Good Coaching Relationships Take Time

When setting out on your new health and fitness journey it is normal to want to immediately click with your Personal Trainer, so you feel comfortable and enjoy the process (as everyone says to do). However, this may not always be the case. Think back on all your relationships you have had in your life. Apart from immediate family it is very likely your closest and most honest relationships were formed over long periods of time rather than immediately. It is very normal for these relationships to take time, however to get the most out of your new found trainer-client relationship it is important to remember a few things.

Communication is important! However honest communication is the true key. When you are talking with your sister, best friend, brother, or someone you confide in, it is most likely that your solid relationship is built on a pillar of honesty. The same should go for your relationship with your trainer. Your trainer wants to see you achieve your goals and can only help you if you are honest. When you are honest about your life outside the 4 walls of the gym, they are able to form a true picture of your obstacles, worries or struggles rather than you painting a façade of something else, and in turn they may not be able to assist you like you want them to. It is imperative for your relationship that you practice this honesty, your trainer wants to see you achieve your goals! Help them help you get there.

There is going to be an adjustment period. Practicing open communication with your trainer about potentially sensitive items for you will be hard at first, like the first time you picked up a weight and thought “oh wow this is hard”, the same thing will happen when you need to tell your trainer something that may not be easy to tell them. Adjusting to being open with someone else about your health and fitness worries, struggles and goals will take time, just like your friendships outside the gym, and what you put in to this relationship is what you will get out of it.

If you are constantly jumping from one trainer to another, one goal to another, it will actually take longer to become the person who you want to be. Like building a house, setting the solid foundation will ensure it does not fall over at the first wind. If you do the same, set solid foundations, build together slowly, you will create a relationship that helps you flourish and become the person you want to be.