Reformer Pilates Client Intake and Screening Form

A reformer Pilates client intake form has three jobs to do before a new client touches a carriage. It screens health with the seven PAR-Q+ questions. It captures injury and pregnancy details an instructor can act on. It records consent. We call this the Screen, Flag, Clear framework, and it fits on one page.

TL;DR

• Use the PAR-Q+ as your health screen, then add only the injury and pregnancy questions that would change an instructor's cue.
• Make the form required at checkout, send a reminder 48 hours before class, and stop accepting it 12 hours before class.
• Sort every "yes" into Green, Amber, or Red so the desk never has to improvise a medical judgment.

What should a reformer Pilates client intake form actually ask?

Ask five blocks in order: contact, PAR-Q+ screen, injury map, pregnancy status, and goals. Anything that will not change an instructor's cue gets cut.

Put every question through the cue test: if the answer could not change what an instructor says or modifies in class, delete the question. "How did you hear about us?" belongs in your marketing data, not on the health form.

The injury map is where reformer forms differ from gym forms. Use checkboxes for neck, shoulder, wrist, lower back, SI joint, hip, and knee, with a separate row for osteoporosis or osteopenia. Loaded spinal flexion in the ab series and rolling work matter on a reformer in a way they don't on a treadmill. Add two free-text fields: "Date of your most recent surgery" and "Has a clinician told you to avoid any movement?" Keep goals to one multiple-choice line.

If you are building out the rest of your systems, the reformer Pilates studio operations hub covers the other parts of the new-client journey.

Why use the PAR-Q+ instead of writing your own health questions?

The PAR-Q+ is maintained by a research collaboration, revised over time, and free to download from its official site. A homemade list has no evidence behind it.

Most homemade forms come down to one yes or no question: "Do you have any medical conditions?" That question protects no one. Clients answer no to save time, and when they answer yes, it tells the instructor nothing.

The PAR-Q+ opens with seven general health questions. Any "yes" sends the client to follow-up pages on specific chronic conditions. The site serves the current version, so download a fresh copy once a year rather than photocopying an old one. You also get a standard that physicians recognize, which can make clearance letters easier to get.

How many new clients will a health screen flag for a doctor's note?

That depends on the tool. Older questionnaires referred most adults over 40 to a physician. The current ACSM approach refers far fewer.

In 2015, the American College of Sports Medicine updated its preparticipation screening recommendations because the older guidance sent too many people to physicians and could discourage them from exercising. A 2017 study applying the new algorithm to US adults aged 40 and over compared referral rates across the tools.

These figures come from a general population sample, not from people who walk into Pilates studios. If your studio sees many clients over 40, though, expect a meaningful share of new clients to answer yes somewhere on the form. Plan for that, and do not treat every yes as a closed door.

What should the front desk do when a client checks "yes"?

Route every yes into one of three lanes: proceed with modifications, proceed after an instructor call, or pause pending clearance. Never let the desk improvise.

A simple Green, Amber, Red triage card at the desk keeps every shift consistent:

• Green: an old injury, resolved more than 12 months ago, with no current symptoms. Book the client and add a roster note.
• Amber: current back or joint pain, surgery within the last 12 months, osteoporosis, or pregnancy. The lead instructor calls within 24 hours, before the first class. Book an intro private or a class capped at 6 instead of a full mixed class.
• Red: chest pain, fainting, a recent cardiac event, or surgery within the last 8 weeks without clearance. Hold the booking, ask for written clearance, and offer to refund the intro offer if the client cannot get one.

Build this card into your front desk training so a Saturday cover shift makes the same call as your manager.

When should clients complete the form, before booking or at the door?

Before the first booking is confirmed, ideally at checkout. Forms completed at the door get rushed, and the instructor reads them after class starts.

Make the form a required step when a client buys the intro offer. If it is still incomplete 48 hours before class, send an automated reminder. At 12 hours out, either release the spot or ask the client to arrive 15 minutes early. Instructors should review new-client flags in the 30 minutes before class. A form at checkout does not have to hurt intro offer conversion if it takes under four minutes on a phone.

How should pregnancy and postnatal clients be screened?

Ask pregnancy status as its own question, with weeks, and ask postnatal clients for weeks since birth and delivery type. Both change reformer programming.

A buried checkbox is not enough. Use a dedicated block with three questions: currently pregnant (and how many weeks), birth within the last 12 months (and how many weeks ago), and vaginal or cesarean delivery. Add a diastasis recti question for postnatal clients. Supine footwork, prone work on the box, and the ab series all need adjusting as a pregnancy progresses.

Many studios ask for provider clearance before postnatal clients return to group reformer classes, and some re-screen pregnant clients at the start of each trimester. Our postnatal Pilates program design guide covers the class side.

How often should you re-screen existing clients?

Re-screen every 12 months and after trigger events: surgery, pregnancy, new diagnosis, or a 90-day break. A calendar alone misses changes.

Send the annual review on the anniversary of the client's first class, so reviews spread across the year instead of arriving in one January pile. For returning clients, put a single question at checkout: "Has anything changed with your health since your last visit?" Send the full form only if they answer yes. A client who had knee surgery in March and returns in June is exactly who an annual-only schedule would miss.

Where should intake data live, and who should see it?

Store it in one system instructors read from the class roster, visible only to teaching and management staff. Never in a shared binder.

Most cash-pay studios are not HIPAA covered entities. Under the federal definition, a health care provider is covered only when it transmits health information electronically for standard transactions such as insurance claims. That does not make the data less sensitive, and state law may still apply. This is general information, not legal advice. Remove a contract instructor's access on their last shift, not at the end of the quarter.

What does a good intake form cost you in time?

Less than a bad one. Paper forms cost desk time twice, once to hand out and again to transcribe, and illegible answers cost instructors more.

Worked example (illustrative numbers): a studio with 40 new intro clients a month spends 12 minutes per paper form on handing out, chasing, and transcribing. That is 40 x 12 = 480 minutes, or 8 hours. At a $20 hourly desk rate, that is 8 x $20 = $160 a month. A digital form at booking that needs a 3-minute staff review costs 40 x 3 = 120 minutes, or 2 hours, which is 2 x $20 = $40. The difference is $160 - $40 = $120 a month, or $1,440 a year, before counting a single avoided injury. Swap in your own volume and wage to get your number.