Press on the ‘Workout Description’ to expand it, or, when you/they are ready, press the first Exercise Card’ to expand it and begin tracking4.

Entering Workout Results: Exercise Card

With the workout started and the first exercise card open, you and your clients can easily track the exercise results or see the information needed to perform the exercise properly. There is a picture of the exercise at the top of the card, which if pressed on expands into an animation of the exercise technique. Written exercise instructions can be seen by scrolling below the Exercise Animation.

Once the exercise is complete, simply spin the dials [reps and weight/time for strength and stretches, just time for cardio] and then hit the orange ‘DONE SET’ button to move on to the next set or the feedback card.

At the end of the prescribed number of sets for a given exercise, the Exercise Feedback card will slide in from the left. Add a note about the exercise (if needed) by clicking in the box to the top right that says ‘Add Note’, then select one of the ‘Too Hard’, ‘Just Right’ or ‘Too Easy’ emojis, or just hit the ‘Done Exercise’ button if no feedback is needed.

Skipping or Changing Sets

You can skip sets, if needed, just by swiping left on the ‘Set Dials’ or skip to another exercise by scrolling down the Workout View to that exercise and pressing on that Exercise Card. Skipping to another exercise will skip over the feedback card.

If you or your client need to go back to change an entered set result, just go to that exercise and swipe right to the desired set, then press the green set, weight or time box and the dial will open up again. Move it to the correct result, then hit ‘Done Set’.

Supersets, Rest Time and Tempo

When any of supersets, rest time or tempo has been prescribed in the workout from the web app, they show up in mobile to help guide your client when you are not there. For supersets, a green link is displayed in the Program View between supersetted exercises. Once the workout is started on the Workout Card, when the first set of the first exercise is completed, it will move to the first set of the next exercise in the superset and continue on the first set until the supersetted exercise list is done, then will return to the first exercise and second set. It will keep moving through the superset like this, guiding the client as you would.

For rest time, the Set Timer will show up as a white popup and say ‘Rest Time’ during the prescribed time, then the phone will vibrate and it will say ‘Go!’ with the set time once it has elapsed. This should help guide your client to rest for the allotted time and get going once it is done. The prescribed tempo will simply be displayed as a text beside the exercise picture.

Submitting Workouts

Once the workout is done you or your client just need to hit the ‘Workout Complete’ button at the bottom of the exercise list. The app will prompt you/your client to write a note about the workout before submitting it, which is a place to communicate anything about the workout like how it felt, any extra or reasons for skipping exercises or questions. Once the note is written (or not) and the workout submitted, then the Workout Complete screen will appear with a summary. This summary includes the total amount of sets completed, total time for the workout and total volume of weight lifted, plus some intensity calculations like time/set, volume/set, volume/minute.

Resume or Discard Workouts

If you are in the middle of a workout and it gets interrupted for some reason, don’t worry, we are storing every set as it happens. This covers cases where you leave the workout screen or close the app by mistake, it crashes for some reason, you forget to submit the workout or get interrupted, etc. The next time you go to start a workout on Trainer+ a prompt will appear asking you whether you want to discard or resume the previous workout that was started and never submitted.

Printing Programs

For those clients who still prefer pen and paper, we have you covered. If you want to print or email your client’s a version of the program for them to fill in with pen we have made a print version that provides boxes for them to write in reps/weight/time A, as well as a place for the too easy, just right, too hard feedback and exercise notes B. Just go to your Client List and select that client, then press the ‘Edit Program’ button. On the Update Program screen just hit the green ‘Print’ button next to the name box C and then print it or save it as a PDF to email.

Viewing Past Results

With some workout results tracked, you can start checking those past workout results both on mobile and web. Your clients can also check their past results and get an overview of the workouts they have completed each month, along with a summary of all of their workouts. Not only does this let you check workout results in order to make program changes, but also see other measurements of progress for your client.

