SOMETIMES IT’S JUST GOING TO SUCK!
As a trainer a big part of my job is to motivate my clients. I also believe that sometimes that involves convincing my clients that they are capable of reaching their fitness goals. What trainers often forget to say (and I am as guilty as anyone on this point) to their clients is that reaching ones fitness goals is not always enjoyable.
Making lifestyle changes is not an easy process to go through. Where nutrition is concerned there are many difficulties that can arise. Depending on your nutrition plan you may come across a number of issues –if you have dramatically cut out sugar or caffeine you can develop headaches until your body adjusts, hunger pangs are not much fun either and you may get them depending on the amount of calories you have dropped down to per day, and there are many more.
In terms of exercise there are just as many potholes in the road to reaching your health and fitness goals. For those new to exercise there is the inevitable DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the day after those first workouts which make stairs a terrifying prospect. There are also training injuries which may occur even with good technique and correct warm-ups. Again, there are many more which I could go through but I’d be here for hours typing this and you would stop reading after the first few pages (if you even got that far).
Then there are the results. The weeks where you hit your nutrition targets, you go hard in your training sessions and then you jump on the scales. And there is no change. Or worse, the scales have gone in the wrong direction. This is perhaps one of the most frustrating times of a client’s health and fitness journey.
What you need to remember is that these things are normal. You will have weeks when you are sore and weary following your workouts. This happens even to top athletes — it is just not advertised in the papers and energy drink commercials. It is completely normal to have days where you do not hit your nutrition or training goals. You would be hard pressed to find someone who has started out towards a health and fitness goal and completed every training session and hit every nutrition goal.
What you need to remember is that getting to your goal is a process. It is not a straight line graph, it is a series of hills and dips where you will make progress one week and may slip back a little the next. What you need to remember (and here is where your trainer should step in) is that these setbacks are completely normal. They happen to most people. You should expect them and plan on how you will deal with them when they occur.
By planning your response (both emotional and practical) to these setbacks you remove some of the power they have to frustrate and demotivate you. If you would like any help with dealing with setbacks and ideas on how to plan for them feel free to get in touch and I will help you out.
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David Hutchings is the owner of 360 Degree Fitness Limited — a mobile personal and small group trainer based in Wellington, New Zealand. He trains a variety of clients from regular folks trying to get a little fitter to athletes looking to increase their speed and strength. He likes to fish, hang out with his wife and son, and also enjoys classic rock and a good barbecue.
