The Commons Causes of Slacking Off

It is a fact that most clients who go in for personal training are not intrinsically motivated to working out. Very few people are motivated to work out. That’s alright though! If everyone was committed then there would be highly motivated lean, ripped and super flexible personal trainers walking around everywhere you look! In fact in a utopian scenario like that, the job of a personal trainer would cease to exist! In fact, thank God for people who hate exercise! In olden days, people did not need to work out to remain fit. When life is tough and when you have struggle to live, eat and survive, being fit just happens! But in modern day society, the priority for exercise lags far behind work, family, friends, socialising and sleep. Working Out is usually fit in when convenient. But as personal trainers, we believe it is our job to push higher up the chain in the list of priorities for our clients. A lot of times, our trainers encounter clients who are uncommitted and find it hard to stick to a schedule. They will routinely miss their sessions, start late or even seem unengaged during a session. Well, we believe it is our job to find out what the problem is and help to address it. A lot of times, it so happens that a client may have had a bad experience with a previous trainer. If so, it is our duty to ensure that the same problem doesnt happen again. If the current disinterest is not related to a previous negative experience, then most likely it’s got something to do with what’s going on in that person’s life. If you have been training for a while under a personal trainer either at your gym or at your home , have a look at the below points to see whether you have been encountering any of the problems below.

1. Unsupportive Spouse

Lol. This is a common grouse and many a personal trainer has had to deal with this situation. The spouse of the client may believe that hiring a trainer is a frivolous expense or that the client’s time and money would be better spent with family or on work or business. Well the way that you the client can deal with this is to ensure that you stick to your training so that your health improves and the beneficial effects begin to show! Also one can make the trainer available to speak to the spouse if he or she is willing. If the trainer can have a one-on-one with the client and his / her spouse on the beneficial effects of exercise then many a times the spouse begins to get it especially when it comes to understanding that exercise can improve the couple’s romantic life, adventurous life, gastronomic life and sex life for the better!

2. Lack of Education

Many a client becomes uncommitted due to lack of education and information. If a personal trainer is not able to communicate with the client and properly explain why they are doing what they are doing and what the benefits of the same, the client will eventually lose faith and discontinue. For any new client, it takes about 6 – 8 weeks for any serious physical adaptations and improvements to take place. Before that period, a person is primarily experiencing neural gains. 6 weeks is actually a long period of time and a lot of clients get jittery and frustrated with the lack of results that they have been promised! If the trainer does not take the time and effort to explain the process of adaptation to a client, they are likely to discontinue their training program. Apart from passion, communication skills for a personal trainer is key to a successful career! It is always wise to use a few quotes when it comes to training a new client. One of them is – “Imagine yourself as a large stone wheel. It will take a lot of energy and momentum to get you going. But once you start moving, everyone else better get out of the way!”

3. Life Crises

Many a times, it is impossible to know why a client is not in the mood to work out. In this case, going the extra 10 % can make the difference. Take the case of one our trainers who was training a client for about 4 months when she started cancelling sessions suddenly. The trainer sat down with her at the next available opportunity to find out what the matter was. She told the trainer that her husband had been cheating on her. Her life was falling apart. The only time she was able to let loose a little bit was during those work out sessions but understandably there was a lot going on in her mind during that time and working out seemed to be way down in her list of priorities. Though trainers and clients are supposed to stick to a fixed timing in our contracts, an exception was made for this client. The trainer came in early and worked out with her beyond the stipulated time slot of 60 mins. Our trainer knew how important these sessions were for her welling being and went out of the way to give her the extra 10 % that could benefit her. The client was retained and is still with us. Also as a result of our goodwill she has even referred a few other clients to us all because we made a difference to her life when she needed it most!

We like to believe that at Wellintra, we are dealing with real lives and real issues. We believe that if we want our clients to stay, we must become a part of their lives. This means that we will have to deal with the issues that they face without letting those issues get in the way of their training program. And that means going the extra 10 % but ultimately that’s what sets us apart as Mumbai’s Best team of Personal Trainers!

Our Training Mantra

• There are different ways to motivate a client. A trainer must know the client well. Only then can he / she devise the right motivational technique that is best suited for the client.
• One of the goals of a trainer is to help the client develop self-efficacy and confidence so that they can gather the necessary confidence and courage to push themselves out of their comfort zone.
• You have no control over what goes on in your client’s lives but by keeping their interests in mind and by going out of the way, you not only retain your client but grow your client base as well through positive word-of-mouth.