COLLABORATIVE COACHING

Collaborative Coaching

Program a machine but coach a human.

• The client is ultimately responsible for their own success; however, you are responsible for their willingness to act.

• The client is your greatest asset for programming. Allow them to literally tell you what to do.

• Design customized programs using a collaborative approach – a principles-driven perspective married to the uniqueness of the client.

Who Is Really In Control?

Personal training and online coaching can feel very transactional at times – especially when there is a preconceived power imbalance between the coach and client. The reality is that despite you being paid money to tell someone what to do – they can ultimately say no, however rare that may occur. While you appear to be in the driver’s seat, the client truly holds all the cards when it comes to the coach-client relationship. They pay your bills, they are responsible for lifting the weights or performing the cardio, and they are responsible for the remaining 160 hours of life per week that they likely aren’t training. You on the other hand are just a guide making recommendations.

Develop Trust

You have been invited into what may be one of the most intimate relationships your client has. To be accepted by someone on a journey of physical (and likely psychological growth) requires an enormous amount of trust. This trust is the foundation for your success as a coach. The best program, nutritional advice, or accountability measure will always fail in the long term when compared to the client that simply wants to do what you recommend. Action due to desire far exceeds the benefits of actions performed out of avoidance of repercussion.

You are not responsible for spewing words onto a spreadsheet and emailing them off once per week. You are responsible for a thorough intake process that dives into the physical needs or goals of the client – but also begins to build a rapport with the person behind the goal. Their preferences, motivations, anxieties, habits (positive or negative), and a plethora of other influential factors. Every piece of information organically derived from the relationship building process offers insights into the best course of action for the individual in front of you.

Create programs and deliver coaching based upon the unique personality that is your client. Your knowledge of exercise should enable you to craft a results-oriented program around the information gathered during the intake process. The initial few sessions should help inform what works and what doesn’t for the client – regardless of the alleged optimality of your choices. Allow them to tell you what they enjoy, what they don’t, and craft your iterative programming updates after what they literally tell you will work. Be smarter about your interactions than the all too common transactional gaslighting of a client who would otherwise be deemed “non-compliant” when issued a completely sterile template.

Everybody Be Cool

Goals change, circumstances change, but progress remains. This is the mentality of a successful coach. Guiding a client through their first, second, or even third long term goal can be an intellectually expensive process if you’re avoiding the greatest resource available to you. The client themself. Use their feedback, integrate their preferences, refine rather than ignore, and continue to develop the trust that will fuel your client’s progress into the longest of terms. You don’t need to strongarm a client into a program that would otherwise be thrown in the trash if not already bought and paid for. You can quite easily make the training experience unique to the individual while still adhering to base principles of success. Program a machine, coach the client.

• Perform a thorough intake for all clients.
• Prompt feedback – especially throughout the first several weeks.
• Tailor your iterative programming updates around base principles of fitness and the feedback of your client for the best results and adherence.