Sell Them What They Want and Give Them What They Need

What do fitness enthusiasts want from a personal trainer and group fitness instructor? They want to (1) have fun and (2) get results.

Some enthusiasts will also say they want to learn new training methods and understand how to perform an exercise correctly. When you think about it, learning new methods is to prevent boredom and keep them interested and motivated (i.e. have fun). Understanding proper technique will help them achieve their goals (i.e. get results).

What fitness enthusiasts need in order to get what they want is where you most likely find resistance. How many of your clients jump at the chance to test their fitness levels each month? How many of them are eager to log their training, nutrition and overall feelings each day? When your participants have completed the instructed 15 repetitions, how many of them choose to push their boundaries and perform an extra two to five repetitions?

The best way to give fitness enthusiasts what they need in order to get what they want is to follow these three tips:

1). Be as informal as you can be. There is no need for formal testing sessions. If you are doing one-on-one training with a client, once a month, incorporate a few exercises that are part of fitness testing and keep track of the progress made. Do not tell him/her that you’re recording the performance. At the end of month, show him/her how much they have improved.

If you are teaching a class, it will be more difficult to keep testing informal, but very easy to frame the testing as fun, exciting and a great way to learn more about your personal fitness state. Have your club create a lot of ‘hype’ around your testing class. When you advertise and when you teach the class, focus on what your participants want: to have fun and get results.

2) Treat the required tools (e.g. journaling, goal achieving, pushing boundaries) as a natural part of the training process. In other words, create a system for all of your clients that is guaranteed to work. For best results, check out http://www.TheUltimateAchievementJournal.com.

3) Whatever you do and whatever you say during your sessions, always come back to what your client wants: to have fun and get results. Tell them that writing things down will significantly improve their chances of losing the weight they want. Advise them that pushing the boundaries by performing one more repetition will get them closer to the ‘finish line’.

Find out, early, what type of training your participants enjoy and incorporate them in the programs you create.

Believe and Achieve,
Dr. Haley

P.S. Leave a comment to tell me what you think or if you have any questions.
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Ask for What You Want

Are you being treated the way you want to be treated?

Do your parents provide the support you need to do your best?

Do your coaches teach you skills and tactics in a way you understand?

Do your teammates encourage you in a way that motivates and inspires you to five it all you’ve got?

There are many uncontrollable factors in sport. You can’t control the weather. You can’t control when delays occur and how long they last. You can’t control your teammates and opponents’ performances.

Effort is not just about the intensity you put forth in each performance. It’s also about doing your best to receive the support and guidance you need. Ask for what you want so that your performance can improve.

Talk to your coaches and let them know what kind of feedback you prefer in training and in competition. Tell your parents what you would like them to say to you before an after competition. Let your teammates know what kind of support really helps you get in the ‘zone’.

If you don’t ask for what you want, you will get what other people think is beat for you. Your coaches will treat you the way they were treated as athletes or how they think you want to be treated. Your parents will talk to you the only way they know how to talk to you. Your teammates will encourage you the way they want to be encouraged.

The worst thing that can happen when you do ask for what you want is that you don’t get it. You’ll be left exactly where you are now – no better, no worse. On the other hand, the best thing that can happen is that you do get exactly what you want. Then you’ll be much closer to achieving all of your goats

Call to Action

Choose one person you feel comfortable asking for what you want. When you speak to him or her, be direct and specific when you ask for what you want.

Believe and Achieve,
Dr. Haley

P.S. Leave a comment to tell me what you think or if you have any questions.
P.P.S. Click here to download a copy of this article to share with a friend

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Health and Fitness New Year Resolutions

DO dream big. What do you want feel like in 2010? What do you want look like? What do you want your healthy and fit body to do this year?

Have fun when you’re setting your 2010 intentions. Do you want to compete in an ironman? Do you want to climb a 4000 footer? Anything and everything is possible when you have a dream, believe in that dream, and do what is necessary for it to come true.

DON’T expect to be perfect. Give yourself the best opportunity for success by committing to excellence and not perfection.

2010 will bring you many achievements and great success when you focus on your effort. After all, effort is the only thing you can control.

Things will happen to cause you to skip a training session or eat a delicious meal that is not the healthiest. So what? You can enjoy it all when you understand that your desire to be healthy and fit does not mean you have to be perfect 100% of the time.

DO add variety to your nutrition and fitness. One of the top reasons for dropping out of fitness is boredom. Start 2010 off right by mixing things up. With nutrition, continue to eat foods you like but start to experiment with new healthy foods. With fitness, add a variety of training techniques to keep things interesting and fun.

DON’T set your 2010 intentions in stone. Leave room for change. Twelve months is a long time with plenty of room for adjustments. As the year progresses, you may choose to modify your intentions.

Remind yourself that the reason for New Year resolutions is to grow and be happy. At the end of the year, if you can honestly say that you have grown as a person and are happy, your New Year resolution has been a success.

DO challenge yourself. It’s wonderful to dream big. However, the only way to make your dreams come true is to set daily/weekly intentions that are challenging, yet realistic.

If your current level of ability is a 7/10, set an intention to improve that to an 8/10 where you are challenged to exert more effort but it is still realistic to achieve.

As you continue to improve with these short-term realistic challenges, you will get closer to the big dream.

Believe and Achieve,
*Haley Perlus, Ph.D.*

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PPS. Visit www.TheUltimateAchievementJournal.com and make it easier to achieve your goal