The online coaching intake form that ends day-one guesswork.
A great first week isn't luck — it's information. Here are the eight sections and 45 questions to ask every new online client before you write a single program: goals, training history, a PAR-Q health screen, nutrition, equipment, schedule, and consent. Copy the checklist, or build it free in VitalCoach so the answers land right next to the client's programming.
Why the intake form is the most underrated part of coaching.
Most new online coaches obsess over the program and skip the intake. Then week one arrives and they're guessing: guessing what equipment the client owns, guessing their injury history, guessing how many days they can actually train. The client, meanwhile, feels like they've been handed a generic template — because they have. The relationship starts on the back foot, and the first four weeks are where most clients decide whether to stay.
A proper intake fixes all of that in ten minutes of the client's time. It is the bridge between "yes, I'll sign up" and "here's your program." Done right, it gives you everything you need to write a genuinely personalised week one, it documents that you screened the client's health before programming, and it signals — before you've coached a single session — that this is a real, professional service. Below is the structure that covers everything without turning into a 20-minute survey the client abandons halfway through.
Eight sections. 45 questions. Copy what you need.
Short answer wherever possible; a few open fields for goals and history. Ask what you need to program week one — push the nice-to-know detail to the first check-in.
Contact & logistics
- Full name and preferred name
- Email and mobile number
- Time zone and country
- How they heard about you / referral source
- Emergency contact name and number
Goals & motivation
- Primary goal in one sentence (fat loss, strength, muscle, health, event)
- Why now? What changed that made you reach out?
- What does success look like in 12 weeks? In 12 months?
- Have you tried to reach this goal before? What happened?
- On a scale of 1–10, how confident are you that you'll follow the plan?
Training history & experience
- How long have you been training, and how consistently?
- Current weekly activity (type, frequency, intensity)
- Exercises you love / exercises you avoid or can't do
- Any lifts or movements you're confident performing with good form?
- Recent injuries, surgeries, or physical limitations (both sides of the body)
Health & medical screen (PAR-Q)
- Has a doctor ever said you have a heart condition or should only do medically supervised activity?
- Do you feel chest pain at rest or during physical activity?
- Do you lose balance from dizziness, or ever lose consciousness?
- Any bone, joint, or soft-tissue problem made worse by activity?
- Are you currently prescribed medication for blood pressure or a heart condition?
- Are you pregnant or postpartum? Any other reason you shouldn't do physical activity?
Nutrition & lifestyle
- Typical day of eating (breakfast to last meal)
- Food allergies, intolerances, or dietary approach (veg, halal, etc.)
- Alcohol and caffeine in a typical week
- Average sleep per night, and how you rate your stress (1–10)
- Are you working with a doctor or dietitian on anything nutrition-related?
Equipment & environment
- Where will you train — home, commercial gym, or both?
- Equipment available (barbell, dumbbells + range, machines, bands, cardio)
- Any space or noise constraints?
- Do you have a way to film sets for form checks?
Schedule & availability
- How many days per week can you realistically train?
- How long is a realistic session for you?
- Which days/times are most reliable?
- Any travel, shift work, or seasons that disrupt your routine?
Communication & consent
- Preferred way to reach you (in-app, email, text) and check-in day
- What kind of accountability works for you — gentle or direct?
- Consent to store your health information for coaching purposes
- Consent (optional) to use progress photos in marketing
- Acknowledgement of the coaching agreement, refund, and cancellation terms
Section 4 is the one you never skip.
Online, you can't watch the client walk in the door — the health screen is your only window into whether it's safe to begin. Use the PAR-Q or the more thorough PAR-Q+ (a recognised, freely available pre-exercise screening tool). If the client answers "yes" to a flagged item, ask them to get medical clearance before you program. It protects the client, and it documents that you screened before day one.
Send it the moment they say yes.
Timing is half the value. The intake should go out the instant a client commits — right after payment or the handshake, while their motivation is at its peak. A form that arrives three days later gets a rushed answer or none at all; a form that arrives while they're still excited gets thoughtful answers you can actually program from.
