EvoFit Help Center

The Health Questionnaire (PAR-Q)

Why we ask these questions, what they mean, and how to answer them honestly.

client guide/profile/health
What this is for: Pass the readiness check that protects you from training programs that don't suit your medical history.

What PAR-Q is

PAR-Q stands for Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire. It's a short yes/no questionnaire used by personal trainers worldwide to screen for medical conditions that warrant a doctor's clearance before exercise. It's NOT a diagnosis — it's a flag that tells your trainer "be cautious here".

Why we ask

Three reasons:

  1. Safety — certain conditions (heart conditions, recent surgery) warrant a more conservative program.
  2. Liability — your trainer needs documented acknowledgment that you've disclosed.
  3. Programming — knowing about an old injury lets your trainer pick exercises that work around it.

Your answers are stored against your user record and visible to your trainer.

Step-by-step

  1. Open /profile/health.
  2. Fill in the structured fields first:
  • Blood type (helpful for emergencies).
  • Medical conditions — free text. List anything chronic.
  • Medications — current prescriptions only.
  • Allergies — food, drug, environmental.
  • Injuries — past and present, with dates if you remember.
  1. Below those, the PARQuestionnaire component asks 7 yes/no questions. Read each carefully.
  2. Click Save.

The PAR-Q questions explained

These are the standard 7 PAR-Q questions:

  1. Has your doctor said you have a heart condition AND recommended only doctor-supervised activity? — If yes, your trainer will likely require a doctor's clearance letter.
  2. Do you feel chest pain during physical activity? — Yes here is a hard stop until evaluated.
  3. In the past month, have you had chest pain at rest? — Same as above.
  4. Do you lose balance from dizziness or have you lost consciousness? — Triggers cautious programming.
  5. Do you have a bone or joint problem (e.g., back, knee, hip) that could be worsened by activity? — Your trainer will substitute exercises that load these areas.
  6. Is your doctor prescribing drugs (e.g. water pills) for blood pressure or heart condition? — Pre-workout heart rate caps may apply.
  7. Do you know of any other reason you should not do physical activity? — Catch-all.

If you answer YES to any question, your trainer is notified. They will likely ask for a doctor's clearance before progressing.

Be honest

Hiding conditions doesn't help. The training program will still hit your weak point — only with worse outcomes. If you're unsure, answer yes and discuss with your trainer.

Updating later

If something changes (new injury, new diagnosis, new medication), come back to /profile/health and update. Your trainer is auto-notified on changes.

Common pitfalls

Where to find this

  • Page: /profile/health.
  • Component: PARQuestionnaire.
  • API: PUT /api/profiles/health.
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