Five minutes before a session, a guest mentions that she is twelve weeks pregnant and would like to "keep things ticking over". She is delighted. She is also expecting you to say yes. Everything you do in the next minute is either professional or negligent, and there is no middle ground.
Why you screen
Screening exists so that you find out about the heart condition before the session rather than during it. It is not paperwork; it is the difference between a competent instructor and a lucky one.
What screening covers
Use a recognised pre-exercise readiness questionnaire (the PAR-Q+ is the common standard). It asks about:
- Diagnosed heart, lung, kidney or metabolic conditions.
- Chest pain, palpitations or dizziness at rest or with exertion.
- Blood pressure, and medications that affect heart rate or balance.
- Bone, joint or soft-tissue problems, and any current injury or recent surgery.
- Pregnancy.
- Anything a doctor has ever told them to be careful with.
When medical clearance is required
A "yes" on the questionnaire is not a refusal — it is a pause. It means you do not proceed without written clearance from the guest's doctor, or without a colleague qualified for that population.
Adapting to the guest in front of you
| Guest | Approach |
|---|---|
| Deconditioned | Start far easier than you think. Movement quality, short sessions, generous rest. Success is that they come back tomorrow |
| Athletic / trains seriously | They will out-know you in their sport. Be honest, keep the session useful, do not try to impress them |
| Older adult | Strength and balance are the priorities, not exhaustion. Longer warm-up. Watch blood pressure medication and dizziness |
| Teenager | Technique and fun. No maximal loading. Parental consent, and never train a minor unaccompanied and unobserved |
| Pregnant | Refer. Requires a doctor's clearance and a specialist-qualified pre- and post-natal instructor. Do not improvise, do not "just do something gentle" because it feels rude to refuse |
| Injured or in pain | Not your job. Refer to a clinician. You do not rehabilitate |
Nutrition, briefly
If it comes up: keep it general and non-prescriptive — hydration, regular meals, enough protein and vegetables. Anything individual goes to a registered dietitian. Never promote rapid weight loss, restrictive eating, cleanses or "earning" food through exercise. Guests are vulnerable to this and you are not qualified to manage what it can trigger.
Onboard Notes
- Screen in writing, before the first session, every guest, every trip. Charter guests are strangers.
- Store completed forms as confidential health data — locked, limited access, and not gossiped about in the crew mess.
- The pregnancy answer, said warmly: "Congratulations. I am not qualified for pre-natal work, so I cannot lead you — but let me find out what we can safely arrange."
- Screen, refer, stay in scope. If you remember one line from this course, that is the line.
- Preparatory study only. Nothing here qualifies you to instruct. Leading guests requires an accredited qualification and professional indemnity insurance.