Last week we talked about creating SMART goals and communicating with your coach. This week I want to dive a little deeper into what your coach needs to know, how to share it, and how to get the most out of your coaching experience.
Once you have created a SMART goal, it’s time to start talking to your coach about what you want to accomplish. If you are unfamiliar with SMART goals, I talk about this here There are a few things that need to be discussed out in the open to make sure that you have a good relationship starting out with your coach. Also if your coach does not care about these things or does not ask you about them, maybe you should find a different coach.
1. Any surgeries, current or previous injuries, aches, pains, weakness, tightness or loss of function in any joint structure?
This is an important question. Your coach should first and foremost be concerned with movements that might cause you pain, your injury history, and your movement limitations. This information will shape the program and the exercises that you will be doing and will not be doing. It makes it very hard to reach your goals if you are in pain with every workout.
2. Your “Why?”
Like we discussed when we talked about building your goals, you want to make sure you have a why. Having a why brings the motivation to the forefront of your mind. If there is no emotional connection with your goal, then it’s a lot harder to stick with the plan. It could be anything from vanity “I want to look good on the beach because it will make me feel more confident” to “I need to do this because I want to be around for my grandchildren.”
The point is you need to share this why with your coach because they can help you get centered when staying on track becomes more difficult by reminding you why you are here and what you are here to do. A quick reminder of your why at the right time is a compelling motivator.
3. Progress Updates (regular check-ins)
Check-ins are pretty important. Check-ins allow your coach to know what is going on in your life if the training program needs to me modified, and if the program that you have been on is working for your goals. The coach’s job is to modify the program, so it fits your goals, this doesn’t mean everything is going to be easy and that you are going to want to do all the workouts all the time, but it means that your coach will better be able to build the right program for you.
For online clients and nutrition coaching clients I like to check in with them every week, email works best for me as a coach, but sometimes clients need a little more accountability so scheduling a phone call may work better. If you I see a client in person on a regular basis I do not need them to check in as much through email or phone because I see them regularly. As a client, you have to figure out what works best for you and how much communication you need, but no communication, not an option.
4. That You Are Being Honest
Being honest is probably one of the most important things you can do while communicating with your coach. Your coach needs to know if you have accomplished the required work for the week or if you have not. Your compliance will change the program moving forward. Being honest about how well the week went if you hit the prescribed reps, workouts, percentages or minutes of rest time, this is all important to share for you and your coach to be on the same page.
CONCLUSION
If you focus on these factors while communicating with your coach your training will go a lot better, and you will reach your goals much faster than you ever thought you could. Make sure you let your coach know about your injuries, your why, you regularly check in, and you are honest. This will ensure you will get the most out of your experience with your coach.
Don’t feel like you are bugging your coach; we love helping and want to get you the best results possible and sometimes we need a little help from you to make that happen.
