Managing Personal Training Clients Contact Information

We recently added the ability for personal trainers to save their clients phone contact information.  This is another piece of info to better help trainers with managing personal training clients and their contact information.  This is in addition to all the other personal training client information FitSW helps you organize: client email, their date of birth, goals, likes, dislikes, injuries, conditions, PAR-Q and more.  We have also made it easy for you to contact your clients at the tap of a button.  With our Easy Contact buttons, you can contact your personal training clients just by clicking a button within the app.

Using the Easy Contact Buttons

First, ensure that you have entered in a valid phone number for your client in the “Edit Client Info” screen.  Then just click any button and your phone will call them, email them or text message them.  You don’t have to type in any phone number or email.  The app automatically pulls this information from when you had created or edit the client.

 

Other Updates to the FitSW iOS App

In addition to the Easy Contact buttons that make communicating with your clients easier and faster, we also made the following improvements in this latest FitSW iOS release:

1. We made it easier to upload a client’s profile image when you are adding a new client.
2. Personal Trainers can now choose whether they want to create an account for a client.  Most personal trainers create an account for their clients so their clients can login and view their workouts, progress, & diets.  However, there are some clients who either don’t use technology very much or they just want the trainer to show this information to them when they are together.  For this situation, we have given trainers the option to create clients without requiring a login and password.   You can see this button in the below image – its called “Create Login Account”.
3. Personal Trainers can now also choose whether a new client they create will receive an automated email notifying them of their account creation. This is a welcome email that includes the clients account login.  Sometimes personal trainers would rather introduce FitSW to their clients in person.  This can also be seen in the below image with the button called “Send Welcome Email”.

All these features will help you at managing personal training clients and all of their information that comes with it.  Let us know if you have any other suggestions to make your jobs easier.

Personal Trainer Software Android App Updates

We will soon be releasing a major update to our FitSW Android app which will include a full redesign, usability improvements and bug fixes.  The new layout of our personal trainer software android app will allow us to better incorporate many of the new features that you have been requesting.   We are looking for users  to try out our beta version of this new Android app to give us feedback on some of the improvements that they would want to see. If you are interested in an early look at this software and want to be a beta tester, respond in the comments section below or send us an email at admin@fitsw.com.

New Personal Trainer Software Menu

A key change with this new release is the new easier to use sidebar menu with more options.

Separated Out Tasks from Client List

Tasks now has its own menu item and is separate from your personal training Client List.  This makes it easier to track your clients goals and tasks for both you and your personal training clients.  We have also added the ability for users to create repeating tasks with what every repeating frequency they would like.

Personal Training Client Workouts and Diets

We have also updated the personal trainer software Android App Workout and Diet screens.  The new layouts make it easier for you to build workouts for your personal training clients.  They will also make it easier to plan diets for them as well.  We have also made it easier for your clients to review these workouts and diets that you created.

FitSW Android App Beta Testers Wanted

These are just a few of the new updates we will be releasing soon.  If you want to see the rest and try the updated Android App early as a Beta Tester, email us or leave a comment.

Add Profile Pictures for Personal Training Clients

We have now added the ability for you to add profile pictures for personal training clients to help further personalize their profiles.  You can either have your clients add the picture to their own profile or you can do it yourself. Below is how to use this feature on our different platforms.

Add Personal Training Client Profile Pictures on iOS

It’s easy to add personal training client profile pics on iOS.  You can either choose from an existing picture or you can take the picture within the app on your iPhone / iPad.  Here is how to do it:

As a Personal Trainer

Go to the “Clients” tab and click on the client who you want to update.  At the top will be the profile photo and you can click the Update Photo button.  You can then choose whether you want to take a new photo or use an existing one on your phone.

As a Personal Training Client

You can also have your personal training clients update their profile pictures themselves in their own Profile screen.  Have them click on the “More” button in the lower right and then click the “Profile” item.  The will then be taken to the below screen where they can click the “Update Photo” button and choose to take a photo or select one from their phone.

Add Personal Training Client Profile Pictures at FitSW.com

The profile pictures you add on the iOS app will also show up on the FitSW website and vice versa.  So wherever you add them, you will be able to see them on multiple platforms.  Here is what they look like in the web application / website.

 

You can also add profile pictures for your personal training clients on the website by clicking on a particular clients name in your client list.  These updates will also show up on the iOS app if you use that as well.

Adding and viewing Profile Pictures on Android is not available yet but is coming soon.  If you would like to see that happen soon, like or comment on this post at the bottom so we can prioritize that feature.

 

Take and Store Fitness Progress Pictures in App

We just released a brand new version of the FitSW iOS App that adds the ability for you or your personal training clients to take and store fitness progress pictures in the FitSW iOS app.  You or your clients can then both access them through the app or website in order to be able to visualize their improvements.  Its a great tool for showing your clients how far they have come and keeping them motivated to go even further.

