No Assessment = No Program
I get that everyone has different needs, wants, and goals when it comes to their health and fitness.
I got a question recently from someone about program design. The person wanted to know if I can recommend a workout routine to help them get more healthy and fit.
Other times people have asked “what’s the best exercise for…”, or “how do I do this given exercise…”. And I must admit I used to get really excited about these questions.
The old me would have simply spouted off a bunch of bullet points, facts, soundbites or a list of exercises. I would have told you how many reps, sets, rest time, amount of weight the person should use, etc.
The new me knows that it’s much more complicated than that. But having done this for nearly a decade now, I have more than just knowledge. I have the experience of working with many people with different backrounds, needs, and goals. And it all has to start with a good assessment. Because, as Eric Cressey says, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing”.
I’m at a point now in my life and career, where I don’t want to play the guessing game anymore. It’s not fun, and it gets in the way of achieving positive results, for my clients and myself. If I can understand more about you, your physical abilities and mental abilities to some extent, then I don’t have to guess. And if I can take the guess-work out of program design, then training will be much more effective.
The fact that if I’m trying to build a reputation, or credibility, means that I have to be careful and precise about how I approach each client. Furthermore, too much “guess work”, without enough data to go on, can spell disaster. At best it prolongs and complicates the road to success. And at worst it means potential harm for the client.
That person may then take their negative experience and decide to look for another trainer at best, and or tell others about that negative experience they had with me, at worst. If accept someone’s payment for my services, I have both a professional and moral duty to treat them with respect. Essentially, this person is placing their trust in my abilities. During our session, their physical, mental and emotional well-being is partly my responsibility.
But how do I care and look after someone’s wellbeing during a training session? Where do I even begin? As I said earlier, it all has to start with a good assessment.
Assessing And Not Guessing
A good assessment starts at the moment I sit down with someone for the first time. As we discuss their goals, their challenges, interests etc. I am trying to learn as much as I can about the person. What are their habits? What do they do for work? How do they look after themselves? Are they kind to themselves when it comes to sleep and nutrition? Do they have any injuries? I can keep going but you get the idea.
Learning to say no to potential clients is a skill that I’m still working on. Sometimes it’s just not a good match. Much to the chagrin of my bank account, I have to reserve my services to the people that I know for certain I can help. Some trainers believe that you should just take whatever and whoever comes your way. But I’ve tried that strategy before and it just doesn’t work for me. Sometimes, personalities don’t click.
Lesson Learned
I remember one client who was a younger guy in his mid 20s coming to me wanting what every 20+ guy wants: More Muscle! He was a beginner at best and had never worked out a day in his life. Young people starting out in the financial sector are usually at the mercy of the market. Lots to juggle and prove, and require a high level of commitment to the work.
We went over all the details together, I plotted out his plan: train with me once/week/60mins , and homework program 2 other days/45-60 mins on his own. By the 4th week he started to flake. Didn’t train on his own, showed up late to our sessions, sometimes hung over. It was starting to be frustrating. Nothing worse for a trainer than showing up to the session prepared, but the client is out to lunch…at 10 am!
I decided to give him another shot. But 2 weeks into it the same thing happened, and he repeated again that he would work on it. Some people may think “who cares it’s easy money”, and I should have just kept it up. But clients like that begin to affect the quality of my service. He was definitely not going to get any results with the way he was carrying on. And I decided I didn’t want someone like him representing my services and expertise.
The Value Of The Profession
Aside from not wanting to harm my clients by giving them shady advice, I like to produce good results through my work. It helps me feel fulfilled, satisfied, and ultimately happy to see my clients succeeding. And in this sense, their growth enables mine. I pursue certifications, continuous learning, attending conferences etc. So I learn how to become a better fitness specialist and coach and raise the quality of my services.
I love it when my clients, new and old, tell me about their positive experiences in the gym. Sometimes clients share how they’ve been able to do things on their own that they haven’t been able to do before. They tell me how confident they feel when they do their exercises, and use the machines and free weights. Those things may seem small to some people, but people feel very positive and empowered when they do them. We should celebrate personal small wins because they do wonders for confidence and self-esteem.
Go on youtube, instagram, read men’s or women’s health and you’ll be able to find a ton of cookie cutter programs, routines, workouts and exercises. But I want to encourage people to think about getting something more personalized and specifically tailored to them. Hear me out: It is worth investing in a long term health and fitness plan!
And I don’t mean “invest” as only in the financial sense of the word necessarily, though that is definitely be part of it (we all need to make a living!). But rather, a commitment to spending time and having the patience to explore these things and understand them, with the help of a qualified professional. Specifically, how much and how well can your coach/trainer help you learn about health, fitness, and yourself.
Devaluing The Work: Object Vs. Subject
When someone I haven’t assessed asks me for a program, they are basically asking me to not give a damn about them. And that is something I will no longer do. The person is literally asking me to sell them something thoughtless and cheap.
Philosophically speaking, I’m trying to distinguish between selling an object and selling the service of a subject. If someone comes into my shoe shop and wants a cheap pair of shoes to wear when taking out the garbage then ok. But in my case I am being ask to water down my knowledge, coaching abilities, attention to detail, skills etc. Those things are not objects, those are parts of what make me a subject. You want to buy me cheap? I think not!
Imagine walking into a doctor’s office complaining about being in pain and asking for some pills. No good doctor in their right mind would prescribe anything to you until they’ve done some kind of assessment to figure out where the pain is. Also, what kind of pain it is, what the symptoms are, how severe they are. After all said and done, the doctor may start with a low dose and see how you react, before going up or down.
