How To Write An Effective Personal Training Contract For Your Clients

Getting a personal training contract prepared for your clients can be a great way to outline the regulations and directions of your sessions.

That's why we have put together a guide on how to write a clear and effective contract for your clients, including:

• Why You Should Have A Personal Training Client Contract In Place
• The Key Components Of An Effective Personal Training Service Agreement
• Free Personal Trainer Contract Template

Before we get straight into it, if you’re a part of the fitness industry already, why not develop a specialism, starting with our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course? Find this and many more in our downloadable course prospectus here. 

Why You Should Have A Personal Training Client Contract In Place

First off, you’re probably wondering why you need a contract in the first place, so let’s explain.

Essentially, it is an outline of exactly what your professional arrangement with the client entails, providing vital details designed to protect you legally should any infringements occur.

A personal training contract should be in place prior to starting any sessions with your clients. It is something that can protect and benefit you and your clients alike. 

Before you start training with a client, you would of course need to have a completed Par-Q and consultation form from them, but there are still some other things that you need them to agree to on paper which we’ll cover in the next section.

Not only that, but providing a contract can really professionalise your business by showing your clients that you have all legalities in place.

That being said, let’s see the main components to include in a personal trainer contract with your client.

The Key Components Of An Effective Personal Training Service Agreement

Here, we have a breakdown of what you should be including in your personal trainer contract- we recommend you include everything we list here, as each section covers an essential part of the personal trainer contract.

What To Expect From You As A Personal Trainer

First, similarly to something like a personal trainer welcome pack, you should lay out what your clients can expect from your services. This might include things like:

• Your specialities
• Your skills 
• How you aim to help them 

All of these should be touched on in a concise manner. You want to ease your clients into the contract by briefly explaining and reminding them what the contract is for and just simply summarising what you’ll do for them.

Start off by telling your clients what they’ll find in the contract. Something along the lines of:

“In this contract you’ll find everything you need, from packages and pricing to contact hours and all of the important details, so keep this to hand in case you need a reminder!”

It is just a more informal way of introducing a contract so your client feels comfortable and at ease as they navigate the contract.

Packages and Pricing

Something else that you should include when putting together your contract for personal training is the packages and pricing structures for your client to refer to. 

This is particularly important if you’re a freelance personal trainer, as you’re going to need to ensure that, should anything happen that could jeopardise your chances of getting paid, you are legally entitled to receive payment. 

For example, if your client decides that they are no longer happy with the price point that you have, after already signing the contract, that contract will protect you from any missed payments.

Let’s say your client decides they no longer are happy with your £30 per session price point, and they ask for a discount for remaining sessions. You have no obligation to change the price, in fact they would be obligated to pay the original agreed price point, since they willingly signed the contract.

This is why you need to have your prices presented clearly on your contract and a signature point underneath the declaration to ensure that there are no misunderstandings when it comes to payment amounts and due dates. 

This section should specify the package type to your client. If you have agreed on a rolling contract of £30 per session 2 times a week then ensure this is stated clearly. This could look something like this:

“The price of your sessions are £30 per session, which you pay in monthly instalments. This equates to £240 per month, due to be paid on the 1st date of each month.”

Sign to Agree: ___________________

Don’t overcomplicate things. Remember the more complicated it is, the more difficult it gets for your clients to understand. You should highlight important figures and sections as we have above, to draw the client’s attention to the most vital details. 

How Often You’ll See Each Other

Something else that you need to put in your personal training contract is how often you will see your client. This is also how you will determine the amount of sessions per week / month.

For one, stating the exact amount of sessions you have with your client in any given time period helps to clarify the professional schedule from both ends, hopefully eliminating the chance of any confusion that could lead to clients missing sessions. 

Secondly, as a self-employed trainer, it is absolutely essential that you protect your business- the way you protect yourself from any financial losses is by stating how many times a week your client is committed to.

For example, if you agree to 2x sessions per week, you have budgeted for this income and have also set the time aside. Thus, if a client decides they no longer want 2x sessions a week but have signed up for a session on a particular date, they technically do have to pay you regardless.

It might look a little something like this:

“You agree to 2x 1-hour sessions per week, at a rate of £30 per session.” 

Sign to Agree: __________

There is a lot here which is more to do with a cancellation and refund policy, which we will talk about later but it is directly linked to the amount of sessions your client has agreed to. 

All of these work hand in hand, you cannot establish a price point without the amount of sessions being in writing on the contract. In the same sense you cannot demand payment from somebody without a cancellation policy in place too.

Establishing Professional Boundaries

Something super important about having a successful personal training business is establishing the client-PT relationship boundaries.

This is a good place to mention how you as the trainer expect to be treated, as well as the client. 

One of the main responsibilities of a PT is good communication, but this doesn't mean your client should expect instant, round the clock responses. The personal training contract is where you can state your business hours and what sort of waiting time your clients should expect to wait.

It not only helps you establish these boundaries but it also reassures your clients that they’re going to get a reliable response from you, even if it takes time. 

For example, you could put something along the lines of:

“Please note my available hours, which are:

• Monday - Friday: 7am - 8pm
• Saturday - Sunday: 11am - 5pm

Please only contact me during these hours and expect a waiting time of 1-2 days. I will respond as soon as possible.”

