Client Relations and Coaching

Question 1

Building Professional Relationships

Answer 1

• The primary goal of building a fitness business, or any business, is to create and keep customers.
• The first step in building a sustainable relationship is building a strong rapport with the clients, a relationship based on similarity and agreement. This connection between trainer and client could be considered as important as the expertly designed training program. Trust is the product of rapport.
• Open dialogue between client and trainer is key to a well-planned program, in combination with motivational elements and goals to ensure adherence.
• Communication techniques are essential in building rapport. Verbal communication (what we say) comprises only about 7-10% of how we express ourselves. Surprisingly, the rest of our communication is non-verbal, such as tone of voice and body language. It’s important that trainers come across as genuine.
• Non-verbal communication consists of body language, a broad category that includes postures, gestures (手勢), facial expressions, eye movements, and tone of voice.
• When meeting with a client, whether for the first time or the tenth, the trainer should exude confidence, enthusiasm, and professionalism, allowing the client to feel both at ease and confident that the trainer is the right one for the fitness journey.
  1. When a trainer exudes confidence, he is communicating the ability to do the job well and keep clients safe. This confidence gives the client a sense of trust in the fitness progressional, and in response the client will work harder and communicate more easily with the trainer.
  2. By exuding enthusiasm, the trainer communicates interest in helping the client meet his goal. Enthusiasm is contagious. Genuine enthusiasm speak volumes in rapport-building and client retention.
  3. By exuding professionalism, the trainer communicates a high degree of competence and a commitment to giving their clients the best service possible.
• The practice of active listening allows verbal and non-verbal communication to mingle while working with a client. When the client is speaking, the trainer should maintain eye contact and an open body position, indicating a genuine willingness to listen. Once the client has finished speaking, the trainer should then repeat key elements of the client’s statement to show that he has heard the client.
• Building a professional relationship is a simple but continual process. Using position body language and an energetic voice in speaking clearly and professionally indicates the trainer is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and professional. By using open and attentive body language and actively listening during any encounter with the client, the trainer will continue to build rapport in the relationship. Rapport creates trust, and trust builds a lasting relationship, ensuring the trainer can help clients reach their goals and improve their quality of life. The trainer should stay focused on being genuine, being passionate, and being professional.
• One can practice active listening while cultivating open and positive body language:
  1. Do not cross the legs or arms.
  2. Maintain active eye contact (smile with the eyes), but do not stare.
  3. Nod slowly while the client speaks.
  4. Relax the shoulders but do not slouch.
  5. Lean toward the client, but no too closely.

