A personal training agreement is the contract between a personal trainer and a client that covers which sessions the client is buying, when they expire, what happens when someone cancels late, and the client’s acknowledgment that exercise carries some risk. Independent trainers use it with private clients, and trainers renting space in a gym often need one of their own. Our free personal training agreement template is in Word and PDF and includes an assumption of risk section and a readiness check.
Why put personal training in writing?
Most disputes between trainers and clients are about sessions and money, not injuries. A hypothetical client buys a 20-session pack for $1,300 in January, trains twice, travels for work in February, and in June asks for a refund of the remaining 18. Can they have one? Did the sessions expire? Were the two they no-showed counted? A written personal training agreement answers each of those in advance.
It also puts the safety conversation on paper. Before the first session, the client confirms they’ve completed a health readiness questionnaire and told the trainer about anything relevant, and acknowledges the ordinary risks of exercise.
If you only need the release, without packages and pricing, our release of liability waiver is the better fit. If you’re a trainer working for a gym as a contractor, that relationship needs an independent contractor agreement, not this client agreement. Massage therapists should look at our massage intake form.
What’s in the personal training agreement?
Session packages and pricing
The template covers single sessions, packs of sessions, and monthly plans. You fill in the number of sessions, the session length, the price and when it’s paid.
Expiry of prepaid sessions
Packages can carry an expiry date, such as six months from purchase, with room to allow an extension for injury or illness backed up by a note. Be careful here: state consumer laws may limit how you can structure prepaid fitness contracts (see below).
Cancellations and lateness
A late-cancel window (for example, 24 hours), what happens to a no-show session, and what happens when the trainer cancels. The template treats both sides the same way: if the trainer cancels late, the client gets a free session.
Health screening
Before training starts, the client completes a readiness questionnaire and updates the trainer if their health changes. A widely used example is the PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone). HealthLink BC describes it as a tool to assess readiness to take part in more physical activity or a fitness appraisal, meant to be completed before starting a new program, such as joining a new gym program. If the answers suggest it, the client gets clearance from a doctor first.
Assumption of risk and release
The client acknowledges that exercise can cause injury, that they take part voluntarily, and that they’ll stop and tell the trainer if something feels wrong. The release covers ordinary negligence to the extent the law allows. It doesn’t try to release gross negligence or intentional harm.
Not medical advice
The trainer isn’t a doctor, dietitian or physical therapist. General nutrition and exercise guidance is not medical advice, and the template says so.
Do state laws affect fitness and training contracts?
Some states have specific laws for health club or fitness contracts, so check yours before you set cancellation, refund or term rules.
California is a clear example. Its Civil Code defines a “contract for health studio services” to include contracts for instruction, training or assistance in exercising and similar physical skills (section 1812.81). Under section 1812.85, the buyer can cancel before midnight of the fifth business day after signing, with longer windows for bigger contracts: 20 days for contracts from $1,500 to $2,000, 30 days from $2,001 to $2,500, and 45 days above that, and a refund is due within 10 days of the cancellation notice, less services already received. The contract must also carry a specific cancellation notice in boldface near the signature line. Section 1812.84 caps the term at three years. If you train clients in California, read the full statute before using any template, including this one.
Other states have their own rules, and some don’t have one at all.
How do you fill in the agreement and get it signed?
- Fill in the package, price, session length and expiry.
- Set your late-cancel window and no-show rule.
- Have the client complete a readiness questionnaire before the first session, and keep it with the agreement.
- Walk the client through the assumption of risk section in person. Don’t just point at it.
- Both sign. For clients under 18, have a parent or guardian sign too, and adapt the template for that.
A training agreement is a consumer contract, and the federal ESIGN Act says a contract can’t be denied legal effect solely because it’s electronic. When another law requires information to be given to a consumer in writing, ESIGN adds consent steps before it can be given electronically, which is one more reason to check any state-required cancellation notice. See are electronic signatures legally binding.
Health questionnaires contain personal health details, so store them carefully and share them only with people who need them. SignWren is not set up for HIPAA-covered data and does not sign business associate agreements. Download the agreement, fill in the blanks, and send it for e-signature with any tool you like. (We’re building SignWren for this kind of everyday paperwork; join the waitlist if you’d like early access.)
This template and guide are general information, not legal advice or medical advice. For a specific contract or dispute, talk to a lawyer licensed where you are.
Template from signwren.com. General information, not legal advice or medical advice. Check your state's rules and adapt it before you use it.
Some states have their own rules for fitness or health studio contracts, including required cancellation notices, refund deadlines and limits on contract length. California's rules for contracts for health studio services (for example, Civil Code sections 1812.84 and 1812.85) are one example. Check your state's law and add any required notice before using this agreement.
PERSONAL TRAINING AGREEMENT
This Personal Training Agreement ("Agreement") is made on [date] between:
Client: [Client's full legal name], of [address], date of birth [date] ("Client"), and
Trainer: [Trainer's full legal name or business name], of [address] ("Trainer"). Trainer's certification(s), if any: [name of certification and certifying organization].
1. Training Services
The Trainer will provide personal training sessions to the Client:
- Location: ☐ [gym or studio name and address] ☐ Client's home ☐ Outdoors at [location] ☐ Online by video
- Session length: [number] minutes
- Client's goals, as discussed: [e.g. general strength, preparing for a 10K, returning to exercise]
The Trainer will design workouts suited to the Client's goals and the information the Client provides under Section 5, and will adjust them as the Client progresses.
