Accountability & Communication

By: Karyssa Shaw

It will make or break a trainer-client relationship!

There are many things that are expected when you are a personal training client. Aside from the typical goals of getting stronger or losing weight, every training client should expect to get regular communication and a trainer that is all about holding them accountable! Coming from personal experience, communication and accountability should not be an option. If your client is paying you for your services, no matter what their goals are, you should be making sure they are taking every step, both in and out of the gym, in order to succeed! That means texting/emailing/calling them on the weekends to check in or making them send you a picture of their lunch that day. It really goes a long way. 

I recently just cut things off with someone who was programming my workouts for me. I went to college with him and he is a personal trainer. I wasn't doing in person programming because he lives a couple hours away from me so I thought online programming would still be good. The first couple of months were great. He was asking me how I was doing at the end of the week, asking if I was having any issues with any of the exercises, and encouraging me to work hard. Recently, I have noticed that he would update my workouts at the beginning of the month, and then I wouldn't hear from his until the next month. This was super discouraging to me because I need that accountability in order for me to feel like I'm succeeding. Earlier this week, I decided that it wasn't working out anymore. So I decided on a different route. 

I have also been working on my nutrition with a friend of mine who I grew up with. She lives down in Florida so all of her programming is also online. The difference between working with her and working with my personal trainer is that she is constantly texting me asking how I'm doing! She'll shoot me a text a few times a week, "like" my posts on Instagram, and cheer me on. She's always giving me helpful tips and tricks to battle cravings and just super communicative. Since I've seen a huge difference in how she handles communication and accountability with her clients, I have decided to utilize her for my workout programming as well. 

I feel as though so many people don't realize how important it is to have a "cheerleader". Someone who has your back and will help you through the tough times. I could text her late at night on a Friday and she'll answer back right away which is something I wasn't getting from the other guy. I still consider him a friend of mine, I just found that he was putting more effort into his in-person clients and his online clients were on the back burner. 

Moral of the story, don't settle! If you feel like you aren't getting 100% attention, don't be afraid to switch things up. Remember, you're doing it for yourself. You deserve to have people on your side cheering you on. Don't be "just another client".