Goal setting is an important factor in determining the client’s success in training endeavours, whether their goal is weight loss, improved performance or just increased state of health & wellbeing. However very little information is provided for the personal trainer as far as the way to approach the client’s individual goals beyond the basic goal of training.
The mental aspect cannot be under estimated and there are a number of very good books on this subject that should be reviewed. Millions of dollars are spend every year for sports psychology in professional sports.
Sometimes however the client’s goals don’t match what they really need. Therefore sometimes you need to say one thing and do another but that’s not to say that you can’t deliver both as often both are still based on the fundamentals.
For example if a client comes in and you perform an assessment on them and from this assessment you discover that they have postural distortion pattern, muscle length asymmetries, movement impairment all of which should be addressed first but the clients immediate goal is to lose bodyfat. So what are you to do? Well this does depend on the client and your ability to read them. Our experience has been that once the client has been through the assessment process they will see that they need to address these problems, you will also need to sit down with them and explain what is needed in greater detail but always coming back to how this will help them towards their ultimate goal.
You can also use this initial phase of training as a transition phase to help develop a training phase while also adapting to any dietary changes that maybe needed.
You need to find the clients motivation and build upon that. They may come to you and say they want to lose bodyfat but you need to find out what their motivation is behind this. This is where they will draw their motivation from rather than their stated goal.
One of the biggest reasons clients don’t reach their goals or once they reach their goals are unable to maintain it is because they have failed in the past so they come with a pre-conceived idea that this time will not be any different.
How to recognize when a clients mind is preventing them from achieving their potential:
- Negative self talk
- Not beginning to affect change in other areas in their life
- Still performing activities that work against their reason for seeing you
The key is goal setting and really setting clear achievable goals that follow systematic guidelines.
Goal setting guidelines:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Written
- Prioritized
- Timely
Specific
A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
- Who: Who is involved?
- What: What do I want to accomplish?
- Where: Identify a location.
- When: Establish a time frame.
- Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
- Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
Measurable
Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as, How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable
When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Realistic
To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
Written
Writing goals down will help provide a road-map for what is needed to obtain the goals while keeping you on track towards these goals. You can also use the process to track your progress as you reach each step towards the ultimate goal.
Prioritized
When there are more than one goal, prioritizing these goals become essential and works hand in hand with the writing of goals above. Using flow charts can also be helpful with prioritizing written goals and laying out a plan of attack.
Timely
A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10lbs/5kg, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by April 21st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Having a date can also help with planning by working back from this date. This is even more important when planning an athletic even that they may need to peak for but fortunately in most cases you will know these dates far in advance.