Considerations In Program Design For Personal Trainers
As a client, are you asking too much from your Personal Trainer?
Often in health and fitness, we compare wellness outcomes with elite performance, where athletes will almost always have a 12-month plan drawn up, the rest of us recreational and lifestyle warriors want our personal health and wellness to be considered when our PT writes an annual program.
This is why we believe it’s too much to ask a Personal Trainer to design a 12-month training program for each individual client. It requires a thorough understanding of all lifestyle elements including their fitness level, goals, and individual needs. Overall, starting from scratch for each individual client ends up being a waste of time for many reasons.
As we move into week three of another year, we thought it would be good timing to explain a few factors we consider across our business when when creating a comprehensive program for our clients, which our Personal Trainers adopt and adapt to each session, and each individual.
Safety and medical clearance:
Before starting any exercise program, it's important to make sure your client has medical clearance and is physically able to participate in the program.
Initial assessment:
Before starting any program, it's important to conduct an initial assessment of your client's current fitness level. This might include measuring body composition, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. This will give you a baseline to work from and help you set realistic and achievable goals for your client.
At Unlimited Fitness & Life Logic we conduct ph360 assessments to understand your unique Epigenetic Profile to dial in our training templates to suit your individual needs
Setting goals:
It is important to work with your clients to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals. This will provide a clear target for your client to work towards and also help you track progress throughout the 12-month period.
Perhaps even more important (if SMART goals are smart) is to set dumb goals (half joking) … SMART goals are very logical and at times boring. Also have a crazy big goal which fires you up. Something which stirs your sub-conscious mind into excited overdrive. Use that fire in your belly to drive intrinsic motivation towards success.
Micro and Macro Cycles:
Our programming is firstly built from a template, then tailored to each client's individual needs and goals. It should be progressive, challenging and varied to keep the client engaged and motivated.
Progressive overload allows for times higher intensity where greater focus and energy is required, and on the flip side, with times of recovery and respite to allow for skill development, growth and recovery.
Monitoring Progress:
Regular check-ins and measurements should be conducted to track progress and make adjustments to the program as needed. This can include tracking body measurements, strength, and cardiovascular fitness.
At Unlimited Fitness we have quarterly check-ins called Results Week. A benchmarking opportunity for clients to measure their progress against their choice of health and fitness elements.
Nutrition:
The “experts” will tell you that a well-rounded fitness program should include a focus on nutrition. “As a personal trainer, you should educate your clients on the importance of a balanced diet and provide them with guidance and support on how to make healthy food choices.” I call bullshit. In my opinion, this is bad advice. Personal Trainers themselves don’t maintain good nutritional habits, and if they do eat healthy themselves, what works for them, may not work for their clients. PT’s are often qualified with a Certificate 4 in Fitness, not a nutrition degree.
Unlimited Fitness use cutting edge epigenetic nutirition advice from the team at Life Logic, who are qualified coaches in personalised nutrition.
Recovery and injury prevention:
Incorporating recovery and injury prevention strategies into your client's program is important to help them avoid burnout and injury. This can include stretching, foam rolling, and mobility exercises.
Mindset:
A positive mindset is crucial for achieving fitness goals. As a personal trainer, you should work with your clients to develop a positive attitude towards exercise and help them overcome any mental barriers to their progress.
Again, this is a big ask for a young Personal Trainer; to understand the elements of the mind, behaviour types, hormone sensitivities, mental health strategies and expect them to offer advice on the subject. What!? … so now you’re a psychologist, life coach, nutritionist, personal trainer, dietician, naturopath, movement coach and exercise physiologist?
Include a referral program to a qualified practitioner in the specific area of need for your client, or refer them to a mind management and strategy service like Life Logic to enhance your service offering.
Program Changes and Flexibility:
A 12-month training program should be flexible and adaptable to your client's needs and progress. Be open to making adjustments to the program as needed to help them achieve their goals.
Daily surprises and circumstances such as lifestyle, work, family stress, or a random injury/accident might require a change in program plan.
As the seasons change so does the temperature, our feelings and our training programs. Yes, that’s right, we adapt our training to match the weather.
Support and accountability:
As a personal trainer, you should provide your clients with consistent support and accountability throughout the 12-month period. This can include regular check-ins and progress reports, as well as encouragement and motivation to keep them on track.
Also see point #3 and #5
Creating a comprehensive 12-month training program requires a holistic approach and attention to detail. By considering all of these elements, Personal Trainers can help clients achieve their fitness goals and make life changing improvements to their health and wellbeing.