It’s a difficult time for the fitness industry with all gyms ordered to close as of the 23rd of March. So making the best out of the current situation has been challenging but not impossible for fitness professionals. Many have chosen to reach clients through online personal training and classes, which have proven popular for some more than others. Whilst online personal training and Instagram lives have become the new normal, there are other ways in which to engage and support your clients, call it another string to your bow. Until the day that the gym doors open, we have a few tips to help…
- Nutrition advice: As a personal trainer you will know how important a diet is in the overall grand scheme of exercise and calories. Nutrition is, of course, a touchy subject in regards to the limitation of advice you can offer. Often said in a passing comment, that it’s important to stay in your lane. This does not mean that you can’t offer helpful advice about tracking calorie intake and macros. Help your client understand how to maintain some progress through what they are eating, especially if they are worried that they are reaching for the fridge too often. Planning meals in advance, with ingredients that can work across several meals, limiting food waste could be a great help.
- Check-in: Days and weeks are starting to roll into each other, so make sure you are touching base to see how your clients are doing and coping. A personal trainer can be so much more than the person who beasts them at the gym. Someone’s lifestyle impacts heavily on progress and if they are struggling, whether that be stress or anything else, you can be an outlet to drive positive constructive behaviours moving forward. Again, know your boundaries and refer where applicable.
- Focus on technique: Depending on how well prepared your client is with equipment at home, will dictate much of what you will likely do with them. But like the majority of the population, who didn’t quite see 2020 turning out like this, means there will be limitations. So it is a great time to really focus on getting technique airtight with your clients. Technique, after all, is the backbone to succeeding in their goals.
- Keep Moving: All trainers know that increasing general daily activity can go a long way in helping burn calories, but maybe not your clients. Encourage them to get that Vitamin D whilst the sun is out and make the most of the one daily exercise allocated during this time. Set them a challenge to achieve to keep them motivated with incentives, hopefully, this will stop them from moulding into the sofa if you are concerned about isolation. Obviously, be mindful of the current guidelines around COVID-19, that your challenges do not encourage your clients to break these, for example, 10,000 steps daily may not be safe or achievable in some cases.
With no end in sight as it stands, it’s all about the daily small wins which will keep both you and your clients motivated through these tough times. Stay Healthy and safe!
Thanks for reading
PT Workspace Team
There is no telling how long the UK will be in lockdown, as it has been said on many occasions these really are unprecedented times. Many of us would never have experienced anything like this in our generation or even our parent’s generation for that matter. So its completely natural to feel a level of uncertainty or anxiety especially if you have had to face temporarily closing your business, or are particularly worried for friends and relatives which you cannot see.
As it stands we have to take each day as it comes and have faith in the kindness and humanity shown in the community when some days can look pretty gloomy. Now more than ever looking after your mental & physical health is pivotal to making your way through the next few weeks and months ahead, so we have some ideas to help you through isolation and keep your mind and body stimulated.
Some might be obvious but hey, give it a go anyway…
- Limit the amount of media you listen to every day. Some of the great mental health charities in the UK are suggesting limiting yourself to around 5minutes of news every day if you feel like it’s impacting on your health. If it gets too much change it over or turn it off!
- Find 15minutes a day to clear your mind, whether you meditate, pray or just listen to your heartbeat. Allow yourself to let go and focus on the moment. It may sound very hippy but this does wonders for the mind.
- Develop your online presence, now more than ever you have something which we don’t often have…Time, time to work on your brand, time to present the best version of yourself to your clients.
- Declutter- Follow people on Instagram who inspire you, keep your feed insightful and positive, delete those who question your self worth or elicit a negative reaction
- Further your education, If you are a personal trainer there are lots of CPD courses available on sites like https://www.premierglobal.co.uk/ where you can develop your skillset. Times are tough and if upfront payment is not a viable option, explore payment options the company has available to you. Just ask.
- Bake- Now we know some of the essentials in the stores can be hard to come by, but there are websites such as ‘BBC good food’ which feature recipes from bits which can be found in your cupboard or are less difficult to come by in the shops. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/storecupboard-baking
- Find a Podcast which holds your attention. Personally, we are always partial to a good Ted Talk, but here is a list of highly rates podcasts of 2020 to explore for yourself https://shapescale.com/blog/health/best-fitness-podcasts/
https://player.fm/featured/fitness - Learn a new skill or language. There are sites where you can learn beginner languages for free, such as https://www.duolingo.com/. Or if you have always wanted to learn how to do a handstand, now is the time! I bet there is a youtube video for that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt5RXhch8E
- Read a book, whether you download it to your fancy phone or tablet, or enjoy the old fashioned feel of the pages, Amazon have their best sellers on hand to prompt inspiration if you are stuck. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Books-Fitness-Exercise/zgbs/books/270721
- Keep in touch with friends and family, with the rise of apps like Houseparty and Zoom it has never been easier to connect with loved ones. Oh, and you can play games too.
Of course, if all else fails there is always the classic Nexflix and chill for the evening. Stay healthy and Safe.
Thanks for reading
PT Workspace Team