Sometimes life can throw us curveballs and for lack of a better word “SUCK”. On days like this, going training may be the only hour or two where you don’t have to think about “real life”.
You can let all your problems slip away while you beat up a punch bag or slam a sandbell but the question is, does having a trainer who is constantly positive and throwing cheesy one-liners at you really make you want to train hard?? (Or is it more likely to make you want to punch them in the face..?)
When people first start a training programme (especially those who haven’t done anything like this before) they face the possibility of walking into a room to a Personal Trainer who may say something similar to this…
“That press-up was amazing; you’re the best!”
When the likelihood is you know that it was a less than impressive press-up. (No offence intended.)
Now I don’t know about you, but I know for a lot of our clients this will probably de-motivate you as you believe this trainer is just lying to your face and doesn’t really care about how you are performing an exercise.
Sometimes being told, “You’re doing well, but maybe try this technique” or, “You haven’t quite got that right – watch me and try again” is going to encourage you more as you feel like the trainer is REALLY watching you and making sure that you get the most out of your sessions so you are doing everything to the best standard that you can.
You will then know that when your trainer shouts “YESS!!!! That was perfect!!” that you have done a great job.
Everyone goes through ups and downs when training. Sometimes you will have breakthrough days and other times you may have setbacks. But you need these days to prove to yourself that you are strong and once you have made it through one setback, you know you can do it again. And again. And again!!!
As trainers, we are here to encourage you, to make you realise your potential and to help pick you up when you do have a setback…. But if you are having a bad day, lying and saying “That was a really amazing workout” isn’t going to help.
Positive thinking may make you less likely to achieve a goal because it doesn’t generate the energy that’s needed to push forward. If you want your clients to follow you to the finish line, you have to be able to support them in dark times.
I suppose what I am saying is ‘YOU HAVE TO LET THEM BE REAL.’ For that, they have to see that you really get them, and that you truly empathise with how hard it can be to keep going.
When someone is struggling, the knee-jerk reaction is to act like everything is happy-happy, joy-joy… This doesn’t communicate compassion at all. It communicates that you’re not really paying attention.
As a trainer, finding the balance between being positive and realistic is always hard, especially when you have more than one client in the room. If someone is having one of those days where they feel fat and disgusting (which we all have – let’s face it) and they are working with someone who is slim and toned they may feel like they don’t want to continue… it’s trying to keep that happy balance between pushing and encouraging without making one person feel like they are less able than another, and tending to each individual’s emotional needs.
So next time you think we are “being mean” or not telling you “the sun is always shining”, maybe look at it from a different angle…..that we care about all of you and just want the best from you!
If you would like to find out more about us or our training programmes then please follow this link or call the office directly on 01444 484129.