Question 2

Effective Coaching Communication

Answer 2

• When a trainer is able to motivate, correct form, and deliver tough love, yet also stay sensitive to prevent a client from overdoing it, a lasting relationship between client and trainer is forged.
• Knowing how the client best interprets info is the foundation of effective coaching communication. A strong PT must be able to deliver instructions in a variety of ways to ensure the client knows how to properly perform an exercise. A client may be auditor/verbal learner, a visual/sight learner, or a kinesthetic/physical learner, or a combination. An effective trainer should use specific movements or works to help each type of learner fully understand what is being said. This technique is called Cueing.
  1. An auditory learner needs to hear effective descriptors to make sure he understands and can follow the trainer correctly, typically wait until the trainer completely describes the exercise, and tends to stay motivated if the trainer counts down the reps, rather than up, so he knows how to adjust the intensity to finish the last few reps.
  2. A visual learner needs to see the exercise performed while the demo is paired with specific cues. This tends to be the most common style of learning in the fitness industry. Visual learners need the movements and cues to be concise and specific. The trainer cannot use complex movements or try to teach the whole exercise all at once. It’s more efficient to break down a complex exercise and teach one move at a time. When demonstrating, the trainer should be sure to indicate which area of the body the exercise is activating. When correcting a client’s form, it would be more effective to mimic the client’s movements, and then show how to transition to the correct form while describing the correction.
  3. Kinesthetic learners need to feel the specific cues. As with visual learners, they need the trainer to demo the exercise a few times before doing the movement, and the cueing must indicate where the client will feel the exercise, or which muscle groups will be worked. A key difference with kinesthetic learners is that they usually respond best when the trainer indicates the relevant muscle group on the client’s body. The more a trainer can indicate where a kinesthetic learner will feel an exercise, the more the client will successfully understand how to perform it properly. Essentially, kinesthetic learners need a combination of visual, touch, and verbal cues.
• When cueing an exercise, there are numerous aspects to consider: body positioning, breathing, exercise execution, primary movers.
• A client’s kinesthetic awareness - the ability to coordinate muscle groups to function cohesively while maintaining spatial awareness - may give the trainer some indication of fitness level and help the trainer understand how quickly the client might progress through the 3 levels of the training continuum: stabilization phase (cognitive learning), strength phase (associative learning), power phase (autonomous learning).
  1. Cognitive learning stage (stabilization phase): the client typically has difficulty with exercises because the movements seem foreign. The trainer should focus on exercises that will allow the client to gain basic muscle memory with lighter weights and simple movement patterns (e.g. basic squats, ab crunch, or bicep curls since these teach the fundamentals of exercise technique).
  2. Associative learning stage (strength phase): the client shows a kinesthetic connection to exercise. He understands the fundamentals of exercise technique and should be able to transition from the stabilization level to the strength level faster than a novice, with complex exercises and heavier weight.
  3. Autonomous learning stage (power phase): a client demonstrates a clear understanding of exercise technique and needs challenging moves to help progress in both strength and force production, so he will be ready to focus on person goals in the power level of training.
• During a session, a client will continue to learn through feedback that will help him improve motor function through muscle memory while reducing the risk of injury. Feedback can be internal or external.
  1. Internal feedback — involves the client using personal kinesthetic awareness to correct motor function. However, internal feedback can also be guided by the trainer by utilizing various forms of external feedback.
  2. External feedback (aka Knowledge of Results) — comes from outside resources, primarily through the trainer’s exercise performance evaluation and improvement.
  2.1. Descriptive feedback — is ideal to use while a client is performing exercises because the trainer can be specific and technical when providing feedback meant to improve form and technique. This feedback should be frequent and technical. It doesn’t necessarily have to be positive, but it should never sound negative or the client will lose confidence in his ability to improve.
  2.2. Supportive feedback — is a great way to end the descriptive feedback because it positively reinforces the corrections made. Asking if the client felt the difference will help improve the client’s kinesthetic awareness. All this external feedback helps clients hone their internal feedback skills, helping them maintain good form when the trainer is not there.
  2.3. Evaluative feedback — an effective tool that a trainer can use to summarize the client’s improvements during the session and suggest future improvements. The trainer should make warm eye contact with the client and begin with targeted praise, emphasizing an aspect or two of the workout where the client really showed great improvement, and mention as aspect of the workout the client struggled with, reiterate some of the descriptive and supportive feedback mentioned during the session, and assign things the client can do outside the sessions to improve.
• If a client shows negativity (消極態度) concerning their performance, showing empathy or understanding for their concerns will help connect with the client. Empathy shows clients that their imperfections are simply human qualities. And when the client knows he has the support of the trainer, that will provide further motivation.
• Some clients may feel self-conscious (感到不自在) when working out, so be sure to maintain some privacy for these clients.
• Learn how to READ clients to build strong relationships.
  1. Rapport and trust are established as the foundation of the relationship.
  2. Empathy helps the trainer know why the client is motivated to start.
  3. Assessments measure the client’s fitness level to set the right goals.
  4. Develop an effective program that reflects the client’s goals.