Past Results On Mobile

To see the Past Results on mobile, just select a client from the Client List screen, then go to the menu in the top left and select ‘Past Results’. Your client can also select this screen from their app. When you land on the screen there is a calendar view showing completed workout days in green1 and a monthly summary2 below the calendar (more on that below).

If you press on any of the days that are colored green, the workout results from that day will be displayed below, including navigation between workouts on top (if multiple were completed that day3. These include the workout summary 4, in addition to all of the recorded reps, weight and times5, color coded for you to easily see whether your client did more (green), less (yellow), the same or skipped (red) the prescribed reps and weight/time.

Past Results On Web And Workout Details

You can also see your client’s results from web by going to the Client List then selecting that client. This will open their ‘Client Card’ with this month’s calendar view on the right. The green boxes indicate days when workouts have been completed and clicking on any of them will pop up a new window with the workout details and again: navigation between multiple workouts6, workout summary7, and workout details with color coding8. On the Client Card you can scroll back9 to other months to check out more past results or the summaries from that month (more below).

Workout Summaries

In both mobile2 and web10 there are monthly summaries provided that break down a client’s total progress, which includes total workouts completed, volume of weight lifted and time spent working out. On web, just select the ‘Monthly Summary’ tab below the program name in the middle of the card11. The statistics are then further broken down by monthly total, weekly, daily and per workout. While we don’t have a sexy way of displaying them (yet), these numbers can give you more ways to explain a client’s progress, especially in the early phases of a program. Where the scale might not be changing too much yet, a client’s amount of volume lifted per workout and per minute will change as they get stronger and better conditioned. You know that feeling that client’s have that they feel stronger and know they are doing more weight and reps then when they started? Now you can tell them exactly how much by showing them these summaries. Just scroll back months to see the summary numbers from the past as a comparison.

Updating Programs

This is the key feature in Trainer+ that allows you to deliver ongoing value to your clients. It allows you to make ongoing changes to their program based on the feedback and tracking details you get from the app, which your client sees the next time they open their program. Whether you are tracking the workout working with them, or they are doing it on their own, the feedback and notes entered right as the exercises and workout are completed help guide what changes you need to make to the program.

Editing a Client Program

In order to edit a client’s program, just go to your Client List on the web app and select that client, then hit the orange ‘EDIT PROGRAM’ button next to the program nameA. A client’s program can be edited in any number of ways:

• Add, delete, move workouts or exercises in workouts
• Add sets, change reps, weight or time
• Add/remove supersets, rest time, tempo or notes
• Rename workouts or the program

For more complete instructions on how to edit the program, go back to the Libraries section of the Guide under the ‘Building Workouts’ and ‘Building Programs’ sections.

Show/Hide Workout Results and Feedback

Once you have the client’s program open in the Update Program Builder, you will be able to see all of the workouts in the list, and there will be a notification if the client has left any notes on a recent workoutB. Click anywhere in the grey area of a workout card to expand that card to edit it, and then press the ‘Show/Hide’ toggleC on the right side under the workout noteD. This will display the results from the last time this workout was completed (color coded E), in addition to the feedback and client notesF.

Updating the Program

You can make any changes to the workouts in the program based on your client’s feedback and results, and when done, just close the workout cards then hit the orange ‘UPDATE CLIENT PROGRAM’G and it will be updated in the database. The next time your client or you log into the app and go to the program or to start a workout, those changes will be there.

Our goal is to make Trainer+ as perfect an extension of you as possible in providing your value as a trainer: providing motivation and accountability to your clients, and ongoing applied knowledge to their fitness plans. Coaching your clients to regularly track can help take care of the first part, but getting them to provide proper feedback and then updating the program regularly is what helps you deliver the whole thing. There is more information on how you can use the app and some of the other features we have built in to manage and grow your business to further explain.

Follow Up Points

With content built, clients invited and you in a regular feedback loop with your clients tracking and updating programs, it is time to manage and grow your training business. The good news is that Trainer Plus does most of this work for you, helping automate your fitness management so you can focus on your client’s results.

