Optimal Training Days, Or Not So Much (Part II)

Last week I wrote about the optimal training days and some hints on making sure you’ve picked the best day to train to match your program. This week let’s talk about the other side of that/the other person for responsible for helping with that, the coach.

We as coaches and trainers need to do one thing above all else with our clients, communicate. I know I’ve hit on things of similar nature, but it's worth repeating. We need to make sure we are programming appropriately.
 
A client that says they only have 45 minutes for their workout outside of their time with you might be fibbing a bit, but it doesn’t mean go ahead and give them 90 minutes’ worth of a program for them on their own.

Courtest of: FreeImages.co.uk

I do like the thought of giving a little more than you think because you never know. Maybe they carve out the extra 15 minutes and bang you’re prepared. Maybe they find a way to consistently get that extra 15 minutes because they’re enjoying the benefits of their program so much. Viola, magic and now you can program knowing they're going to have 60 minutes. That right there is best case scenario.
 
The likelihood they will do ANY of that 90-minute program, let alone whatever they can get done in the 45-minute window they gave you, goes down because it probably will look pretty damn daunting (especially to novices). Let’s be smart and make sure we don’t just nod our heads with an “uh-huh” and then completely ignore what our trainee’s say when they try to tell us this stuff. That’s a short path that leads clients out your door and to someone that will actually..actually, LISTEN. Whether they are as good of coach as you will...well you answered that by not listening.
 
Too if a client is STRUGGLING with a drill or exercise (or it's a shiny new one), maybe put that in the day that you see them. For whatever reason, if you can’t fit it in to that day, do 1 of 2 things; eliminate it (it can’t be that important if you can’t find room for it) or make damn well sure you coach the crap out of it with them ahead of time so there’s no mistaking what to do.
 
See now you both have a responsibility and if you both uphold your end of the bargain then success is virtually guaranteed. ​