Question 3

Motivation

Answer 3

• According to CDC, only about 45% of adults in the U.S. get the minimum recommended levels of physical activity.
• Individual adherence to a fitness regimen after 6 month drops 50%. Keeping clients motivated is the key to making exercise the new norm, so that clients can improve their health and quality of life.
• Motivation can be classified as intrinsic and extrinsic.
  1. If a client hires a trainer solely because of his desire for self-improvement, the client is intrinsically motivated. Usually, an intrinsically motivated client will adhere to an exercise program because he already enjoys the benefits of exercise but wants a few sessions to learn how to use a different type of equipment or spice up an existing routine.
  2. Extrinsically motivated clients are motivated by outside factors (e.g. want to lose weight for a wedding, etc.). Regardless of their reasons, extrinsically motivated clients will need help, both in finding an intrinsic motivation and in adhering to an exercise program. These clients will need convincing reasons to change their behaviors and to work through the initial weeks of discomfort and exhaustion that will inevitably tempt them to stop.
• Potential roadblocks on the path to success fall into 3 categories:
  1. Personal attributes — refer to physical or other personal aspects, such as age, gender, income, body composition, fitness level, lack of knowledge, self-efficacy, and locus of control (控制取向). These can be the most difficult factors to overcome in changing behaviors
  1.1. Those with an external locus of control (e.g. things happen to you) believe their lives are not in their control and do not have a well-developed self-efficacy.
  1.2. Those with an internal locus of control (e.g. you make things happen) believe they are the masters of their fate; only they can determine life changes. A person who embodies an internal locus of control is usually internally motivated, believes in his own willpower and strength, and has a well-developed self-efficacy.
  1.3. A positive and knowledgeable trainer can determine whether someone is driven by an internal or external locus of control because of what motivates him/her to come for training in the first place. This is a key factor in strategizing the client’s roadmap to successful behavior change, which in turn leads to an exponential growth in self-efficacy that will determine whether the client will stick with the lifestyle change.
  2. Environmental factors — such as accessibility (可及性), time, weather, and social support. Lack of social support from family and friends is arguably the strongest deterrent to fully committing to a new lifestyle.
  3. Physical activity factors — when a participant decides to take the plunge into a new lifestyle, adherence is more likely if the client feels he can keep up with the fitness regimen. Also if the client is injured, a long period of rest or the fear of reinjury may prevent him from returning. The trainer should stay in contact to plan a recovery strategy and ensure the client is motivated to return.
• Adults should engage in at least 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity each week, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
• It’s also vital that the trainer understand behavior change theories, because those will help the trainer determine what factors can truly cultivate self-efficacy, regardless of what may mentally or physically block a client’s success.
  1. Socio- or social-ecological behavior change model — focuses on understanding and appreciating the relationship between an individual and his/her environment.
  1.1. This model believes that successful behavior change does start with the individual, but can be successful only if all levels of his/her society (e.g. individual/interpersonal/organizational/community/public policy) are supportive.
  2. Social cognitive theory — states that when people observe sb performing a behavior and the consequences of that behavior, they remember the sequence of events and use this info to guide successive behaviors.
  3. Theory of planned behavior — states that attitude (personal feelings) toward behavior, subjective norms (social network), and perceived behavior control (self-efficacy), together shape an individual’s behavioral intentions (readiness to perform behavior) and behaviors (response to the give situation).
  3.1. This theory, like the others, demonstrates that a combination of factors - environmental, personal, and social - will have a direct impact on whether a person is ready to make a change in his/her behavior. Knowing how important these factors are in a person’s life will allow for the trainer to build empathy for that client’s process.
  4. Readiness-to-change theory — differs from the other behavior change models because it indicates distinct stages of change and focuses on a person’s intrinsic growth.
  4.1. This can be a useful tool for a trainer to track a client’s self-efficacy cultivation and locus of control shift to facilitate behavior change.
  4.2. Stage of Change:
  4.2.1. Precontemplation — an individual sees no problem and resistant to change, does not believe she can change anything about herself so she denies there is a problem. She initiates a change only because there are external motivators forcing her to, but once the pressure is gone, she stops trying to initiate change. Low self-efficacy and external locus of control dominate people in the precontemplation phase; they believe their situation is hopeless and would rather ignore it.
  4.2.2. Contemplation — the individual finally acknowledges she has a problem and wants to get out of it, still has low self-efficacy and has no idea how to start breaking down the barriers that inhibit a solution.
  4.2.3. Preparation — when the individual decides to initiate a plan to solve her problem within a month or so, she is in the preparation phase. Going public with her problem is an important step, but she is still fearful that she may not be ready; her self-efficacy is low but her motivation is internal, unlike in the precontemplation phase.
  4.2.4. Action — the individual has take definitive steps to change her behavior. This phase requires the most energy, focus, and time. Her self-efficacy has grown substantially and her locus of control is beginning to shift more from external to internal.
  4.2.5. Maintenance — will test this individual the most. Her goals have been reached, and now it’s imperative that she have a plan set against relapse or setbacks. Her self-efficacy has reached its highest and greatest potential, but her internal motivation must ensure years of trials.
  4.2.6. Termination — this phase is the ultimate goal. The problem no longer tempts this individual. She is free of the struggles and believes her life is her own and she can achieve whatever she wants.
  4.3. During the action and maintenance phase of change, the client will need strategies to stay on track and motivated and prevent relapses or setbacks.
  4.3.1. Self-monitoring — holds the client accountable to a plan of action and help denote problem areas (e.g. keep a diet journal, track activity or caloric expenditure, incorporate weekly weigh-ins or circumference measurements).
  4.3.2. Environmental management (stimulus control) — minimizes opportunities to trigger unwanted behavior and promotes wanted behavior (e.g. put away foods immediately, do not keep indulgent foods in plain sight, keep gym bag or running shoes next to the door).
  4.3.3. Alternative behaviors — help in learning how to manage stressors (壓力源) with a new, healthier behavior (e.g. instead of reacting to anger or sadness with comfort foods take a walk, use rewards to positively reinforce a wanted behavior, enjoy a spa day or buy a new fitness outfit after completing a specific goal).
  4.4.4. Negative reinforcement - when a negative stimulus triggers a positive behavior.
  4.4.5. Social support — is important for accountability and for emotional/physical support in reaching health and fitness goals (e.g. enlist a friend/family member to be a workout buddy, enlist the support of friends during social outings to avoid feeling self-conscious about food and drink choices).
  4.4.6. Cognitive coping (認知因應) methods — help prevent demoralizing oneself and help manage emotions during a relapse or after failing to reach goals (e.g. set reasonable and attainable goals to inhibit unsuccessful results, practice positive self-talk to increase self-efficacy, use cognitive reframing (認知重購) which is the practice of identifying unwanted thoughts and finding positive alternatives for disputing them).
  4.4.7. Time management — a tool to ensure one makes time for new priorities (e.g. schedule exercise like it’s a daily appointment that can’t be rescheduled, hire a PT, participate in scheduled enjoyable fitness classes).
  4.4.8. Relapse prevention and recovery plans — can identify triggers that could result in returning to unwanted activities (e.g. use the ABC (antecedents/behavior/consequence) model of behavior to identify triggers, if a relapse occurs be sure to use positive self-talk to acknowledge successes, DO NOT focus on fault).

