I didn’t have any clients this weekend! It was a rare weekend off, an instance becoming more and more rare as the clients increase. That doesn’t mean I took the weekend off from training however, and decided to come get some work done early Sunday afternoon. Doing that quick scan to make sure that nothing I needed was being used I realized that 4 of my clients were also in the gym getting their own work in. Each one performing a different movement within their programming, to the exertion level we need, with good technique.
Proud coach moment, man.
The work my clients and I do together is usually overwhelmingly positive. We work hard and have a ton of fun and learn how and why things happen when we perform different movements. But that’s only one hour. There are another 167 hours in the week! What they choose to do in that time is going to be crucial to their success. Every trainer has had clients who work hard with them but slack in their own. It’s always a tough conversation to broach- that person will never meet their fitness goals if they aren’t willing to put in the work on their own. I’ve said it before- but of the two of us, I can’t be the one that wants it more.
So, to walk in the gym and look around and see a single arm cable fly (always better than bilateral), some isometric holds on the closed chain leg press, and some thoracic extension practice being performed without me there overseeing made me incredibly happy. That adherence is so so so crucial. It always upsets me when coaches attempt to leach some of the glory from their clients for their successes. We’ve all seen and heard it. I get that you may have taught that client some stuff, but the bottom line is they still have to execute the work and eat the food and sleep. Don’t make this about you.
Ultimately our job as coaches is to train ourselves out of a job. Sounds weird to say, but I want every client to learn enough so that they no longer need me. If someone wants to train with me for years- phenomenal. But my goal is to teach them enough to enable that self-sufficiency that will carry them through the rest of their fitness journey.