What-we-want-and-or-what-we-need-in-training

Personal training is all about what we want and/or what we need to accomplish. Personal training is as different as our goals. Goals may set boundaries. I say plans. If a client wants six-pack abs but has a "bad back" the plan changes. If a client wants to look good for a wedding but has health issues directly related to a sedentary lifestyle the plan/trainer must take this into consideration. A trainer must show the client why they are on the current plan. Communication is vital in a training relationship just like all other relationships.

Wants: Every person I have met in a training assessment/introductory session has told me what they want out of the exchange. A great trainer always considers what a person wants when devising their plan. The person wants these things and they are important. These wants are not the end-all and be-all of personal training.

Trainers must address the want side of the equation if they want to continue helping others. Every body part must be addressed. Why not give them what they want on their terms and show them you are considerate? Needs do not mean we need to ignore their wants necessarily. Address the six-pack abs as best you can while addressing the prerequisite needs in the same session; it is possible. Once they see that you are attentive to their often self-effacing wants (do not describe them this way to your clients) they will see superior results. Explain why you train their hips and back before their rectus abdominus & obliques. Educate them during the need intensive warm-up. Results take more time than the fitness magazines and internet let on. We know this. Our clients do not always know this. Training takes years.

Needs: Movement patterns are dictated by anatomy. If, like back in the ‘80s, we have someone fixated on their appearance they will need a lot of education. They have spent too much time on the muscles they can see in the mirror and not enough time on those behind them. Sit at a desk all day? We will need to teach them how to retract, seat, the shoulders again. Sitting tightens the hips flexors. This is a great opportunity for a session on the glutes, hamstrings, and all the other hip related extensors. If the person you are training understands the plan they will see a need for it, ha-ha… Educate the people you train. It is unlikely they will want to enter the personal training profession and give you competition. They will be easier to train and deliver results to as long as you stay ahead of them. Most people who hire a professional trainer are very smart and learn quickly. We must be attentive to this intelligence and allow them to learn as much as they can. Think of their diligence and new found knowledge as bullet-points we fill in with more information once the itinerary is substantiated.


Trainers must address people’s need in order to make their “want” worth the effort. Every need must be addressed. Needs are more important than wants in my view. Injuries are time consuming in the best case. We have limited time to execute our plans on this earth. Trainers must align their clients, bring important fitness components up to grade, and deliver what the client wants and more. I recently watched a fitness trainer describe “going that extra mile” to a bunch of trainers. What does that mean? I describe it like this: we must meet the clients where they are reasonably. If a two year old just learned how to say eyes and you throw a ball to/at him or her and say “keep your eye on the ball”; what does that mean to them? It could very reasonable mean catch the ball with your eye. Watch the ball until you catch it or hit it is far more explicit language. My point is meet your trainees where they are intellectually. They have not studied exercise sciences as diligently as we have. Speak clearly and simply. Do not throw language at them that was made up by some coach, trainer, scientist, or anyone else to describe the actions they are to perform. It may impress them but your understanding sets you apart from the pack. Show them. Do not just tell them.

Communication: Most of communication is listening. Other trainers have told me to stop talking so much while I train around them and others. None of my clients have ever said I talked too much! The difference is I have been training others since 1987 and I listen. I do not just hear it I understand it. I maintain the stance that I listen more than I talk. Listening is systemic. It requires the greatest activation of one’s intelligence for the given statements. Hearing is simply a mechanical process. We have all heard something we could not fathom. If we think about in between the first and second exposure we have more to link the information to the next time we hear it. Our mind has a reference point and understanding is promoted.

There is no communication here!

Years ago a public speaking professor told us the person with the best vocabulary is the best at what they do. This makes sense to me now more than then. It may seem that I am saying share your full vocabulary with your clients but I am not. Professionals enlist in personal training more than others and they are very intelligent people in their fields for the most part. Amortization has a different meaning in weightlifting than it does in finance. Explain yourself if you choose to display your aptitudes on the gym floor. Communication involves body language in addition to words shared.

Clients have wants and needs. We as fitness professionals must delineate them. Communication is central in a relationship. Listen more than you talk. Understanding is also key in the development of new skills. Would you squat if you did not understand why you were doing this grueling movement? If squats are not grueling you are doing them wrong, by the way. More on this topic in another post.

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