What to ask before someone's first reformer class, with a form to copy
You are putting a body you do not know onto a moving carriage with springs. Knowing about the bad back beforehand is part of teaching, not paperwork.
Most studios either ask nothing, or hand over a two-page medical form at the door that nobody reads properly, including the instructor. Neither helps. What helps is a few specific questions, asked before the first class, with the answers where the instructor will actually see them.
When to ask
After someone has committed, before they are on a reformer. Asking at signup costs you people who were only browsing, and makes you look like a clinic. Asking at the door means the instructor learns about the herniated disc thirty seconds before class starts. Between buying and booking the first class is the natural moment: they have paid, and "before your first class we need to know this" reads as care.
Before your first class
So your instructor can look after you, please tell us about anything that affects how you move. If nothing applies, just leave it blank.
1. Any current or recent injury, pain or surgery? (back, neck, shoulders, hips, knees, wrists)
2. Are you pregnant, or have you given birth in the last six months?
3. Any condition we should know about? For example high blood pressure, osteoporosis, a heart condition, hypermobility, dizziness or balance problems.
4. Has a doctor or physio told you to avoid any movement?
5. Anything else you would like your instructor to know?
Emergency contact: name and phone number.
Your answers are only shared with the instructors who teach you, and you can update them at any time.
What to do with the answers
- The instructor reads it before class, not after. If it lives in a folder in the office, it does not exist.
- You are not diagnosing. If an answer worries you, ask the client for their doctor's or physio's go-ahead before the first class, and suggest an intro private rather than a full group class.
- Pregnancy and postnatal answers need an instructor with the relevant training, or a clear no from the studio. Say which, kindly.
- Ask again when things change, and let clients update it themselves. A form filled in two years ago is not a current picture.
Health data is special data
Under GDPR, information about someone's health is a special category of personal data, and in Spain the LOPDGDD adds its own requirements. In practice, for a small studio: collect only what you need to teach safely, keep it somewhere access-controlled rather than on paper at the desk or in a WhatsApp chat, share it only with the instructors who need it, and delete it when someone stops being a client. Mention it in your privacy notice. If you are unsure, your gestor or a data protection adviser can check your setup in an afternoon.
Reformer Pilates Booking asks each new member for health notes and an emergency contact once, after they buy and before they book their first class. A blank answer closes it for good, members can update it from their account, and it sits on the client card that only your studio can see.
Ask the right questions at the right moment, automatically.
Start for freeCommon questions
- Do I need a health questionnaire for a Pilates studio?
- It is strongly advisable. A short set of questions about injuries, pregnancy, relevant conditions and medical advice, asked before the first class, lets the instructor adapt safely and shows clients that you take care seriously. This is not legal advice; check any insurer requirements too.
- When should clients fill in the health form?
- After they have committed and before their first class. At signup it puts off people who are only browsing; at the door the instructor learns about an injury seconds before class starts.
- How should a studio store client health information?
- Health information is special category data under GDPR. Collect only what you need, keep it in an access-controlled system rather than on paper or in chat apps, share it only with the instructors who teach that client, and delete it when they are no longer a client.