Lessons Learned from the Fitness Industry

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Wellness and fitness are very closely related. In the fitness industry, personal trainers have been refining the art of listening to their clients in order to get the client toward a certain fitness goal (although this can be limited to just fitness) and therefore provide the example for how continued improvements in the wellness coaching processes can be realized under the umbrella of behavior change.

Fitness professionals tend to ask themselves, “How can we get better results for our clients in the fitness industry?”

It seems that fitness professionals are always working to understand and meet the needs of the general population, and this works hand-in-hand with wellness concepts.

The Fitness Industry has Mastered the Art of Motivation

The fitness industry has made impressive strides toward improving fitness, for many members of the population, in the past 10 to 20 years. Now it’s pretty common to be able to sell club memberships and for club management to better understand how to persuade clients to make decisions to get started with physical activity. The fitness industry has mastered the art of getting people motivated to start exercising, and again, this is congruent with wellness.

However, sometimes we are eager to get clients started with exercise before they may be ready. This may be the most important lesson that we still need to learn. In this interim stage of change, wellness coaching should provide clients with realistic steps to transition into such an important behavior as becoming physically active. We, therefore, tend to lose clients because we miss coaching opportunities during this interim stage of coaching actions with your client.

Meaning or relevance for change can be lost in the “interim stage.” So fitness clubs will take our client’s money, sign them up, put them on a treadmill next to a trainer, and they are set free. Our client has a great chance of dropping out. This is the point that is being missed in coaching still, today.

Using Responsible Coaching

Responsible coaching can help address some of these problems with the client in this situation. As a wellness coach, you will come to understand that coaching will fill that gap between what’s going on when the client makes the decision to begin an exercise routine (or for that matter, any behavior change) only to drop out a few weeks down the road.

It’s more important to work with your client toward lasting changes, and not to play the expert role that we see so often in these scenarios. During these coaching opportunities, the coach and client can build a relationship that is missing, or not seen, between fitness professionals and the general public or their clients.

Becoming Your Client’s Partner

When you enter into the coaching relationship with your client, you become their partner. Consider those people who seem to look fit and healthy while having all of their health behaviors and check, as opposed to those who don’t… an experienced wellness coach is one who really understands those who do not have control of their behaviors.

Your Wellness Coaching Career

Becoming a Certified Wellness Coach is the perfect addition for the fitness professional who wants to offer more all-inclusive wellness services to clients.  The time is now for you to enjoy this exciting and rewarding career, which offers you personal fulfillment while improving the lives of others.

Already started your Wellness Coaching Career? Learn more about becoming a Certified Corporate Wellness Coach. This niche market is exploding with opportunity!

Spencer Institute certification programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.

That’s it for now.

Take action!

NESTA | Spencer Institute

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