You have a fitness goal. You're inspired. You're motivated. You are ready.
You hit the gym and hire a trainer. You tell them your goal: you want to be super lean and finally have six-pack abs.
The trainer designs a plan for you. It includes lifting 4 days a week and a diet that has you eating in a surplus.
You give it your all for several weeks but you're not seeing the changes you want. You tell them and they respond, "you're stronger and you're building muscle! You're doing great!"
So you should just stick with the plan, right?
Nope.
I'd suggest it may be time to find another trainer. Seriously.
Why? A huge part of a client-trainer interaction is communication. In this case you stated your goal and the regimen they designed for you isn't in line with that objective.
Now it doesn't mean this trainer is bad. It's probably just a bad fit. Compatibility matters. It's imperative that before you begin any program you and your trainer are on the same page. In this case you said you wanted to get really lean and they put you on a plan that doesn't work towards that.
Ideally you work together to hammer out the goals as clearly as possible. The clarity is imperative. You may come to the situation with a goal as specific as "six-pack abs in three months" or as vague as "feel better and more confident." Wherever you are is absolutely fine. It's the trainer's job to help you narrow your focus to help you figure out exactly what you want. It's your goal, your mission, it's personal.
A trainer is a coach, not a drill instructor. You want to climb a mountain, the coach is the guide. They lay out your options make suggestions on which course to take and why. They listen to you, answer your questions, and clarify when needed.
They should be able to explain to you the reasoning and the pros and cons of the strategies. You work together until you have a plan you both agree on. Then you execute. After all, a plan is no good unless you take action.
Depending on your goal, the plan (or the path) will look very different. This is why cookie-cutter fitness programs are almost always ineffective. You can achieve just about any fitness goal you want, as long as you have a map to get there and you keep taking steps on the path.
A good coach can help accelerate that by listening to you and guiding you towards the right path for you. Now communication can be difficult but it's necessary. There's an element of trust between both you and the trainer. To distill your goals and obstacles is to reveal some of your vulnerabilities. That's hard for just about anyone. A good trainer would never judge you for your current situation or for your goals. That's not the job. It's to help you develop and execute a plan with your best interests in mind.
The communication also matters along the way because as you're acting on the plan, things come up. Unexpected obstacles like an illness, an injury (hopefully not an injury), a change in schedule can happen. You'll have to work together to overcome or work around the unanticipated situations. You should never feel as if you're all alone on your mission.
If you don't have a pinpoint fitness goal yet, that's okay. If you have tons of questions, that's okay, too. And of course, if you know exactly where you want to go, that's cool. A good trainer can be helpful in helping you whatever your situation is. By "good" I mean a good fit for you. Their personality, knowledge base, communication style all have to fit.
Finally, I'll say it's a two-way street. The goal is yours. That means you have to be willing to put in the work to make it happen. And to speak up when it's necessary. You work together as a team to help achieve your goals.
Okay, that's all I've got for this week. Whatever your goal is, let's attack it this week. And if you haven't chosen one yet, pick a goal and chase it down!
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