Question 4

Setting Goals and Managing Expectations
Step 1: Establish the Client’s Specific Goal
Step 2: Set SMART Goals
Step 3: Build Self-Efficacy (自我效能感)
Step 4: Maintain Motivation
Step 5: Measure Progress

Answer 4

• Setting goals is the best way to outline a plan to utilize sessions effectively and efficiently.
• During the assessment and initial meetings, it’s important that the trainer help the client verbalize his/her real motivations for using the trainer’s service. Getting to the root of the motivation will help the client internalize the motivation, visualize the result, and manage expectations on how quickly the goal can be reached.
• Keep the client motivated by using a 5-step planning strategy to help the client believe that he/she can achieve this goal.
  1. Establish the Client’s Specific Goal — try asking open-ended vision questions requiring more than a single-word answer. Vision questions do not necessarily have anything to do with health or weight loss.
  1.1. NASM also uses the acronym SCAMPI to describe goal-setting strategies: Specific, Challenging, Approachable, Measurable, Proximal, Inspirational.
  2. Set SMART Goals
  2.1. Specific goals will help transform the client’s extrinsic motivation into intrinsic motivation, therefore making him/her invested in the goal and ready to work for success.
  2.2. Measurable goals allow both trainer and client to measure progress and help the client build self-efficacy.
  2.3. Attainable goals create a stronger sense of confidence and motivation and allow for progress to be super-objective.
  2.4. Relevant goals keep the client motivated because the goal reflects what he/she wants to accomplish.
  2.5. Time-bound goals keep the client motivated because the goals have a specific deadline.
  3. Build Self-Efficacy
  3.1. Building self-efficacy is the foundation for success in fitness.
  3.2. Specified visualization is a proven cognitive tool many athletes use to motivate themselves to achieve their goals and banish doubts. Ask the client to imagine a specific successful result to their goal.
  3.3. Scheduling negativity is a tool that can be used to battle negative thoughts that nurture self-doubt and a low self-efficacy. Ask the client to designate a “negative space” in his home where he can sit for a specified time to allow for negative and fearful thinking. It should be no longer than 30 mins and it must be consistent time every day. This allows a specific time and place for negative feelings, but also keeps the client from letting them take over the whole day.
  4. Maintain Motivation
  4.1. To stay motivated in fitness, a client must understand that the key to success is to get back up, no matter how many times he/she falls.
  4.2. Rewarding success is one technique to keep a client motivated. Trainers should invest in small rewards to facilitate positive reinforcement. Rewarding the client with a token of achievement, no matter how small, will go a long way in motivating the client. It also helps strengthen the relationship between the trainer and the client.
  4.3. Incentives help keep a client focused. If a client signs up for 8 sessions, throw in a free reassessment to monitor his/her goals. This will help solidify the commitment to reaching a milestone and increase the motivation to stay focused, knowing there will be an opportunity to measure progress.
  4.4. Encourage the client to find a support network, whether that’s a fitness class, family, or friends. A support network is a tool to ensure the client achieves more and feels happier while doing it.
  4.5. While it’s important for a trainer to be positive, it’s just as important to be pragmatic. Preparing a client for a setback or two will help manage those expectations. The best weapon in times of setback is to have a strategy in place. Each client is different and each setback has a different response, so knowing the client’s specific triggers will be key to devising the best way to get him/her back on track.
  5. Measure Progress
  5.1. Fitness assessment, session notes, body circumference measurements, and body composition measurements are all effective tools to measure a client’s success.