The platform helps guide you and reinforce best practices for your training business and behaviour change. This not only makes sure you can intervene at the right times to switch to new program phases or reassess, but also lets you take a more long term approach to your sales and service.

Trainer Plus gives you information about key follow up points for your client in multiple places:

• Last Workout Date - see when they last worked out and fell off
• Program End Date - see when the current phase ends and they need a new program
• Reassessment Date - see when the next assessment should be scheduled

For the last two, Trainer Plus makes you enter this information as you are prescribing. For programs, you have to enter an end date when you assign a new phase. For assessments, you need to enter a reassessment date upon submitting an assessment.

Follow Up Lists

Trainer Plus organizes your follow up for you to see when you need to take action with your clients. For organizations, managers and owners also have oversight on all of these lists and follow up points that can be filtered by trainer.

Client Card/Snapshot

The Client Card on web and Snapshot on mobile show you the relevant dates and follow up for an individual client. The calendar shows not only the last workout date, but an easy to read summary of recent activity. The program end date and reassessment dates can be easily found in their sections.

Assessment List

The Assessment List summarizes all of your clients in order of date for completed and upcoming assessments. The list of upcoming assessments is an easy way to see which clients need to be booked for upcoming or are overdue reassessments.

Program List

The Program List summarizes all of your clients in order of the program start and end dates. The Start Date List shows you when clients started and how far into their program they are. The End Date List is an easy way to see which clients are upcoming or are overdue a new phase for their program.

Color Coding

To make it easy for you to see when you need to take action with your clients, we use color codes throughout the app.

Green represents things that are good, like doing more weight or reps than was prescribed, or having worked out in the last 2 days. Yellow represents something you need to be aware of, like not completing all of the reps prescribed or an upcoming follow up point to book. Red represents something that you need to take action on now, like not having tracked a workout for over a week or being overdue a follow up.

The places where you will find color coding and what it represents:

1. Client List on Web - Last workout date is color coded, green if within 2 days, yellow if within 3-7 days, red if more than a week.
2. Program End Date and Reassessment Date on Mobile - Where these dates are displayed on mobile (beside the program name and at the top of the assessment screen respectively) there is also a color coded dot beside them. Green means the follow up is more than 10 days away, yellow means 3-9 days away and red means 3 days or less or else passed.
   

   
3. Client Snapshot/Card - You can see all the follow up points for individual clients in the Snapshot on mobile and Client Card on web, and they will also be highlighted if action is needed (Last Workout, Program End Date and Reassessment Date).
4. Past Results - In both web and mobile past results all of the exercise tracking is color coded based on what was prescribed versus what was actually done. If the client does what was prescribed then the color does not change, if they did more it turns green, less it turns yellow and if they skipped it it turns red.
5. Program and Assessment Lists - When looking at a summary of your follow up points on these lists, the dates will be colour coded red if they are 3 days or less away or else past.

Notifications/Reminders for Clients

Trainer Plus helps you manage your follow up by setting notifications, emails and reminders for you and your clients at relevant times.

Client List (Mobile)

If you need to take action on any of your clients, there will be a notification on the clients picture or avatar. If there is a notification there and you swipe on the client card, you will see which follow up point needs action. Just select the element that has a notification on it to take you to the relevant screen for that client (Program, Past Results or Assessments).

Last Workout

Everytime a client completes a workout you will get a push notification on your phone to tell you. When you get the notification, you can open the client’s past results in web or mobile to see the results, and edit the program from web.

Program End Date

On the mobile app, you and your client can view the Program End Date by pressing the info icon beside the program name. If the program is ending in 3-10 days, there will be a yellow dot beside the end date. If the program is ending in 3 days or less, or overdue, a pop up will come up to let the client know and the end date will show under the program name with a red dot.

When the program end date is one week away, Trainer Plus will send an email to remind the client that they need a change to the program, with you cc’d on the email for them to reply all and book their next appointment.