A spreadsheet or a generic form tool works, but it creates a second problem: the answers live somewhere separate from where you coach. You end up copying goals into one app, injuries into another, and losing the health screen in your inbox. The cleaner setup is an intake that lives on the client's profile — so when you open their program, their goals, limitations, equipment, and schedule are right there. That's how VitalCoach's built-in intake works: build the form once, send a link, and every answer attaches to that client next to their programming, check-ins, and messages. It's included free for your first client.
Keep it short enough to finish.
Forty-five questions sounds like a lot, but most are one-tap. Use short answer and multiple choice wherever you can; reserve open text for goals, history, and injuries — the answers you'll actually re-read. If a question won't change what you write in week one, move it to the first check-in. An intake the client finishes beats a perfect intake they abandon on question 30.
Build the form free. Coach the client in the same place.
The intake builder is included from the Free plan up — your first client costs nothing.
- Client intake builder
- Manual programming + logging
- PDF export
- AI workout + nutrition generators
- AI check-in drafts
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited clients
- Built-in client billing at 5%
- Disengagement detection + AI re-engage
- Everything in Solo
Studio plan ($199/mo, white-label) also available on the pricing page. Not sure what to charge your own clients? See the online coaching pricing guide.
The questions coaches ask about intake.
Straight answers, no filler.
What should an online coaching client intake form include?
Eight areas: contact and logistics, goals and motivation, training history, a health/medical screen (PAR-Q), nutrition and lifestyle, equipment and environment, schedule and availability, and communication plus consent. The health screen is the section you never skip — it tells you whether a client can begin safely or should get medical clearance first.
What is a PAR-Q and do online coaches need one?
The PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) and its updated PAR-Q+ are short, widely used pre-exercise health screens that flag conditions needing medical clearance before someone starts training. It's a standard part of responsible intake for any trainer, and it matters more online because you can't observe the client in person. Including a PAR-Q style section documents that you screened before programming.
How many questions should a coaching intake form have?
Enough to program safely and specifically, but not so many the client abandons it. Around 30–45 questions across the eight sections is a good target — short answer where possible, a few open fields for goals and history. If a question won't change what you write in week one, move it to the first check-in.
When should a client fill out the intake form?
Immediately after they say yes, before you write anything. The intake is the bridge between the sale and the program. Delaying it is the most common reason a coach's first week feels like guesswork.
Spreadsheet, Google Form, or coaching software for intake?
Any of them capture answers. The difference is where the answers live. A spreadsheet or standalone form leaves goals, injuries, and the health screen scattered across tools. Coaching software keeps the intake on the client's profile, next to their program and check-ins, so you're not copying data between apps. If you're coaching one or two clients, a form works; past that, in-context intake saves real time.
Can I build a coaching intake form for free?
Yes. VitalCoach's Free plan includes the intake builder for your first client at no cost — build the form, send a link, and answers land on the client's profile. Solo ($19/mo) adds AI generators for 5 clients; Pro ($79/mo) unlocks unlimited clients plus built-in billing.
Start your next client the right way.
Build the intake once, send a link, and open week one already knowing their goals, limits, equipment, and schedule. Free for your first client — no credit card, no spreadsheet.
Keep reading
Fill the roster first with the no-ad client-acquisition playbook, decide what to charge with the online coaching pricing guide, then keep clients past month three with the retention playbook. If you're choosing where the form will live, the personal training software cost guide covers what each platform charges, with detail in the Trainerize, TrueCoach, Everfit, My PT Hub, FitBudd and PT Distinction comparisons. See the full product on the VitalCoach home, or start free with one client at /free.
Ready to onboard your next client? See VitalCoach plans →
A note on this template.
The questions and structure on this page are practical guidance for building your own intake — they are a starting point, not a substitute for professional, medical, or legal advice. The PAR-Q and PAR-Q+ are established pre-exercise screening tools; use the official versions and adapt any health, consent, or agreement wording to your certification's scope of practice and your local requirements. We don't publish fabricated customer counts or invented testimonials — VitalCoach is a newer platform. Your setup and obligations depend on your qualifications, your clients, and your jurisdiction.