Client – a person or organization using or receiving the benefits of a service provided by a professional person or company.
When looking to use someone for their professional services, like personal training or nutrition coaching, there are some baseline expectations that the client should have of the coach they choose to work with.
Starting a journey into health and wellness can be a scary thing, especially when you have no idea where to start. Being unsure of where to begin is why people seek personal trainers – even if it’s only for a short period of time. At the point of finding a personal trainer, the client should have some expectations and standards when deciding who they want to work with and have guiding them through their journey to better health.
As with any industry, there’s a good blend of people who care and aim to educate you to the best of their ability. But then there are those who don’t care and are just looking to pull in as much money as possible. If you are in search of a coach, look for the qualities listed below, OR if you are a coach, be sure to display the qualities that are expected of you.
Expectations of a Coach:
- Education / Credibility — check into their education background, the certifications they hold, reviews from their past and current clients
- Real with You — they’re honest with you, especially about the reality of your goals and abilities
- They Pay Attention to You — they’re aware of your abilities, understand your weaknesses and strengths, they understand you mentally and physically, they understand your “why”
- Positive + Encouraging — happy to see you, happy to be doing what they’re doing (coaching), encourage you to keep going on your path even when you have “bad” days
- Progress Tracking — track your workouts, they know the weights you use and rep ranges. If they’re guessing each workout, they aren’t invested.
- They Live the Lifestyle that They Preach — not sure this one needs explanation…kind of a no brainer
- They Admit What They Don’t Know — there’s nothing worse than asking a question and having someone try to make up an answer that is not even close to accurate…find someone that will admit when they don’t know something and will actively find out the answer for you!
I feel like the expectations listed above are pretty easy to be met by a coach. There are some that aren’t easy to meet because the client creates UNREALISTIC expectations of the human being that they hire to assist them. So, let’s review those:
Unrealistic Expectations of a Coach:
- Mind Readers — Be clear about your expectations + needs – trainer’s cannot read your mind. If you have a problem or something going on in your personal life, be open with us about that. We want to understand and know where you’re coming from so we can better serve you.
- Doing the Work for You — This is YOUR journey, we as coaches are just along for the ride to help guide you. We are NOT here to do the work for you. Our job is to assist and guide you in the right direction. Your job is to show up and put in the work/effort.
- Results to Show the Next Day — or even within the 1st week…this shit takes TIME. Don’t lose motivation when you don’t see the scale move for a week or 2, health and fitness is definitely not a linear journey.
- Coaches Fixing Your Life — we can’t fix anything for you. You have to do that for yourself. We can guide you, but we cannot fix your exercise habits, we can’t fix your eating habits, etc. YOU have to do that for yourself, we can be there to hold your hand and help you through it all, but if you aren’t dedicated to the process, good luck my friend. (I’m not saying you have to be extreme and embrace the life like a competitive bodybuilder does, but if you want results, buck up).
- Personal Training is Cheap — it is not…because someone is taking time out of their daily life to write and plan workouts for YOU. Our time is valuable, just like yours is and we don’t want our time wasted.
Holding such big, unrealistic expectations of personal trainers and other health professionals will just set you up for disappointment.
We as trainers, want to see you succeed.
We want you to reach your goals.
We want you to develop a healthier lifestyle and build good habits.
We are rooting for you and are there for you as long as you need us.
But we can only help you if you are ready and open to being helped.
Loved #4 of the Unrealistic Expectations…well said! . “…good luck my friend” and “…buck up” That is the name of the game!! Both kind and direct…just like a good trainer should be. 👍
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