THEY ARE NOT YOU

They are not you. They do not wake up in the morning with their day planned around their workout. Most of them wake up with no plan at all. If you didn’t call them the day before to confirm (you did call them the day before to confirm, didn’t you?) they would have more than likely forgotten the appointment. Or wanted to have forgotten the appointment. They don’t like working out, and since they’ve been working with you, this hasn’t changed.

Well, you are doing something wrong. Let’s say they are the most noncompliant client in the history of noncompliant clients. They won’t adhere to any of the food intake suggestions you make, refuse to drink any more water than is found in their daily 12 cups of coffee, will not get more than 6 hours of sleep each night, and spend the weekends doing their absolute best to destroy themselves. Not the kind of destruction that comes with hurling their bodies through space, but the destruction that comes with one too many. And while they work with you twice per week, that is the extent of their movement for the week. Sound familiar? Tough to get this client results, especially the results they would like, which more often than not is based upon how they will look as they spend their weekends doing their absolute best to destroy themselves. And if I can’t get them results, how can I get them to want to come to the gym?

Here’s a revolutionary concept: 1. Make it fun, and 2. Make it tough. Make their time with you fun and I’m gonna bet that hour is the best hour of their day. Make it tough and they will leave with the sense of accomplishment that comes with a job well done. But making it fun doesn’t mean telling jokes, or relaying stories of your amazing weekend. Nor does it mean doing every exercise on a bosu ball, or sitting on a physioball. While there is nothing wrong with either of these, it seems (by observing the trainers in most gyms) there is now a law that dictates that three-quarters of one’s workout must be spent on one of these. And making it tough doesn’t mean that you simply pummel them, making them lift loads that would bury an elephant. In my opinion the intensity ratchets up when you keep it, and them, moving.

This is where Renegade Training shines when working with “non-athletes.” Your average client may not be able (or want) to keep up with the pace or workload found in Mad Science, but the concepts demonstrated remain true for anyone you train.

First, what movements am I having my clients perform? Pushing, pulling, and squatting should be the core (if not the whole) of anyone’s program. Next, how are they performing those movements? Watch any Renegade DVD and what jumps out is the ability of each participant to maintain amazing form and postural alignment through every repetition. And last, at what pace are we moving? Not a lot of 3-4 minute rest intervals, ‘eh? Shortening up the rest intervals is the easiest way to increase the intensity of the workout, and what do you know, it is also a highly effective way to increase your clients’ work threshold and their fitness level.

Making it fun comes from not doing the same old tired, bodybuilder inspired workouts that most trainers consider the only way. Most clients will be whupped after a few circuits of non-weighted GPP work like jumping jacks, shuffle splits, burpees, mountain climbers, and side-to-side hops. Add some jump rope and I’m sure they’ll be feelin’ it. But you know what, they will be having fun. Because it’s not the same old, same old. Start using some medicine balls, or kettlebells during the workout and they will be positively thrilled that they were smart enough to hire the best trainer in the area. They won’t know what to expect next, and they won’t feel like they are a prisoner to the line of machines that grace most clubs. They may never truly love working out but they will truly love working out with you.