2. Package and Price
Tick one:
☐ Single sessions at [$ amount] each, paid ☐ before ☐ at each session.
☐ Session package of [number] sessions for [$ amount], paid in full on signing.
☐ Monthly plan of [number] sessions per month for [$ amount] per month, paid on the [day] day of each month by [payment method]. Unused sessions ☐ roll over to the next month only ☐ do not roll over.
Any gym entry or facility fees are ☐ included ☐ paid separately by the Client.
3. Expiry of Prepaid Sessions
Prepaid sessions must be used within [number] months of the purchase date. Unless the law of the Client's state requires otherwise, unused sessions expire after that date.
If the Client cannot train because of injury, illness or another serious reason, and gives the Trainer notice (and a doctor's note for a medical reason if the Trainer asks), the Trainer will extend the expiry date by the time the Client could not train, up to [number] months.
4. Scheduling, Cancellations and Lateness
Booking. Sessions are booked by [text, email, app or other method].
Client cancellations. The Client may cancel or reschedule a session at no charge with at least [number] hours' notice. A session cancelled with less notice, or missed without notice, counts as used (or is charged at the single-session price).
Lateness. If the Client is late, the session ends at its scheduled time. If the Trainer is late, the Trainer will make up the lost time or credit it.
Trainer cancellations. If the Trainer cancels with less than [number] hours' notice, the Client receives one free session in addition to rescheduling the cancelled one.
Weather and closures. Outdoor sessions cancelled for unsafe weather, and sessions cancelled because the facility is closed, are rescheduled at no charge.
5. Health Screening and Readiness
Before the first session, the Client will complete a physical activity readiness questionnaire (for example, the PAR-Q+) and tell the Trainer about any medical conditions, injuries, medications, pregnancy or other factors that may affect exercise.
If the questionnaire or anything the Client says suggests it, the Client will get clearance from a doctor or other qualified health professional before training, and will follow any limits they set.
The Client will tell the Trainer before each session about any change in health, new injury, or pain. The Client will stop exercising and tell the Trainer right away if they feel pain, dizziness, chest discomfort, shortness of breath beyond what is expected, or anything else unusual. The Trainer may pause or end a session if the Trainer believes continuing is unsafe.
The Trainer will keep the Client's health information confidential and will share it only with the Client's permission or where the law requires it, such as in an emergency.
6. Not Medical Advice
The Trainer is not a physician, dietitian, physical therapist or other licensed health care provider, unless stated here: [license, or "None"]. Exercise guidance and any general nutrition or lifestyle suggestions are for general fitness only and are not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The Client should talk to their own health care provider about any medical question.
7. Assumption of Risk
The Client understands that exercise and physical training involve risks, including muscle strains, sprains, falls, injuries from equipment, and in rare cases heart problems or other serious injury. The Client takes part voluntarily and accepts these ordinary risks of exercise.
8. Release
To the extent allowed by law, the Client releases the Trainer from claims for injury or loss arising from ordinary negligence in connection with the training sessions. This release does not apply to injury or loss caused by the Trainer's gross negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct, or to any claim that cannot legally be released. If the Client is under 18, a parent or guardian should also sign this Agreement or a separate release form.
9. Trainer's Responsibilities
The Trainer will use reasonable care and professional skill, keep any certification listed above current, maintain CPR and first aid training ☐ Yes ☐ Not applicable, check equipment before use, and carry professional liability insurance of at least [$ amount] ☐ Yes ☐ Not applicable.
10. Refunds
☐ Unused prepaid sessions are non-refundable, except as required by law or under Section 11.
☐ Unused prepaid sessions are refundable at [$ amount per session, or "the per-session price paid"], less a processing fee of [$ amount], if the Client requests a refund before the expiry date.
11. Ending the Agreement
Either party may end this Agreement by written notice. If the Trainer ends it for any reason other than the Client's breach of this Agreement, the Trainer will refund unused prepaid sessions at the per-session price paid. If the Client cannot continue training because of a medical condition confirmed by a doctor, or moves more than [number] miles away, the Trainer will refund unused prepaid sessions at the per-session price paid. A monthly plan may be cancelled with [number] days' written notice.
12. Photos and Progress Records
☐ The Trainer may take progress photos or measurements for the Client's own records only.
☐ The Trainer may share progress photos in marketing only with the Client's separate written permission for each photo.
13. Notices
Notices must be in writing and sent by text, email or mail to:
- Client: [phone, email]
- Trainer: [phone, email]
Emergency contact for the Client: [name, relationship, phone]
14. General Terms
Independent business. The Trainer is an independent business, not the Client's employee.
Entire agreement. This Agreement and the Client's readiness questionnaire are the entire agreement between the parties about the training services.
Amendments. Any change must be in writing and signed by both parties.
Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [State].
Severability. If any part of this Agreement is found invalid, the rest stays in effect.
Counterparts and electronic signatures. The parties agree this agreement may be signed electronically and in counterparts, and an electronic signature has the same effect as a handwritten one.
Signatures
Client
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]
Trainer
Signature: ______________________________
Name: [full name]
Date: [date]