How-To Use Progress Pictures in the FitSW iOS App

Accessing Fitness Progress Pictures

To access the Progress Pictures feature, click on the “More” tab in the bottom right.  Then a menu will come up where you can select “Pictures”.

If you plan to use the Progress Pictures feature often, follow the steps outlined in this post to see how to customize your tab menu and add Pictures to the main menu instead of it being in the “More” tab.

Select Client to View Progress Photo Gallery

Select the client who you want to take and store fitness progress pictures for.  You will then be taken to their fitness progress picture gallery.

Adding New Fitness Progress Pictures for your Clients

Click the plus button in the upper right to add new a new fitness progress picture and you will be taken to a screen where you can specify the date of the picture, add a caption, and Select an Image.  Once you tap “Select Image”, you will be able to specify whether you want to Take a Photo with your phones camera or use an existing photo on your phone that you have already taken.

Edit or Delete Existing Fitness Progress Picture

To edit or delete and existing image, go back to the picture gallery for the specific personal training client.  Then tap on the image you want to edit or delete.  You will then be able to change the date, change the caption or delete the picture altogether.

That’s it!  It’s a simple way for you and your clients to track them visually and keep clients motivated by their results.  These same images you upload in the app are accessible by you and your client on the website at https://www.fitsw.com

The ability to create comparison photos with two images side by side will be coming soon in the next few weeks.

 

Create Superset Workouts on Phone in the FitSW iOS App

Yesterday we released a brand new version of the FitSW iOS App that adds the ability for you to create superset workouts on phone in the FitSW iOS app.  Previously, trainers and clients could view superset exercises that were created on the FitSW website.  With this new update, trainers can now also create those superset workouts quickly and easily right there in the FitSW iOS app.  Here is how to do it:

Add / Edit Workout Screen

Go to Workouts tab and add or edit your workout as normal.  On the Add / Edit Workout screen, tap the “Add Superset” button.

Specify Number of Sets and Number of Exercises

You can now specify how many sets there are in the specific superset and also the number of exercises that will be in this particular superset.

Tap to Select Superset Exercises

The app will add the supersets to the end of your workout.  They will have a label that says “Tap to Select Superset Exercise 1.”  Tap on these entries to select the exercise for each superset and all the Reps, Weight, Time, and Rest info.

Specifying Superset Exercise Details

Specify the superset exercise details like you do for regular exercises as well.  After doing this for all of your superset exercise you can add more supersets or add regular exercises.

 

Your Done! That’s How you Create Superset Workouts on Phone

Once you have added all your exercises, “Update” / “Add” the workout as normal.  You will now be able to view the supersets exercises in the Workout Details screen.

Download the FitSW iOS app update now to create superset workouts on phone.

iOS App: Improved Searchable Exercise List, Progress Graph Creation and more

In last week’s post we walked about the new Customizable Workout, Progress, Diet & Task Menu but didn’t yet go through all the other new features and improvements we have been adding to the FitSW iOS app these past few weeks. The updates include many usability improvements like our improved searchable exercise list.  We have also improved the layout of the app and its screens and fixed bugs that will make it easier to use. If you haven’t used the iOS app lately, download the latest version and give it a shot.    Here is a little more info on some of the changes we have made:

Improved Searchable Exercise List

We have improved the layout of the exercise list so that the search bar is larger and the display layout makes it easier to find what you need.  Check it out:

Improved Progress Graph Entry

We have fixed the rare crash that was occurring on progress graphs, improved the layout so you can see more Assessments and also made it easier to quickly enter in your clients progress.  Just click “Done” to quickly move to the next Assessment field entry.

Improved Searchable Food List Display

Much like the Improved Searchable Exercise List, we have also improved the food list layout.  We have also included Calories, Protein, Carbs, and Fats in the list so you will know before you add the food to your clients meal plan.

Additional Features

Above were must a few of the new features we have added.  We have also added features like:

• Ability to create repeating Tasks
• Clients no longer have to click their name in each menu.  They click the Workout menu and they will see all of their workouts right away.
• Workout Detail layout improvements
• General Usability improvements and bug fixes.

Keep the feedback coming. Our next iOS release will allow you to create supersets through the iOS app.

 

 

Customized Workout, Progress, Diet, Task Menu

We recently released a new version of the FitSW iOS App with a brand new design and several new features.  One of these features is a new tab bar menu which allows you to customize which FitSW fitness features show up on your bottom menu bar.  This allows you to quickly access the FitSW tools that you value the most.  In the post, we will show you how to create a Customized Workout, Progress, Diet, Task Menu. 

More Tab with Diets, Exercise List, Food List and Profile

The default setup for a personal trainer is to have the following items in the bottom menu bar: Clients, Workouts, Progress, Tasks, and More.  When you click on the More item, a menu will come up.  It will show the following additional items: Diets, Exercise List, Food List, and Profile.  If you would like to create a customized Workout, Progress, Diet, Task Menu click the “Edit” button as seen circled in the image below.

