Strength training plan questionnaire: 21 questions
When someone asks me for a personal strength training plan, I send them a questionnaire to fill out before I start writing. Without it, building a plan is shooting in the dark. Below are the 21 questions I usually ask, along with a few thoughts on why these ones.
Why a questionnaire is a good start for a plan
A coach has two ways to put a plan together. The first: ask everything needed in a half-hour conversation and hope nothing important slips your mind. The second: have the person answer in writing so the information can be read and compared at leisure. The written option wins almost every time. Answers can be reread, forgetting something is harder, and people themselves often think more thoroughly when they have time.
A good questionnaire also gets people thinking about their training before the plan even arrives. When you have to answer how many times a week you actually make it to the gym, the next step is already clearer. This isn’t bureaucracy — it’s part of the job.
What the questionnaire asks
The order of the questions follows a certain logic — background, training history, goals, schedule, health. It isn’t a strict hierarchy, but moving from top to bottom, the picture gradually becomes clearer.
- Age (gender is usually clear from the name).
- Height.
- Body weight.
- Previous exposure to sports — are you doing any other sport at the moment?
- Previous exposure to the gym and strength training.
- If you have experience, how long have you been training?
- Which splits and progressions have you trained with?
- Current strength numbers — in the basic exercises (deadlift, squat, bench press), both your 1RM and the weight you can handle for a set of three or five.
- Your relationship with pull-ups — can you do them, how many, have you used added weight?
- Knowledge of the technique and methodology of the main strength exercises (what a set, superset, progression etc. are).
- Specific wishes and goals — why are you ordering a plan from me in particular?
- On which days is the gym accessible to you?
- Can you get to the gym on weekends too?
- Do you prefer to train on weekdays, or can a workout land on the weekend?
- Morning or evening exerciser — what times do you usually train?
- How many times a week are you ready to train (usually 2–4 times)?
- Your relationship with aerobic training.
- Peculiarities to take into account — old injuries, exercises you can’t do, etc.
- Daily work — sedentary or physical, how long are the days?
- Nutrition knowledge and your current nutrition situation.
- Additional questions, wishes, requests.
These 21 questions cover the average case. Every coach tweaks their questionnaire a little differently, and many answers come out during other communication without being asked separately. But if something hasn’t made it onto paper, there’s a good chance something important is missing.
What a good questionnaire looks like
A couple of things are worth keeping in mind when answering. First — an honest number beats a pretty number. If you squat 80 kg today, write 80, not 100 because “I’d like to be there soon”. The plan is built on where you are now, not on your wishful thinking.
Second — answer the schedule questions realistically. If you know that work runs long on Thursdays and getting to the gym is unlikely, say so right away. The coach can then build the plan around it from the start, rather than when the plan starts falling apart in the third week.
Third — injuries and peculiarities are worth writing down even if they seem minor. An old knee injury that “no longer bothers you” can affect how heavy squats are planned. Better to know in advance than to change the program midway.
FAQ
Do I have to answer everything if some question seems irrelevant?
Preferably yes. If a question seems out of context, write a short answer or “can’t say” — that’s information too. Skipping it means the coach has to guess.
How precise do the strength numbers need to be?
Reasonable precision is enough. If you squat around 80 kg for sets of three, write 80 kg × 3. There’s no need to calculate an exact 1RM if you haven’t tested it recently — just note what you actually do.
Does the questionnaire replace talking to the coach?
No. The questionnaire is a good start, not the end. Interactive communication almost always brings out something that didn’t make it onto the questionnaire — and that’s exactly what’s needed to make the plan truly yours.
Author: Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
