Written by Mark Teahan Spencer Institute Director of Education

What is Motivating Your Coaching Clients?

Both trainers and coaches deal with motivation in several different ways. This is due to the fact that clients have different motives for seeking a coach or trainer, and this requires that we understand and clarify what our clients’ motivation for exercise or behavior change is.

Clients Who Lack Internal Motivation

For trainers, we know that it is usually not enough for a client to pursue physical changes with no sound rationale behind the effort. In some extreme cases, a doctor or physician has warned the client that if they don’t take action, they may experience even greater consequences to their health and wellness. This is the type of client who is less likely to enjoy working out or following training program designs because they are doing it to correct a condition or circumstance that they have found themselves in. Often due to a sedentary lifestyle or simple apathy, this type of client can be hard to motivate. They may lack internal motivation for change.  This is just one angle of motivation, however. [Read more…]