CLIENT TELL.

By: Gerrick King

In college, I thought my psychology classes were GPA boosters and I never took them seriously. Who would have thought that the information that I learned from my psychology minor would be so significant in my career.

This blog is for the personal trainers and coaches out there.

If you've been in the training game long enough you have probably figured out that every person who trains with you has their own idea on what working out is. As personal trainers, we can't make the mistake of assuming everyone wants what we want. Yes, we know they need to lift weights, eat right, and make better choices around what they do outside of the gym. This however must be applied to the person in a way that they can handle and process.​ Learn to adapt.

Here are a few different types of clients you will see at the gym:

1. Rise and Grind: These people are in it to win it. They feel like they need to sweat or else they won't be satisfied with the workout. You can be direct with them. Often these clients are too extreme with their exercise and you must educate them on how much and how often they are coming in.
2. Talkers: We like to call these guys the "session stoppers" because they are across the room talking to someone else. As much as this may drive you nuts these clients are great for the gym community. Use these clients to your advantage and introduce them to new clients, as they can assist in the sales process. They won't mind.
3. Just Showing Up: As you know clients have lives outside of the gym. Some are really stressful with work, kids, travel, etc. Sometimes these clients will show up and just go through the motion of a workout. It took all they had to get through the gym entrance. Being a hard ass to these people is not what they need. Be encouraging and push them when you can but don't be overbearing because they will probably be annoyed.
4. Not Fit Enough: Sometimes you'll have new clients taking class who are feeling discouraged about not fitting into the gym community or not being as strong as everyone else. Be attentive to these clients and reassure them that everyone has been in their position before, it takes time. Introduce them to someone positive in the group, maybe one of the talker(s) that I mentioned above. Also, show them exercise modifications appropriate to their fitness level if needed. You'll often find clients are stronger than they think and just need an extra push of reassurance. These are good clients to take from class and sell personal training to, with a couple personal training sessions they can build the confidence and learn the appropriate technique to later apply in classes on their own.
5. Soul Suckers: On rare occasions, you will have a client who is very negative. You can almost feel the temperature change as they enter the gym. They respond to your positive attitude with resistance, heavy sighs and eye rolling. They probably complain about your exercise selection and perform the movements with minimal enthusiasm. Negativity is one of the most contagious emotional states, and anytime you work with someone negative you run the risk of being infected and infecting others. Allow this client to vent at the beginning of the workout and unload their negative thoughts. The goal is to break their negative talk pattern, if that doesn't work then just turn up the music volume so their attitude doesn't affect the other clients.
6. Hypochondriacs: You're going to have clients who make minimal progress because they always seem to be nervous during their workouts. They arrive with previous aches and pains and believe it's a result of a previous session. You have to address their fear and anxiety through a combination of gentle exercise and reassurance. You may also direct them to resources to support your information. These are good clients to take from class and sell personal training to. Create a partnership with them by asking them to participate in exercise selection, owning their workout will allow them to take responsibility and ease their anxiety towards exercise.

Basically, clients come into the gym or all different reasons and we need to be able to recognize this and give them what they want while we give them what they need. It is more than just a workout.

At the end of the day, be nice to everyone no matter what.