Changing your expectations

ex·pec·ta·tion
  1. a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.


I am often perplexed at peoples expectations when it comes to weight loss, body fat loss, muscle gain, fitness goals and overall their body’s change and spiritual journey when it comes to training.  I put below some case points to go over and some objections that can stall your progress, I have also put some ways to overcome these objections and work it into your daily life.

The most common is-I stepped on the scale today to find out that I have only lost 1 pound!
My clients will already know my first question; “How many times a week do you weigh yourself?”.  Typically, I get a great response, same time-everyday…..So my follow up question is: “Did you burn 3500 calories yesterday?”.  
Silence.  No.  Shame.  Objection.  Fear.  Doubt.  Defeat. 
The most important thing is to list benefits of training, educate how many calories burn 1 pound of fat,  set realistic goals on a weekly basis, step away from the scale daily.  I prefer my clients weigh in once a week, with a body fat check, this is the most important way to realize where their calorie burning is leading to.  
The great thing is your client is losing weight and body fat!-Reiterate the small steps lead to giant leaps, eventually your goal will be surpassed.

By the way….this is what fat looks like….

So 1 pound, 5 pounds and all the way to 20 pounds looks pretty bad and at the same time really good when its out of your body! 


I’ve been eating good but my mid-section is NOT going away!

What have you been eating? Have you written it down for my review, analysis and opened it up for suggestion? After my suggestion are you following through with it? Do you completely understand what nutrition does to your body and metabolism? 
Start taking the junk out of your nutrition program, mid section weight is the easiest to gain and the hardest to lose! Alcohol, late night snacks, late night carbs, fast food, skipping meals, doing a bazillion crunches are all a factor when it comes to losing mid section weight! 
I am not getting stronger…..

Are you strength training? Are you lifting heavy? When your trainer designates a weight for you to lift are you objecting the weight saying “its too heavy?”, has your trainer been there to help you and talk you through the negative portion of the lift in order to increase strength? Are you giving it 100%? Are you quitting to easy?
Strength doesn’t just “happen”, you can do all the motions but if you don’t push yourself, you will stick on that plateau until you finally push beyond that point.  Get with a trainer who motivates you beyond the fear of failure, a trainer who will psych you up and get your blood boiling! I have seen so many of my clients lift way beyond what they ever dreamed just because I simply believed they could do it! Women who leg press 800 pounds for sets of 20! Women who dead lift close to 200 pounds! 165 pound men who dumbbell press 100 pound dumbbells in each hand! 
All these clients started lifting 5 pounds! It takes the warrior within us all to not let the weight beat them!

Is this going to get easier?

NO.  Simply put.  If you go through a session with me and its ‘easy’ then I am not doing my job, I push my clients to go beyond their capabilities and what they believe is their maximum amount of effort.  I want to be aggressive with my goals as a trainer, I want you to be aggressive with your goals as a client, why settle on the bare minimum! The more your body responds to resistance the better it will adapt to a harder workout! 
If you are looking for an easy workout, I will take you through the first week of training, if it makes you feel better and I am sure it will be easy for you.  Will it be as beneficial? Again, NO.  Why put regular gas in a race car? Same rules apply.
The most important reason behind this blog is to let you know something…..my greatest expectation that I overcome with clients…..

I will never look the same as I did in my 20’s

Who says? Did you even like what you looked like? Why are you willing to give up before it has even started? Did you workout then, know your body fat? Did you follow a complete nutrition program back then? 
I have never met a client who pushed themselves that hasn’t told me “I feel better than I did in my 20’s”….so I ask the question  “remember when you thought you couldn’t?”.  
Openly.  Yes.  Accomplishment.  Drive.  Motivation.  Success.  Understanding.   

Guys, change your expectation from just that, expecting it to happen.  Work hard, be determined, accomplish and always push yourself beyond what you thought was possible.  Have a good time with this, don’t be frustrated with what’s not happening, revel in the fact that you are accomplishing things you never thought were possible.  Don’t hate yourself! LOVE YOURSELF! Be that person you want to be, thought you never could be, dreamed of becoming and go reach that goal for yourself.  

You will always have my support!










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What are your clients telling you?

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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