WELLNESS COACHINGA Personal Trainers Guide

So you’re a personal trainer with a solid group of clients who love you and work well during their training sessions, but you sometimes feel that they are not achieving their goals as quickly as they could, or in some cases seem to sabotage their attempts.

You love what you do but wonder if you can keep doing the same thing for many more years and would love to find a new way of working that would give you greater satisfaction and challenge and an opportunity of stepping off the ‘training treadmill’.

If either of these statements apply you need to read this e-book!

COACHING. WHAT IS IT?A coaching relationship is quite different from the traditional trainer/client model that is mainly used today. The word ‘coach’ has become quite popular but is often misused unintentionally.

You are not a coach unless you:1. Consider yourself a ‘partner’ not just the expert in your client’s health journey2. Give responsibility to your client rather than taking it yourself3. Collaborate with them to come up with creative strategies to achieve their goals4. Help them explore what barriers are to their progress and together work out possible solutions5. Understand that change requires a slow step by step approach and the biggest reason why people fail is that they don’t believe they can succeed6. Recognize that what is going on in a person’s mind plays a big part in what is going on in their bodies

Are you willing to take risks, face you own fears and challenges and show humility?

WHY DO WE NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE IN OUR APPROACH?

Take a look at the statistics and you will soon realize that the fitness industry is just not winning in the war against lifestyle habits that cause illness and disease - both mental and physical.

We are battling against years of numerous quick fix solutions that have resulted in the general population having lowered confidence about changing for good.

People want to change, the year for better health, but don’t know how to.

THE EXPERT APPROACH

Our community is full of experts. Expert advice is appropriate at certain times when knowledge is essential. When it comes to daily habits and choices, we cannot be the expert in someone else’s life. We can only help them work out what is getting in the way of where they want to be and how they can get there. If we tell them to do what we say, we are saying ‘we are in control’, not them.

SIX BENEFITS OF THE COACHING APPROACH

1. The pressure goes off your shoulders and rests with the client (where it belongs) who in turn learns how to take control of their own lives.

2. Clients get results but also learn more about themselves as people - they gain insights into what they really want and what their ‘blocks’ are.

3. You learn to work in a way that takes into account the whole person not just their weight, diet or movement habits.

SIX BENEFITS OF THE COACHING APPROACH

4. ‘Wellness’ is a more comprehensive and desirable state than just ‘fitness’. It encompasses mental and physical health that are better being considered together.

5. Clients experience a support person who backs them in their efforts, provides guidance when needed, holds them accountable and inspires them by who they are, not what they do or how they look.

6. Your job takes on a new dimension and you have the option of following a career that is not limited by having to be physically present or active. Coaching can be done over the phone!

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 1 - ASSESSMENT

Before working with a client a full well-being assessment is advisable which explores areas such as stress management, sleep and hydration as well as exercise, diet and energy levels. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure there are no health risks that need more in depth medical consultation but also to increase the clients awareness of what improvements they would like in their lives.

Instead of rushing in to a weight loss program a good coach will help their client develop a vision of what life would be like if certain changes were made. We often simply don’t have time to envisage what else might change if we were to very or improve our lifestyle habits. A vision will go further than simple changing our eating habits. If we were to learn to be more patient, how might that affect our relationships in general? What might open up for us if we could make this change? A vision is the most essential part of the coaching process. If we don’t know what we want, how can we expect to push ahead to get it when we are not clear on why and where we’re going?

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 2 - VISION

Often called ‘excuses’ barriers are real reasons why someone finds it difficult to change. A good coach will help a client bring these out in the open and work out which are easier to tackle than others. And with the more difficult ones, encourage the client to come up with ways around them. This is where the concept of the client being the expert in their own life is so important. They will come up with solutions that we may not think of as they have more information.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 3 - BARRIERS

There is a huge body of research that supports the idea that at any given time, a person may be more ready to change one thing than another. As coaches, our job is to find out what they are most ready to move forward with. Where does their confidence lie and what do they place high importance on?

Each behaviour needs to be considered separately. They may be ready to start exercising but not ready to give up smoking - or vice versa.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 4 - READINESS TO CHANGE

Why does a person what what they say they want?

