As health and fitness professionals, our primary goal should be the health and fitness of our clients. We've all asked the question: How do we help our clients?

The following are some simple, yet often overlooked, steps to help the health and fitness professional become more valuable and more successful.

Step 1: Listen

Everyone loves to talk about themselves; clients or even potential clients are full of valuable information. Health and fitness professionals must be personal and attentive in order to get the client to open up and share individual goals. The more we listen, the more details we learn, therefore enabling us to design the appropriate programs for our clients. Does Ann have grandchildren she wants to play with? Does Ben want to play better golf? Does Stan want to beat his brother at racquetball? Even the smallest detail could become a very valuable tidbit of information. Be a sponge and soak it all in! Now that we've listened, we must continue to learn.

Step 2: Learn

Learn the details. The details of our programs must mirror the details of our client’s lives. We need to question and question and question. Let "why" become our friend. What activities do they enjoy, why do they enjoy them? How often do they participate? Get specific. If your client wants to lose weight, ask why they want to lose weight, when do they want to lose it by, exactly how much weight do they want to lose? Does your client want to run faster? If so,why? Do they want to run a 5k, 10k, maybe a marathon?

Find the motivator. What motivates your client? How can you use this information and integrate it not just into a fitness program, but a "life changing experience"? By questioning our clients we gain invaluable information. Now, let's take these valuable resources and react.

Step 3: React

Our reaction to information shared by the client will ultimately determine the client’s level of motivation, which in turn reflects the client’s level of commitment. This reaction is the game changer! This is the phase that separates the "great" trainer from the good trainer. Be creative! Integrate you professional knowledge and experience into a fun and functional program based on everything you've learned from your client.

As an example: you could integrate a lightweight Frisbee throw or ball toss into a first session workout as a simple step toward the flexibility needed to play ball with the grandchildren while also activating the bodies core. So in essence we are creating "a firm foundation" while our client is enjoying themselves thinking about their grandchild and how much fun they'll have.

In addition, as health and fitness professionals we must always keep in mind the necessity to increase the intensity level of activities to keep our client's progressing toward their ultimate goals for fitness and quality of life.

Step 4: Affirm

Affirmation should be the easiest step for health and fitness professionals. If we've listened, learned and reacted, then we will not have to affirm the validity of our programs. They will be affirmed through the dynamic results achieved by designing an integrated, functional, and fun program based on each client's specific needs and goals.

In summary, more enjoyment means more client motivation, which leads to greater client satisfaction and ultimately greater client retention and referral. This is a key to success for the health and fitness professional. By implementing these simple steps (listen, learn, react, and affirm) the health and fitness professional will ensure they are designing the optimum training program for each client.

When we listen to and satisfy our clients, success will surely follow.

About the Author

Corinne "Cori" Rodgers is an energetic functional trainer with an extraordinary passion for life. She is Board Certified through the NCCA approved National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) as a Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist. Helping people effectively achieve their fitness goals in life is what she enjoys most. She currently trains for A Firm Foundation in The Colony, Texas and may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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written by Jackie, May 19, 2011

i completely agree with this article!!

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