Sign to Agree: ______

This ensures that you’re only being contacted during business hours and warns your clients of any potential waiting times so they feel confident in getting a reply.

- - - - 

For more information on how to take your personal training business to the next level, head over to our articles below:

• The Complete Guide to Personal Trainer Payment Methods 
• How To Livestream Your Fitness Classes
• How To Stand Out As A Personal Trainer

Cancellation & Refund Policy

Another component that you need within your personal training contract agreement is a cancellation and refund policy, arguably one of the most important factors of the document. 

Like we mentioned earlier, this contract is to essentially protect you from any losses. The only way to do this is by getting an agreement in writing to secure your payments.

You may find that some clients may want to drop a session a week- while this can probably be handled rather quickly and seamlessly with many clients, there is always the risk of a difficult client.

That being said, you might need to have an agreement in writing of a minimum term contract. For example, many personal trainers will bill their clients on a monthly basis, which makes it much easier to consistently receive payments and avoid chasing any up. 

So, if your client after a week into training decides they want a refund for the remaining balance of the month because they no longer wish to have 2 sessions a week, but instead would rather have 1, you have no obligation to give them it if they have agreed to your no-refund policy.

You should have a rescheduling option in place if the client has an adequate reason for cancelling their session.

However, if the client cancels for no valid reason and cannot reschedule, they’d still have to pay you if they have agreed to the set term of service.

This is a really important step in creating a personal trainer to client contract since this is often when a problem would actually arise. Due to the importance of this, we have an extensive guide for you to follow on how to write a personal trainer cancellation policy here.

Declaration of Understanding

Finally, the closing component of your personal training agreement contract is a declaration of understanding. This is how you will close out your contract and essentially is what makes you client, on paper, agree to everything stated.

It is a closing statement which includes direct and clear language so there is no room for confusion. 

This might sound or look something like this:

“By signing this agreement below you are acknowledging and agreeing to have understood the entirety of this contract. You, as the client, are agreeing to being satisfied with the contents included and are satisfied with all of the terms and conditions applied.” 

Name (Print): _______

Name (Sign): _______

Date:__/__/__

Free Personal Trainer Contract Template

Below you can find a personal training contract template to help you draft your own. 

Don’t forget that if you are uncertain about the legality of certain scenarios, you can speak to an experienced law professional that can help you finalise your contract.

Nonetheless, feel free to use our template as advice and guidance on what to include.

(Sample) Personal Training Contract Agreement

This contract is an agreement between _______ (the “company”) and _______ (“the party”) for the benefit of both collectively.

Description of the contractual obligations

This contract outlines the terms by which “the party” agrees to. It also describes what “the company” is to provide. Prior to signing this contract, please confirm with your signature below that you have already prior completed and signed any health declaration forms (Par-Q & Consultation) and that you have shared clearly any health conditions that could be affected with physical exercise.

Sign: ______

Date: __/__/__

Payments & Package Options

You have received this contract because you (“the party”) have previously agreed to the option of “Package 1”.

Package 1 includes: 

TWO sessions per week lasting ONE hour per session. This package is to be paid MONTHLY at a sum of £250 per month. This sum is to be paid on the 1st DATE of every calendar month.

By agreeing to this package, you agree to pay this sum in FULL every month. 

Contact Hours & Response Time

By agreeing to this contract, you agree to only contact the “company” during available hours. 

Available hours include: 

Monday - Friday: 7am - 8pm AND Saturday - Sunday: 11am - 5pm

Expect a waiting time of 1-2 days.

Cancellation Policy & Refunds

Cancellation of a scheduled session can only be cancelled and re-arranged no less than 48 hours prior to the original scheduled session.

Any time after this the “company” has no obligation to re-arrange the session and the client would therefore forfeit the session with the expense of the session not being reimbursed. Negotiations are applicable to re-arranging past this time bracket in particular circumstances. 

These negotiations are to be discussed between the parties to come to a resolution.

The “company” offers a “No Refund” policy in which there are no circumstances that the “party” would receive a refund of a paid bill. 

By signing this contract, you agree to, understand, and are satisfied with a no-refund policy and the notice of cancellation policy.

Indemnity

In the event of any problems aside from insurance covered liability, or you experience anything perceived as “negative” from the personal training session, you agree to hold the “company” blameless. 

By agreeing to this contract, you agree to take full responsibility should you not be presented with your expected outcome. Though, be assured that the “company” will do everything to help you avoid such out of the ordinary problems or negative consequences of the personal training sessions.

Declaration of Understanding

Both parties understand and agree that they are satisfied with the entirety of this agreement and wish to proceed with the personal training sessions. 

Any modifications that are made to this agreement must be in writing, checked and signed by both parties. (The “company” & the “Party”)

If you are happy with the terms and conditions applied and understand each section of this contract, please sign below to indicate your agreement:

Name (Print): _______

Name (Sign): _______

Date:__/__/__

Before You Go…

By taking these steps and making use of our personal trainer to client contract template to start the ball rolling for your own draft, we’re sure that you’ll be on the road to success when protecting your business and your client.

Don’t forget, if you want to take the next step in your career and professionalise yourself further, enquire now about our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course. Find this and many more additional health and fitness courses in our downloadable course prospectus.