Reassessment

You and your client can view the Reassessment Date on mobile at the top of the Assessment screen. If the reassessment is in 3-10 days, there will be a yellow dot beside the date. If the reassessment is ending in 3 days or less, or overdue, there will be a red dot beside the date.

When the reassessment date is one week away, Trainer Plus will send an email to remind the client that they need a change to the program, with you cc’d on the email for them to reply all and book their next assessment.

Client Types & Long Term Results

You can also sort your Client List on web (4) by the client types, between ‘Active’, ‘Archived’ and ‘View-Only’ clients

Different client types and follow up

For your Active clients you have full access to all of their workout details and making ongoing edits to their program, so the last workout date is the best indicator of proper follow up.

Your View-Only clients represent people that you may have assessed and even given a program to, but were not ready to commit to oversight from you yet. Check out this list to see who may be due for a follow up or even who has fallen off since you last assessed or checked in with them.

Your Archived clients are another list of view-only clients who have stopped working with you for whatever reason. You can check this list to see whether there is someone worth checking in with and when they try to sign in to the app, they will be prompted to reach out to you.

Comparing Past Workout Results

In part of the last guide section (Prescribe, track and update > Viewing Past Results) we talked about the different ways you can use workout results from the calendar and monthly summaries to show your clients different progress metrics. These results are also displayed on the Client Card.

Comparing Assessments

The final way that you can see client progress is by their assessment results and being able to compare them over time. On the Client List after you open a ‘Client Card’ there is a green 'View Past Assessments’ button in the ‘Assessments’ section 5, which will open up a pop up of past assessments.

You can either view a long term comparison of all assessments 6 or you can compare two past assessments and get calculations of change 7 by selecting two assessments date 8. The former lets you see progress over time, and the latter lets you see the changes in a snapshot between now and the first assessment or now and last month. You can also print either the long term or the compare assessment results by clicking on the green print icon on the bottom of the pop up 9

On mobile, you can likewise compare two assessments by first going to the Assessments screen from the menu on top left, Select two assessment dates 10 to compare the two, “compare Assessment 11 button will pop, click the button and get calculations of the changes in each protocol between the two time periods.

For a complete overview of how to use the Client List to help manage your clients and business, watch the video below:

Short Term Client Options

Along with the follow up plan, you will need to think about new training options outside of the weekly 1-hour blocks that you are used to. Our goal with Trainer+ was to allow you to provide the true values of a trainer (accountability/motivation and applied knowledge to the fitness plan) through technology. You have to think about different service options you can offer with the support of the apps.

These services allow you to increase and decrease the amount of support that a client needs at a given time. Trainer Plus allows you to sell programs to clients and decide how much of your oversight they need to reach their goals.

We can all start with the idea that everyone would be better if they worked with a trainer every day, and at the other end, some support from a fitness professional is better than no support at all. What Trainer+ allows is for you to provide this full range of support and not just selling packages of weekly 1-hour or 30 minute sessions that most cannot afford. Providing some or all of the following options can help you find a starting point for clients:

1. Weekly training - whether 1, 2 or more sessions per week, this is always going to be the most effective options if clients can afford it, especially with Trainer+ tracking the workouts you do with them and giving them homework on off days.
2. Scaled training - think of this as training that starts out more frequently at the start of the relationship and adapts over time. For example: 2 x week on month 1, 1 x week on month 2 & 3, and 2 x month for month 4,5 & 6. Total is 22 sessions but spaced over 6 months.
3. Monthly Fitness Programming - meeting the client in person only once or twice a month for exercise demonstration, while the rest happens through the app. You are still delivering the values of a trainer, just without as much of your direct coaching and time needed.
4. Self-tracked program - give them the custom program they need, but do not provide ongoing support and changes.
5. Fitness content - provide access to exercise and workout content for them to search and discover if they are not ready yet for support or workout tracking.

