Insert CRINGE. Has anyone ever said this to you? Or worse, have you ever felt this way?
“If you’re bored, you aren’t paying attention.” I once heard this quote and find it to be very true. Have you ever gotten caught up in too much conversation while working with clients? You’re not alone…it happens to the best of us. Even when you’re focused, it can be hard to keep your client on track. It can be frustrating that people aren’t as in to exercise as we are. Distraction seems to be the name of the game when it come to exercise for many people. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Why is resistance training so boring for some people? Everyone has a different motivation for working out. Finding out what that is provides a good place to start. Fat loss. Muscle gain. Endorphins. Health. Energy. Sleep. Do you know what makes each client tick? Athletes who are training for events have the most motivation because they understand the correlation between their habits and the outcomes. They don’t make up the majority of personal training clientele. What about the rest of the population?
Muscles
A fitness trainer has many responsibilities. Watching form, keeping the client safe and guiding them through exercises. Counting is a good way to prevent your client from talking too much, but it’s also a sure way to fall into a trance. If you want the client to be more focused, you need to be into it also. It’s easy to fall into a groove with someone who has good form and knows how to work out. There is always something more to teach them, especially when it comes to muscles.
It’s common to memorize anatomy and then forget it after getting certified. Having a more functional understanding of anatomy will make training time much more interesting. You can point to the muscles and their attachments when working with people. You can more effectively analyze how their joints move and be creating exercises that are unique to that client, instead of following what someone else showed you.
When I find myself losing focus, I always go back to anatomy. I place my fingers where the muscles attach and talk to the client about the muscles, the names and the motions. There are hundreds of muscles, there is no room for boredom! I’m not suggesting you spend the whole session talking about anatomy, but rather just that you find a fraction of time to work this into the routine. It makes you look more credible, it helps the client understand their body better and it increases integrity all around.
This month, I challenge you to get our your anatomy book, pick one muscle each day and teach it to each and every client. Make a comittment to anatomy, it will pay you back tenfold. If you need some help, come check out this awesome online video course! www.BeverlyHosford.com/askandy
Beverly Hosford, MA teaches anatomy and body awareness using a skeleton named Andy, balloons, play-doh, ribbons, guided visualizations, and corrective exercises. She is an instructor, author, and a business coach for fitness professionals. Learn how to help your clients sleep better with in Bev’s NFPT Sleep Coach Program and dive deeper into anatomy in her NFPT Fundamentals of Anatomy Course.
