Tell your personal trainer everything that changes the program: injuries that "healed" years ago, medications that affect heart rate or balance, how you actually sleep, the exercise you dread, the last three things you quit and why, your real weekly schedule, travel and events coming up, pain that only shows up in one situation, pregnancy or trying, and the goal behind the goal. None of it is judged; all of it is programming information, and a coach without it is guessing.
This is the client-side checklist. The coach's script for the first meeting is in what to expect in a first session; the questions you put to them are in questions to ask a personal trainer. This page is what you volunteer.
The checklist, and why each item changes the program
Most of these get left out because they feel irrelevant, embarrassing or too small to mention. Here is what each one does to the plan.
| What to say | Why it changes the program |
|---|---|
| An old injury, even one that feels fine | Decides which variant you start on and which movements get screened first |
| Every medication you take | Some blunt or raise heart rate, some affect balance or blood pressure; the coach reads your effort differently |
| How you really sleep | Sets how much volume you can recover from and whether heavy days move |
| The exercise you hate | It gets swapped for something that trains the same pattern, so you stop dreading Tuesdays |
| The last three things you quit, and why | Tells the coach which quit-points to design around: soreness, boredom, a missed week |
| Your actual weekly schedule | Two sessions you will keep beat four you will cancel |
| Travel and events in the next three months | The block gets planned around them instead of derailed by them |
| Pain that appears only on stairs, or only overhead | Points at a specific joint and range the screen would otherwise miss |
| Pregnancy, or trying | Changes loading, breathing and positions early, and adds your care provider to the loop |
| The goal behind the goal | "Lose ten pounds" and "keep up with my kids on the Quarry Rock trail" produce different programs |
Injuries that "healed" still shape the program
The knee you hurt skiing at Cypress six winters ago is fine on flat ground and grumbles on the third flight of stairs. That is exactly what people leave out, and exactly what decides whether your first lower-body day is a split squat or a reverse lunge, and how deep. A coach who knows starts you one rung lower and watches the descent. A coach who does not finds out under load.
The same goes for a shoulder that had surgery, a back that went once during a move, a wrist never looked at. If something still hurts, or a clinician has set limits, say so; personal trainer or physiotherapist explains where each scope ends.
Medications, and what the heart-rate display is actually showing
Coaches read effort partly through heart rate, and medication changes what the number means. A beta-blocker keeps heart rate low even when you are working hard, so a coach who does not know may push you past where you should be. Stimulants do the opposite, raising resting heart rate so a warm-up can look like an interval. Some blood-pressure medications make standing up fast from a deadlift feel light-headed. None of this is the coach's to manage; your prescriber owns the medication. The coach needs the fact, so the live displays on the wall are read in context.
You do not need to explain what the drug does. "I take something for blood pressure" or "I'm on ADHD medication, mornings" is enough; the coach asks the follow-ups that matter.
The things that feel like confessions and are not
The exercise you secretly hate, the gym you quit after three weeks, the sleep you have not had since the baby, the wine on weeknights: people hold these back expecting a lecture. A working coach has heard all of them this month. They want the information because it changes what they write.
- The hated exercise gets swapped. Nobody needs to burpee to get strong.
- The quitting history gets used. If soreness ended the last attempt, week one is written lighter on purpose.
- The sleep reality moves the heavy day or turns it into a technique day; nobody decides you are lazy.
- The weeknight wine is noted and, unless you ask, left alone; a coach is not a dietitian.
How to say it without turning it into a speech
One line per item, stated as a fact, is all it takes. The coach will ask what they need to know next. A few templates:
- "Left shoulder, surgery in 2019. Overhead is fine, bench aches."
- "I sleep about five and a half hours on weeknights. That is not going to change this month."
- "I've quit two gyms and one app. Each time a missed week turned into a month."
- "I can do Tuesday and Thursday at six. Nothing else is real."
- "Ski trip the first week of February. Work travel most of March."
- "We're trying for a baby, so I'd rather you knew now."
- "The real goal is to stop feeling old on the Grouse Grind with my brother."
Say them at the consult if you can, at the first session if you must, and again whenever something changes. A new medication, a new commute, a tweak from a weekend on the bike: each is a sentence at the start of the next session, not a secret.
At Coresa the 1-on-1 program begins with an assessment, and the free consult before it is fifteen minutes in street clothes. Both exist so this list has somewhere to land.
Common questions
Will telling my trainer about an old injury get me turned away?
Almost never. An injury history changes where you start, not whether you start. The only version that pauses things is pain that is new, sharp or untreated; then the honest move is a physiotherapist first and a coach alongside or after.
Do I have to explain why I quit the last gym?
You do not have to, but it is one of the most useful things you can say. The reason you quit is the quit-point the next program is designed around: soreness, boredom, a schedule that never fit, or feeling watched.
Should I mention that I'm trying to get pregnant, even early on?
Yes, and only as much as you are comfortable sharing. It lets the coach plan loading, breathing and positions with that in mind, and it brings your care provider into the loop early. Nothing about it needs to be discussed in the room.
Can I ask for an exercise to be swapped just because I hate it?
Yes. Every pattern has several variants that train the same thing, and a coach would rather you did one you will keep doing. The exception is a movement kept precisely because it exposes a weakness; then the coach should tell you why.