Selecting Key FitSW Features

Drag the key FitSW fitness features to your bottom menu bar.  Arrange in any order to create your own custom bottom menu bar.  This allows you to quickly access your most important fitness features.  Once you have your menu setup as you prefer, click Done and your own customized menu will be set.

FitSW iOS App Updates: Total Diet Macros Display, Sorting Workouts & more

We released FitSW iOS app updates this week that include Total Diet Macros Display, the ability to decide the order that  “To Be Completed” workouts are displayed, improved searching for when you are adding exercises / foods to workouts / diets, and the ability to automatically email tasks / goals.  We also added in several other display and usability improvements as well as bug fixes.  Here is a more detailed description of the features that will improve you and your clients personal training experience:

Total Diet Macros Display

You or your personal training clients can see the Total Diet Macros for each diet.  The app automatically calculates these real-time as you build diets for your clients.

Sorting Workout Display

In the “To Be Completed” tab of your personal training client’s Workouts, the default ordering is descending by date.  This works for most of our users but some users have requested to have the ordering be ascending by date.  So we have added the ability for you to set the ordering you would prefer in the profile tab.  This setting will also affect Diets and Tasks.  You can set your preference and your clients can their own preference if they would like.  To change your preference, go to your profile tab, flip the switch shown below and click update.

Improved Search Boxes for Exercises and Foods

The iOS11 release impacted the display of search boxes for Exercises and Foods. We have now increased the sizes and display of the search boxes to make it easier to search for the right exercises or foods to add to your workouts or diets.

Tasks / Goals Updates

We have now added the ability for personal trainers to add additional notes to each Task or Goal.  In addition, we have added an “Email Task” button.  This allows you to automatically email your client’s tasks the same way as you can for their workouts or diets. 

Usability Improvements, Display Improvements & Bug fixes

We have listened to your feedback to improve the usability and display of the app in addition to fixing any bugs you may have encountered.  Please keep the suggestions coming.

Collecting Client Payments as a Personal Trainer using FitSW

Collecting client payments as a Personal Trainer will soon be possible on FitSW.com.  You will be able to request payments from your clients on FitSW and your clients will be able to pay you securely with a credit card through our familiar FitSW platform.  We are looking for beta testers now for these features and expect to have them fully released by this Spring.  If you are interested in being a beta tester, please email us at admin@fitsw.com or respond in the comments section below.

Credit Card Payments from Clients

Collecting client payments as a Personal Trainer can sometimes be a hassle.  Tracking which ones paid, when they paid, how much they paid and how many sessions they have left can all take up a lot of your valuable time.  As a personal trainer you should be able to spend most of your work-time doing what you like: personal training!

I’m sure many of you also have clients that prefer to pay via credit card and that can also make things difficult if you don’t have a setup that allows this or if its a complicated setup.  We have received requests from our personal trainer users to enable them to accept payments through our website.  Coming this Spring we will be enabling this feature to allow you to accept and track payments all through our site.  This means:

1. No more complicated setups – this feature will be built into the FitSW website for you to access at anytime.
2. No more sending clients to a different website.  Clients can easily make a secure payment on the FitSW platform they are familiar with.
3. You can also track all your payments and session information within FitSW

These are just a few details of the Client Payments feature that we are adding.  We would love to hear your feedback on what additional features you would like to see.

New Paperless PAR-Q Online Creator

You can now use FitSW’s Physical  Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) Creator to enable your clients to quickly fill out a Paperless PAR-Q Online. We know how important it is to screen your clients with the PAR-Q but we also know that it can take up a lot of time.  Previously we enabled you to upload hand-filled-out PAR-Q forms to save for each of your clients.  Now, we make the process even simpler and quicker.   You can do everything online and stored it for you to access at any time.  If you’d still like a hard copy, just hit the print button and you can print out the online version.  Below is a quick video on it (make sure you choose video quality of 1080p60HD in youtube so that you can see everything) along with a quick walk-through on how to use the PAR-Q Online creator.

If you do not yet have a FitSW account you can access the online PARQ here: https://www.fitsw.com/onlinePARQ/  to try it out.  If you do have an account, follow the steps below.

 

Online PAR-Q Creator Walk Through

1. In your Client List click on the client you would like to fill out a PAR-Q and then in the PAR-Q section click “Have Client Complete”.

   

2. Your client will receive an email with the link to their online PAR-Q.  They can then easily fill it out online.

   

3. All the information your client enters will be saved as they go.  No need to worry about losing their work or progress if they are interrupted.
4. You will be able to view your clients PAR-Q online anytime you would like from the Edit Client screen.

   

5. You or your client can quickly print it out  by clicking the green “Print” button on the online PAR-Q form.

Simplify and Reduce Paperwork

Having every client fill out a PAR-Q has become much easier with FitSW.  Clients can fill out the form online whenever works for them.  It’s now also much easier for you to keep track of all these PAR-Q’s without having to worry about uploading documents.