Due to Covid the fitness industry has been turned upside down. And I believe personally in a good way. Over the years many trends have been developed to help intensify clients experiences and interactions. Technology has been a major part in making that happen.
Through this evolution of fitness and technology the focus has really turned to friendly competition and personal recognition. These are great factors to keep you motivated and engaged through out your class or training session, but there are some fundamental factors we don’t want to over look to keep clients/members coming back, engaged, sharing with their circle, and continuing to get results.
1- Teach/Train clients to their level, You have to meet them where they’re at. This is very important as most people think they can be a trainer because they’ve been able to achieve personal results and think they can train or instruct their clients the same way they train. Yes, it is our job to make clients get uncomfortable to achieve goals, but that doesn’t mean you train them how you like to train or only doing exercises you like. The key is to give your client/member a little say in what makes them feel good, so they can take some ownership in the process. When they hit small milestones, it gives them more confidence as they know they were part of the decision making.
2- music- set the tone and energy for your clients/ members soon as they walk through the door. This is where relationship building is vital in client relations as you have to dial into what gets them going. Again, this has NOTHING to do with what music get YOU going through your personal workouts, but what will keep the client engaged and energized throughout their session. I have at least 15 different playlist that stay on heavy rotation throughout our studio. A cool trick of keeping music fresh, updated, and tailored to your clients is it naturally increases intensity 🔑 There is nothing more draining to your workout than hearing the same song, at the same point of your workout every time you’re in session.
3- Prepare- Nothing more disrespectful than a trainer/coach/instructor using a client’s/member’s time and money winging a workout with no plan of effectiveness. Just putting together a workout as the session/class goes. Now I’m not saying you need to have a complete workout written out with exact reps, sets, rest, drink breaks, and whatever else the session brings, but you need to have an idea of what the individual is trying to achieve and each session should be working toward that. If a client unexpectedly has a slight injury or some discomfort, you know how to modify the exercise still working the areas needed, but not furthering injury. Show the client you have our time into their program as expected, and you have a plan for them to succeed. Clients love when you can look back at last weeks workout and point out exactly what exercise they loved, that felt sore at, or what may have caused them discomfort that you can give them feedback on. Again- ATTENTION is big.
4- Remember names- Trainers, no excuse! Of course you better know the client’s name coming into your session , but take an extra step in knowing significant others and children as well. Instructors, yelling out an individuals name during a class or circuit goes a long way, and makes the client/member feel special. It gives them a nice energy boost to complete that last rep or last few seconds!
5- Professional attitude- client/member is there for their headspace, stress release, their goals. Let’s not make their session all about you and your problems, your plans for the weekend. This is their time to getaway from their stresses and demands and sometimes they need a listening ear. It’s great to give advice and a plan of action to help if you’ve built that relationship to allow that space. This is big because most individuals won’t hit their goals only because they try to separate their personal lives from their health and fitness journey. Just doesn’t work that way. Trainers this is where it’s good to find a mentor, business coach or maybe even get some session with therapist to discuss your stresses, or things holding you back from peak performance. This is such a hidden tool, that most have a bad view of, but does a amazing things for you, your business, and relationships!
6- ASSESS… ASSESS..ASSESS- I can’t stress this enough. Trainers you are doing yourself a huge disservice not assessing your clients. Members/clients, you are doing yourself a huge disservice not assessing or having your fitness professional not assess you. I’m not talking weigh yourself everyday (that’s a huge no no!) but there are some important numbers you need to know. Bodyfat%, skeletal muscle/lean body mass, and for females Bmi% is very important as that number effects the magic number you want to see on the scale (stress, time of the month, water retention, sleep, sodium) Start tracking these numbers (every 2 weeks) take pictures, and use clothing!
You’ll know better how your body is responding to workouts, are you eating enough, sleeping enough..?? All this is figured out during assessment. Then make the adjustments necessary for better results going forward!
