Weekly check-in: how to ask for it, review it and reply

A weekly check-in for a personal trainer works when it is short, arrives on the same day every time and gets a reply: a few fixed questions your client answers in a couple of minutes, a slot in your diary to read them all in one go and a brief reply telling them what you have seen and what changes. And if one does not arrive, a timely reminder stops the habit from slipping.

What to ask: few questions, always the same

The check-in is not an interview. Its value lies in being able to compare one week with the last, and that only happens if the questions do not change. A simple format:

• One figure you both track, if you work with one, such as weight.
• How much of the plan they managed to follow, in their own words.
• How they have felt that week, on a simple scale.
• A free space for anything they want to tell you.

Every extra question is a reason to leave it until tomorrow. And do not ask for anything you are not going to read: if a question never changes what you reply, drop it.

Remember too that part of what they tell you may be information about their health. Before you start asking for check-ins, explain what you use them for and ask for their consent.

When to ask for it

Choose a fixed day and tell them from the start, ideally when you onboard them, as we explain in a new client's first week. A fixed day has two advantages: the client turns it into a habit and you can reserve a slot to review them.

If you have many online clients, you can spread them over two days so the review does not pile up in a single afternoon. What matters is that each client knows which day is theirs and that it does not change from one week to the next.

Reviewing them in a batch

Reading each check-in as it arrives interrupts you several times a day and means some clients get a reply straight away while others wait. It works better to have a fixed block in your diary, with the same order every time:

1. First, the list: which check-ins have arrived and which are unanswered.
2. Then, one by one: read what they have written and compare it with their previous week.
3. Decide before you write: the plan stays the same, something changes or you need to talk to them.
4. Finally, the missing ones: who has not sent it and who needs a reminder.

If in a check-in your client mentions something that goes beyond training, such as a health problem, do not interpret it yourself: ask them and, if necessary, suggest they consult a healthcare professional.

How to reply

The reply does not have to be long, but it does have to be specific. Three parts are enough:

• What you have seen: something from what they wrote, so they can tell you have read it.
• What changes: whether the plan stays the same or what you are adjusting, without going into detail that is of no use to them.
• What comes next: what you expect from them until the next check-in.

A generic example: “Thanks for telling me about the trip. This week we carry on with Routine A and on Thursday we'll go over it together. See you at the next check-in.” If you write similar replies every week, save them as templates and personalise them with something they have told you.

Reply the same day you review them. A check-in without a reply tells the client that sending it does not achieve much, and the next one is likely to arrive later or not at all.

If the check-in does not arrive

A missing check-in is a signal, not a fault. Before you chase it, think about whether there is something behind it: a difficult week, a trip or the fact that they have stopped training.

1. The same day or the next: a short reminder with no reproach.
2. If it still does not arrive: a personal message asking how they are getting on.
3. If it keeps happening for several weeks: a conversation about whether the plan fits their life.

When a client stops sending the check-in and also stops training, it is time to talk to them; how to spot it in time is covered in how to retain your clients, and how the check-in fits into the rest of the follow-up, in online client follow-up.

How Entrenify handles it

• Fixed fields: the check-in fields are fixed; there are no customisable questionnaires. The client sends it from their app with their weight, how much of the plan they followed, their mood, their energy, their hours of sleep and whatever they want to tell you, and that weight also goes into their weight chart.
• With consent: until the client gives their consent for the processing of their health data, they cannot send their check-in.
• Notification on arrival: when a client sends you their check-in you receive a notification saying that it has arrived, not what it says.
• Pending items on your home screen: you can see the check-ins you have not reviewed, with a list to open them one by one.
• Reply: you reply from their record and they are notified that you have answered.
• Reminder: if they have not sent it, the “Pedir check-in” (Request check-in) button in your conversation with them sends a reminder by email and as a notification in their app, with no health data in the message, and leaves a record in the chat.
• Templates: the chat suggests a template for reminding them about the check-in, with the client's name, and you can save your own.
• Check-in filter: in your client list you can see who has sent it in the last seven days, who has gone more than fourteen without sending it and who has never sent it.
• Daily notification: new check-ins appear in your daily notification, alongside everything else you need to look at.

What it does not do: the reminder does not go out by itself, you send it when you want, and it does not send notifications by WhatsApp or SMS. The rest of the product is on the Entrenify home page (in Spanish).