There are various ways that you can optimise your fitness training by helping your PT help you. Many of them may seem obvious and self-explanatory but I think it’s still worth mentioning them here.

The first thing I find really helpful is if my clients are able to adhere to the training schedule we have planned because each session, whilst it will stand on its own as a useful “stint”, it is part of a programme designed to achieve an agreed goal, so its greatest value is in maintaining its integrity and not allowing it to get fragmented. It is also important that any extra ‘homework’ or activity which we agree on as part of the plan is actually completed.

This level of consistency is similarly relevant for any dietary/nutritional advice which I might provide. In other words “stick to the plan” where you can!

Secondly, as a way of assessing the starting point for a client, there is only so much a fitness coach can deduce based upon observation of a client’s movement and posture. We look for hints in your gait, balance and strength when we meet you for the first time and this can inform our initial estimation of the type of activity that may be appropriate for you. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

When I am tailoring a fitness programme for a client I place a great deal of importance in knowing your current level of fitness, your future fitness targets, preferences, lifestyle, physiological constraints you may be experiencing or mental apprehensions you may have, together with how you are managing the activities of daily life.

Armed with this information, I can more accurately shape the exercise regimen to your requirements – whether that be for the session in hand, or long term over the programme. This is why I like a chat with everyone before we first start training, and before each session whilst warming up!

Alongside this, a major contributor to tailoring the sessions for the individual is feedback from the client on how they feel before, during and after exercise. Some signs can be obvious to the PT, but often what’s going on ‘below the surface’ isn’t so evident, and it needs the exerciser to report if they are struggling or alternatively find the exercise a little easier than they expected. (Only the brave would maybe let on!)

And if an exercise doesn’t immediately seem to “click” a client shouldn’t be afraid to ask what the objective is or whether they are doing it properly. The PT will be pleased to provide the appropriate explanation. There will always be an alternative which might suit better, or which you just enjoy more.

Also – I LOVE hearing when goals are achieved! Whether you’ve had a great week under your own steam, or feel like a winner in the gym in our session – I’m here to celebrate the ‘wins’ with you and motivate to maintain the effort.

One of the most difficult habits to cultivate as part of a fitness programme is to continue the “good work” outside the “jurisdiction” of your sessions with your PT. Keeping your level of activity/healthy diet up and not defaulting to previous unhelpful habits is where the real challenge comes in.

In the same vein, when you’re on holiday, it’s so easy to flick your fitness switch to “Off” and your hedonism switch to “On”. If you can fight off the temptation to flop and even manage 20 minutes of exercise per day by (or in) the pool, brisk walking or doing some morning stretches…then you’re going a long way to staying on course for your fitness target and making yourself and your PT very happy!

Remember your commitment to your cause!

B