Question 5

Client Privacy

Answer 5

• It’s the job of the PT to protect clients against theft and injury and prevent any need for litigation.
• Have an agreement in place that outlines confidentiality policies. The trainer must make sure there is a confidentiality clause in the agreement that protects both the trainer and the client.
• All clients should complete and sign the following:
  1. medical disclosure form (outlining any preexisting conditions prior to exercise) and/or medical consent form (usually provided by the client’s physician)
  2. liability form
  3. PAR-Q (physical activity readiness questionnaire)
  4. a contract outlining the business relationship between the trainer and client. This contract gives the trainer the client’s legal and medical consent to begin a training regimen.
• Be sure all contracts, PAR-Qs, assessment forms, payment info, medical disclosures, and liability forms are under lock and key to ensure privacy and prevent theft and the fraudulent use of the info.
• Electronic files have their own risk of breach by hackers and other cyberattacks. Be sure all computers and electronic devices are password protected and that anti-virus and malware protection software is installed. Be sure the client info is protected with passwords and administrative restrictions. Only trainers and managers should see clients’ info.
• Unless the trainer obtains the permission from clients, pictures or client reviews should not be posted on social media sites.
• Keeping a client safe and motivated during a session should be a top priority, and offering knowledge about and insight to help a client achieve their goals creates a deeper relationship. However, a trainer must accept the reality that accidents and miscommunication can happen regardless of intention. To ensure all the bases are covered, the trainer should:
  1. Make sure the fitness space is clean and organized. Do not use faulty equipment and make sure to fully explain the proper execution of each exercise.
  2. Stay within the trainer’s scope of practice, or field of specialty. If a client complains of a pain, do not diagnose anything; refer them to a doctor. Unless certified to do so, a trainer should not give specific dietary advice or diagnose allergies. Instead, refer the client to a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist.
  3. Obtain personal trainer insurance, even if employed by a fitness center or gym. Contrary to popular belief, personal trainers are not fully covered under the insurance of a gym or fitness center. Personal trainers’ liability insurance protects against defamation or wrongful invasion of privacy. Miscellaneous personal trainer insurance covers bodily injury claims based on delivering or failing to deliver services. There are several companies that offer a combination of both.
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law to:
  1. simplify obtaining and keeping health insurance
  2. protect the privacy and security of healthcare info
  3. aid the healthcare industry in streamlining and minimizing administrative costs.
• HIPAA applies to trainers because fitness centers and gyms collect medical disclosure and body composition information on their clients. Although fitness professionals are not held to the same scrutiny as doctors, they must keep all client info confidential.
• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Schools must have written permission from the parent or student (over the age of 18) in order to release any info from a student’s education record.