Sports Science
Level 2/3 Names Six Starting Points, So the Session Fits the Client in Front of You
In short: Criterion 2.4 of A/617/8597 lists six client states a session has to adapt to: sedentary, recovering from injury, over-trained, high-level performer, sport-specific performer, and a client with a low-risk health condition. It's a short checklist to run before building any session, not a separate skill studied on top of programming.
The short version
A session plan built for one kind of client tends to get reused on all of them, same warm-up, same rep scheme, same cues, whoever walks in that day. Level 2/3 names the fix directly. Criterion 2.4 lists six different states a client might be in, sedentary through to sport-specific performer, and asks for the session to be built around the one standing there.
Key Takeaways
- Criterion 2.4 of A/617/8597 lists six client states: sedentary, recovering from injury, over-trained, high-level performer, sport-specific performer, and a client with a low-risk health condition.
- It's a short checklist to run before building a session, not a separate skill layered on top of programming.
- Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist takes one item on that list, recovering from injury, and builds it into the deeper skill of getting a client all the way back to performance.
What the criterion lists
Six states, no more: sedentary, recovering from injury, over-trained, high-level performer, sport-specific performer, and a client managing a low-risk health condition. A sedentary client walking in for their first session and a sport-specific performer training between competitions are not close to the same job, and the criterion states it rather than leaving it assumed.
Why the list stays short
It's a checklist to run before a session gets built, not a theory. Look at who's training today, place them against the six, and let that decide the volume, the intensity and which exercises earn a spot in the session. An over-trained client and a high-level performer can share a gym and a goal, and still need opposite adjustments from a trainer paying attention.
Where the list gets built out further
One item on the list, recovering from injury, is where the harder cases usually sit, a client cleared to train but carrying something that changes the plan. That's the gap Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist is built for, taking a client from cleared-but-complicated all the way back to full performance.
What to do next
The Certified PT route builds this checklist in from the start, so it's second nature by the time a real client is standing in front of you. Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist goes further into one item on the list, for the client who's cleared but still carrying something.
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Want to go deeper? the Certified PT course (Level 2 and Level 3).
View the course →Also worth a look: Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist, for the 'recovering from injury' client on this list.
View the course →Frequently asked
Do all six client states need a completely different session structure?
No. The adaptation is usually in intensity, volume and exercise choice, not a different session built from scratch each time. The skill is knowing which lever to pull for the client in front of you.
Is a sport-specific performer just a high-level performer under another name?
No, they're listed separately for a reason. A high-level performer might train general capacity to a high standard, while a sport-specific performer needs the session built round the actual demands of their sport.
Where does 'recovering from injury' on this list get taken further?
Injury Recovery to Performance Specialist, which builds the fuller skill of researching a client's situation and progressing them from cautious recovery back to full training.
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