With Trainer+ we have seen #3 be the most frequent new service offered and a perfect complement to other training and group programming services. It also is the lowest cost way to still provide all of the value of a trainer and ensure you have regular monthly touch points to discuss whether they need more additional in-person help.

Long Term Follow Up

We all understand that assessments are the best opportunity to sell training services, but they also represent the best opportunity to show the value of training. With Trainer+ doing the follow up for reassessment for you, you should develop a regular reassessment schedule with your clients, regardless of the type of service they get. This is especially true of clients who are not ready to commit to any support from you yet as a way of re-engaging them. The more touch points you have with (view-only) clients and the more data in between, the better you can assess how much support from you they need.

Consultations, Assessments and Follow Up

Some things to consider in the follow up plan:

• What kind of assessment/session do new members/clients receive
• The degree of free service or consults
• How frequently do check ins happen if someone does not purchase support
• How frequently if they do work with you

Whatever plan you settle on, the key thing is to make sure you enter each assessment into Trainer+, especially the first one to start the follow up process.

We have also written extensively about the assessment and taking a long term approach that you can check out:

The Assessment as a Long Term Tool

Educating Through the Assessment

Using Measurements to Set Goals, Timelines and Options

Or check out our YouTube series about rethinking the fitness assessment.

Focusing on Support, not Sales

With training options and a follow up plan, you can now work with a much more cohesive sales strategy. While the initial assessment is still the best place to sell more regular training, you now have options to go to if they are not ready or can not afford that commitment yet. More importantly, you also have ways of making sure to reassess in the future should they not purchase anything initially, and prove some of your value in the meantime.

So, options 1 and 2 above are ways of building in regular training and accommodating for initial budget. Options 3 and 4 provide ways of providing some value while ensuring another check in to upsell in the future.

Recalling our earlier diagram:

In the ‘After’ part of the diagram, the red and yellow paths show what can happen with the less involved options. If a client is getting oversight and a monthly program, they still may need more direct help to push themselves or try more complicated workouts. If a view-only client gets a program from you to track on their own, at the reassessment in 4-6 weeks, one of two things will happen:

1. They have tracked the program on their own, thus proving the value of the monthly program
2. They have not tracked or executed properly, thus proving they need more of your help than just a list of exercises to do.

All in all, this approach should lead to a much more straightforward and honest conversation about training support: how much or little of my help do you need to get to your goals? Your clients should be able to scale support up or down depending on their needs and budget, with a goal of staying a long term client to at least get a custom program from you.

There is much more material about this on our blog:

Taking a Long Term Approach to Fitness Sales

A New Way to Manage Your Client Flow

We are also happy to set up a call with you to discuss the different ways you can manage your business using Trainer+ (just email support@trainerpl.us) and look out for more educational content from us in the future.

New Service Offerings

New ways to use Trainer+ for different trainer types

There are all kinds of different ways you can use Trainer+ to drive your business. Just find the type of trainer you are from the below list to get some more in depth ideas, or contact us at support@trainerpl.us to book some time with one of our customer service reps.

Overview and link to web page:

1. Independent Trainers
2. Facility Trainers
3. In Home/Condo Trainers
4. Bootcamp/Class Instructors
5. Online Trainers
6. Corporate Fitness/Gyms
7. Strength Coaches

Profile

To access your profile, hover over your account name in the top right corner of the screen and click Profile. Here you can change the following:

Account Info

To change the name you signed up with simply enter the new name and click update. To change your profile picture click the edit button and upload a photo.

Your email address is more difficult to change since it is attached to your account. Email support@trainerpl.us if you must do so.

Password

Your password is the same for your web and mobile device. To change your password, simply enter your new password and click change password.

Notifications

You can choose whether you would like to receive Feature Updates and Weekly Progress Report emails. We recommend that you allow both of these notifications so that you can get the most out of Trainer Plus.