The deep underlying reasons behind any change are incredibly important and they are not the same for everyone. For example, one person may wish to give up smoking to free up more money for other things, whereas another may be desperate to be a better role model for their kids. Tied in with motivation are the things that really make us tick - our values. A good coach will recognize that each person’s values are unique and not try to impose theirs on their clients. Instead they will help their client.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 5 - MOTIVATION

In addition to knowledge in their chosen field, a good wellness coach will bring a skill set to the relationship that goes beyond intellectual learning. Their skills should include:

- advanced listening skills - warmth- empathy - humour- energy and enthusiasm - ability to be silent- perceptiveness - reflections and appropriate challenges- acceptance - enquiry- reframing - planning- honesty

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 6 - COACHING SKILLS

Many clients seem to resist the very thing they want and this can be frustrating for the person who is trying to help them. Surely they simply have to do what we say and the rest is easy? Yet time and time again we see people jump into a program and drop out within weeks, we hear them say how important it is to them then fail to live up to their commitment to follow through. What is this all about? Do they really want what they say they want? Chances are that they do. If they have said it is important to them, it probably is. Unless of course it is important to someone else and they are merely echoing their wishes. We have truly desired something and understand why we desire it before it will happen. And the motivation has to be internal rather than external.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 7 - RESISTANCE

But we also need to accept that many people have some confusion around change and although they would like to be ‘lighter, fitter, a non smoker etc’ the barriers may seem to big for them to have the confidence to make it happen. There may also be fear attached to the outcome. What will it be like when I am a thinner person? How will I relate to others? Who will I hang around when I don’t smoke? This type of ambivalence is normal and until we can help more clients become more clear, it is unlikely they will succeed. Building confidence and examining the pros and cons of change is essential for someone at this stage.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 7 - RESISTANCE

The wonderful part of coaching is that you never get bored with what people come up with. You also never have to have advice on the one way of achieving a goal. Because barriers and motivators are so individual each client goes on their own journey of discovery and you will go with them.

Never assume that there is one way of approaching a problem. Trust your clients to come up with strategies that you haven’t even thought of and encourage them to dream about ‘what if’ as often as possible.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 8 - EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES

This new body of research is providing weight and depth to the coaching process and being embraced by learning organizations throughout the world. When we start to focus on what is going well instead of what is going badly, we create shifts in attitude if not reality.

If we can help people engage regularly in activities that create a sense of flow and absorption, they will enrich their lives. Fostering a sense of gratitude, wonder and hopefulness.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 9 - POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

This is where we feel most comfortable. After all it’s what personal trainers do. We help clients look ahead and strive for big goals that will get them excited. But we often forget something in the process. Change does not happen in one big chunk. We don’t go from starting to jog to running in our first marathon without taking many intermediary steps (literally and figuratively). It is easy for someone to get lost in the process and discouraged along the way if they don’t have a sense of achievement - regularly.

We will often use outcome goals as a target - this is what you will get if you do a, b and c. That’s great when you lose 5kg. But what then? If we want to help people change their lives, then we should help them focus on a way of living rather than just ticking a box. What will you be doing in three months time that will let you know you are on the way to a lighter body/more relaxed life etc?

Contrast the two goals below:1. In three months time I will be less stressed2. In three months time I will be meditating for 15 minutes at the start of each day

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 10 - GOAL SETTING

The second process goal is a plan to get the outcome that they want. The outcome goal says nothing about how you achieve it. We need to know what we want. And when we create our vision that’s where the outcomes we want are revealed. But even then we dig deeper. Why do we want to be less stressed? What is our motivation for that? What else could change? When we set goals with clients we need to think about a three month timeframe and then break them down to weekly goals that are re-set at the end of each week depending on our progress. Goals are how we learn what barriers we are facing and they are a way and reason for celebrating success. They need to be created artfully.

TEN PRINCIPLES OF COACHING 10 - GOAL SETTING

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?

Does any of the above strike a chord? Many of you will be doing some of these things but perhaps not in a structured fashion. Coaching is about dreaming big but very much about structure and planning. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about this way of communicating as it will change your client’s lives and often your own.

Training options: Wellness Coach accreditation in Australia does not exist yet, nor does it internationally, but this will change. Remember that when you learn to coach, you are building on your knowledge and learning in your chosen profession. A personal trainer who is certified and registered will be on safe ground because of their knowledge and will simply be using coaching skills to deliver a program.

Wellness Coaching Australia runs one day workshops for trainers and at present has a Level 1 and Level 2 course. The Level 2 course has pre and post workshop assignments so in fact covers more than an 8 hour block. There is also an audio program for distance learning which is a great introduction to the concepts. The courses are accredited with Fitness Australia, REPs New Zealand and Kinect Australia. The training follows the Wellcoaches model (see below). For more information contact info@wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au or go to www.wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au

RMIT University in Melbourne runs a Masters degree in Wellness which has a Wellness Coaching module as an elective (soon to become a core subject) and this is available for undergraduates. The module involves 120 hours of distance online learning.

Wellcoaches US run a teleclass program over a three month period which has an optional certification program attached to it. This training is comprehensive, consists of weekly sessions and internationally available, although you will be calling through the US.

TIME TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU WORK?

info@wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au

Call - 0416 224155

www.wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au