Attention to details
As a trainer, you are in charge, in control and you determine what the clients abilities are and what their weaknesses are. I have a list of of cues to help find what a client is telling you.
Vocal Cue: Don’t overlook the warm up time, spend the 5-10 minutes with them to learn vital information that will be effective for the following workout.
- Ask questions-How was your day? How was your eating? Did you do your cardio this week? Did you do any resistance workouts this week? What type? Did you get adequate rest? How are you feeling physically?
Physical Cue: I always warm up with easy, light weight, I call them “stretch sets” and I pay close attention to see how the body is reacting to these sets, I warm up the client with 2 stretch sets.
- Things I am looking for-Is the form right? Is the muscle contracting? Are there signs of strain? Are there signs of pain? How easy is the weight moving?
Strength Cue: After utilizing the previous cues its time to see how far the body is willing to be pushed, you should have a good indication on what the clients strength is, Set 3 should be about 70% and set 4 should be about 100% of their strength.
- What to look out for-How much force is behind the movement? How are they reacting to the weight? How are their muscles contracting? How much assistance am I giving? Are they physically able to move the weight easily or is it difficult? Are they breaking form?
Endurance Cue: You can use this cue on 2 different occasions, after the first 3 sets of an exercise, the first 2 cues and your perceived interpretation on how the muscles are reacting. You don’t always have to go with strength, sometimes the muscles are not always ready to push the weight and they want to be pushed numerically. You can determine this through attention to detail, look for the answers physically, be determined to switch gears on a client immediately by what you are noticing with their bodies! If you have reached set #4 at 100% of their strength, add another set! So many trainers stick to the 3 set protocol but are we not supposed to think outside the box? Add another set, add more weight, add additional reps to the client to see how far they can push themselves physically!!
Body Language Cue: I train all clients in either circuit style or super set formation. This is where I pay attention to the attitude their body is telling me.
- Things I am noticing-How quick are they moving from exercise to exercise? Machine to machine? Are they talkative? Are they using their time wisely? Can they listen to what they are saying while still doing the movement? Are they stopping the exercise to talk? Are they constantly taking breaks? Drinking too much water? Psyching up too much? Or too little?
The truth be told, you should already know the first cue by interaction previous to the session, I text, call, Facebook or email all of my clients previous to the session, I want to know beforehand what is in the clients mind so that I can bring the best workout to their session possible. You also have the ability to correct or change the attitude right there and then! I have an idea and a set list of exercises previous to each workout for the clients to go through, BUT you don’t know how the client is going to react to the workout until they set foot inside the gym or studio.
You can have the best workouts planned, written and ready to execute without knowledge of how the client is going to react to them. You need to be ready to improvise quickly, switch gears and work with the strengths the client has and be willing to help the client endure past their weaknesses. I have literally thrown out workouts that have been previously written, straight in the trash or out the front door because if you don’t know your client, you are unwilling to work WITH them. The body is a unique machine that doesn’t always agree with you, why work against it? The beauty behind yourself as a trainer is to find what the muscle is telling you not what you THINK will benefit the most.
YOU became a trainer for a purpose, we all know why, because you want to help people! You enjoy working out, you live for the gym, you love teaching people what you have learned! Be the best trainer you can be!
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