In the same way, don’t under estimate the value of a good assessment from a trainer/coach. Some of us put a lot emotional labour to design something that is specific for you.
Stick To The Program!
Exercise prescription can be a complicated, especially if all you’re going on is “I want more health and fitness!!”. It’s a craft and there is definitely an artistic element to it, after you’ve gathered all the material to pain the picture. In this sense, you get what you pay for. A competent, qualified, and confident trainer is able to explain the method behind the madness. They tell you why certain exercises are grouped together, their specific order, how progress happens, and why it’s important to not veer off course.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that’s happened, where I give a program to a client, and they ignore half the instructions! This usually happens with the younger guys 25-35yrs. They decide to add weight/reps/sets to exercises, because they think more is better. But in a 4-8 week program, if you go too hard out of the gate in week 1 you will have nothing left by week 4!
I should say that I have, in the past, made “Express Programs” for some of my clients before. Sometimes you’re travelling, you have limited access to space and equipment, and you need something simple and manageable. Boom! Express program on the go.
Express programs are great in those situations because they take into account the constraints of space, equipment and time. 20 minutes, total body HIIT, upper body pump, lower body burn, an hour walk. All of these things are great when you’re on a trip whether business or pleasure.
That said, most of the people for whom I prescribe express programs are clients that I have worked with extensively. So I feel confident and comfortable going off road every now and then. Most importantly though, I never give my clients anything they can’t do on their own, or anything new. In many ways it’s a science experiment and as such all factors should be accounted for. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce new or unfamiliar elements that haven’t been planned and trialed under controlled settings first!
Beyond “Burning Calories”
What I want people to understand is “Physical Activity and Exercise” are only one aspect of health and fitness. There is more to H & F than eating less and moving more, but that is what most people are primarily concerned with. They think “If I’m not expending X Calories/day everyday, I’m gonna get fat!”. And is simply unrealistic and complex in of itself as well.
But if your only concern is “burning calories” then I’m here to tell you that you’re only in it for the short term. If you start scouring, Youtube, Instagram, fitness magazines for quick ideas on how to “stay trim”, you’re not looking at the big picture. You’re not concerned with good movement, skill development, progressive gains etc. You are concerned with “I want to fit in this specific box that I’ve been told I should fit into”.
There are a few problems with this fear based mentality. Specifically, that fear is what contributes to the devaluation of my services and my profession. But on a much larger scale, to the devaluation the realm of Health and Fitness as a whole.
Firstly, we are reduced to being rep counters and exercise tour guides. Most people are looking for someone to give them simple cues, count their reps, and tell them which order they should do their exercises in. And it becomes easy to dismiss that as a valuable/worthy service that you should pay anything significant for it.
Secondly, it creates an expectation in the client/consumer that it is the job of the fitness specialist to make you look a certain way. And that way is usually what people see on social media, movies, and magazines.
People often joke about it, but you know what they say about little bits of truth behind every joke. “I want to look like so and so…” I’ve heard clients tell me time and time again. It’s usually followed by a laugh, and how they know there’s a lot of work to be done. But I don’t think they really understand what that means.
And usually when I lay out the plan for their goal, they tense and start to backtrack. It’s almost the equivalent of someone who wants to become a millionaire in 3 months, while investing 1000$/month. It may be possible, though highly not probable.
A consistent exercise/training routine is part of a much larger equation. Sleep is a factor, diet, stress etc. All play a role. And people need to stop trying to use exercise as a way to make up for deficiencies in all the other areas.
A good program is like a map that gets you from point A to point B as safely and efficiently as possible. This doesn’t mean that it won’t take time, but rather that whatever time you spend following a personalized program will get you better results than if you were to jump into it haphazardly. But if isn’t taking the other aspects of your life, then don’t complain when it doesn’t workout for you. I intended that pun…
Final Thoughts
I truly believe that personal trainers and coaches need to be more diligent about explaining the reality of H&F to our clients. Tell them the truth about the importance of long term commitment. In particular, my main issue is that the fitness industry keeps pushing the narrative that exercise will always lead to weight loss. You can see it in big bold letter everywhere “LOSE WEIGHT WITH EXERCISE!!”. But you have to look really close to read the fine print: *in combination with diet, more sleep, less stress etc.
Yes there will be times where the work is hard, it can take a lot of time, resources, and effort to cause personal change. Exercise and physical activity have the least direct impact on total calories burned throughout the day. I can exercise hard for an hour and only burn about 400 calories. That’s literally one slice of pizza that I can put down in about 2-3 mins! So don’t let people, whether they be fitness pros or otherwise, lie to you just to sell you more sessions.
Investing into your health and fitness is a lifetime commitment. You never get to a point where you can throw your hands up and say “I did it! I’m done!”. And I’m saying this from the point fo view of someone who learns something new about health and fitness at least every 3 months. There’s always more to learn, and it goes so far beyond burning calories and energy balance.
So here are a few take aways: 1) find a good trainer/coach who is qualified and caring. Don’t skimp on this, you get what you pay for. 2) go through an assessment, I guarantee you will find things about yourself that you didn’t know. 3) Devise a plan that suits you, something you can manage IN THE WORST OF TIMES. 4) Be kind to yourself. 5) One of the key components of kindness towards oneself is Patience.
Think about it…