Feature Updates are helpful so that you can learn how to use the new features on the platform, as we are updating it constantly. Here you learn not only how to properly use the new feature but the benefits and how it will impact your training business.

Weekly Progress Reports are another way that Trainer Plus helps to manage your follow up. See at a glance the highlights of your training business and where you need to check in.

Deleting Your Account

Clicking the delete account button will send a pre-written email to our support team so that they can delete all of your data. If you let us know why the platform may not be working for you in the email, we will take it into consideration for future updates if enough trainers feel the same?

Billing

Trainer Plus charges a monthly fee based on the number of active clients you have. The fee will be taken out of your account on the day you signed up every month. To change your plan, check the box next to the chosen plan, enter your credit card details if needed and click submit. Below are the different plans explained:

Basic

This plan is free for your first two active clients. You are able to build as many workout, program and assessment templates as you like. However, you can only track and adjust programs for 2 clients. On the Basic plan you aren’t able to upload your own exercise media or view the client follow up lists.

Certified

There are 2 tiers in the certified plan. For $14.95/month you are allowed to invite up to 7 active clients and $29.95/ month allows you up to 15 active clients. This plan allows you to do everything the basic plan can do plus you get to upload unlimited custom exercises! This is great for branding purposes as your training business grows and if you want to show a specific technique for an exercise.

Pro

There are 2 tiers in the pro plan, as well. For $39.95/month you are allowed up to invite up to 25 active clients and $49.95/months allows you up to 50 active clients. The pro plan is different because on top of everything else, you are able to view follow up lists. There are 2 different lists, one for reassessment dates and one for program end dates. At a glance, you can easily see which clients need to be followed up with. This is essential for the amount of clients in your training business at this point.

If you have over 50 clients, you are considered an Organization. Check out the next section for more details on this plan.

Credit Card

To add credit card details click on the credit card box and click update. If you want to delete a card, click the trash icon.

Promo

Enter the code given to you by Trainer Plus and click apply promo code.

We encourage you to go through the entire Training Manual and complete the App Training in order to be the most successful with the Trainer Plus platform. However, if you want a basic understanding of the Trainer Plus features you can view the videos below:

1. Search Exercises

Easily search for exercises to add to your workouts and programs by focus, equipment, environment, muscle, or keyword

2. Create Exercises

Upload your own exercises if you can’t find the variation you like, want to show a specific technique or for branding purposes.

3. Build Workouts

From the workout library, build a new workout by adding exercises from the workout library and entering all of the information you want your clients to know.

4. Invite Clients (if you are a trainer)

When you invite a client they will receive an email and temporary password to download and login to the Trainer+ app.

5. Assess Client (if you are a trainer)

Build up a library of assessments to easily add to your client’s profiles. A few ideas: pre-assessment, initial consult, reassessment.

6. Edit/Assign Programs

Select two or more workouts from the workout library to create a program (or edit a program already in your program library. Click the edit button on the program to customize it for your client. Scroll to the bottom of the page to Save as a Template in your program library, or Assign Program to Client. They will get a notification they can start tracking their program on the mobile app.

7. Track Workout

All tracking is done on the Trainer+ mobile app. Make sure you understand how tracking works so that you can explain it to your clients. You can also track for a client on your mobile app if you have an in person session. Select the client in your client list and view their program.

8. Update Program

The most important button in Trainer Plus is called Edit Program. It’s a bright orange button on the client’s profile card. Make sure to hit the show/hide toggle switch afterward to see your client’s results and easily make changes. Then hit the update client program button so that their mobile app will be updated. So easy!

9. Repeat steps 5 - 8

Continue the feedback loop with your clients by having them track their workouts and you update their programs based on the results.When a phase of a program is complete, make sure to reassess or check in with your client (Trainer+ will notify you to do so).

There are lots of different ways to grow/evolve your business, read through the guide for more information or skip to the Manage Follow Up and Drive Your Business sections

When you complete App Training, book a 30 minute webinar with your account manager if you want to take your training business to the next level.