Conversations

I'll start This blog by saying I'm a little older than the average personal trainer.

This blog is for PT’s, clients and gym users alike, the reason I have written this is because it seems as if the art of conversation is becoming a thing of the past. However, once started most people enjoy a chat and I wanted to highlight the importance of talking as a way to communicate effectively to ensure that clients get the most from their gym programmes and PT’s; and that PT’s can provide the best service possible to their clients.

Now that's out of the way you'll hopefully get a better perspective on where I'm going with this?

A large part of a PT’s job is talking to people, introducing ourselves, selling, coaching or just having a chat in passing. From these conversations we find out our clients (or potential clients) wants, needs, likes and dislikes. Apart from finding out some interesting things it seems that people of a certain generation (my age and older) seem to share some common thoughts on training, training goals and what we motivates us.

"Just keep talking"

Obviously the most common discussions PT’s have with their clients and other gym members is about training, health and nutrition. I have found that more recently these discussions seem to centre around being able to maintain a level of fitness, keep a healthy weight and a good degree of mobility, rather than having a big bench press or deadlift.

One of my clients was telling me recently how pleased they were at being able to sit cross legged for the first time since they were a teenager, she is now over 60 and can also squat to parallel! This is a great achievement for someone who had low back pain and limited hip mobility.

Maintaining good posture is another regular discussion point and I have two clients of similar in age to myself who are following a programme set out to address certain postural challenges. They see having a good posture as more important than having good biceps! Our lifestyles, jobs, recreational and sporting endeavours can all impact our posture in one way or another. Following an appropriate set of exercises can go a long way to correcting most postural challenges and muscular imbalances.

"Discussion, engagement, learning"

These discussions are all about engagement with clients, learning about them, showing interest and building relationships professionally and openly. As a client or gym user you should question your PT or gym instructor and PT’s should just talk to everybody!

In order to write and deliver the best programmes for our clients we must first find out what they want and what they need. This could be two separate things, so a little of what’s wanted in a programme can help to motivate them to do what’s needed!

A couple of gym members said to me a few months back that I'm the only PT at our gym that actually talks to the members. Now whilst I do talk to more than just my own clients I know that I am not the only one talking at our club. Sometimes I just chat, sometimes I offer a little advice or maybe I'll coach them on a particular exercise.

However, PT’s aren't the only ones talking. Clients talk to clients, club members talk to club members and they all talk about us PT’s for good and bad!

"Everybody talks!"

So it's important to have conversations so that you not only get to know your clients and club members, but they get to know us too. It is far easier for a gym member or client to come and ask a question to a familiar face.

I hope this resonates with you or has motivated you to talk a little? As usual thanks for reading and I hope you continue to follow my ramblings! If you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch via my Facebook Page Get Coached (@getcoached.net) or via email at tsilvester@getcoached.net

How To Get Fit Lifting Weights

Trends in training are always on the move, and HIIT training seems to be the current “in thing” with the likes of Grit from Les Mills, CrossFit and Metafit really making it a mainstream phenomenon!

However, in my opinion this is just a rehash of good old fashioned circuit training boxed up and marketed effectively. Old school as they say, works.

The move away from the traditional sets and reps formula to a more target or goal oriented format has shown to be successful. HIIT training can increase muscle mass and improve fitness as well as help adherence to training.

For most people fitness usually means increased stamina, better endurance and is usually associated with cardiovascular (cv) exercise, which some see as boring and time consuming. CV exercise is also used as a fat burner; the more time spent doing cv the more calories burnt. HIIT training can burn more calories during and after a workout than traditional cv exercise over a similar programme length.

Traditional cv workouts can be spiced up by following a HIIT style format that will be more time efficient for most, and less boring overall. The heart health benefits of including HIIT training as part of your workouts have also proven to be more than just beneficial. This can include helping to reduce blood pressure towards optimal levels, to increase arterial elasticity, and to increase cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory health.

Imagine then, how easy HIIT training is to market and sell with all the following attributes:

• Boosts metabolism during exercise
• Metabolism remains elevated long after exercise stops
• Burns calories at a higher rate than traditional cv exercise
• Increases aerobic and anaerobic fitness
• Can increase muscle strength and size
• Efficient way to exercise (less time training)
• Variety of exercises and equipment available
• Excellent health benefits

Training efficiently, getting the most from every workout and more are all reasons to follow a HIIT style training programme. There are also some very specific benefits to this training method.

Getting older leads to a progressive increase in arterial stiffness, especially in large (central) arteries, which is accelerated by high blood pressure.

Moreover, young healthy individuals with a family history of hypertension can have increased arterial stiffness before any increase in blood  pressure is seen.

Although regular aerobic exercise appears to reduce age-associated arterial stiffness continuous moderate-intensity training interventions have failed to show any benefit for individuals with high blood pressure.

However, there is some evidence to show that HIIT training can reduce arterial stiffness in people with high blood pressure.

Always check with your doctor before starting a HIIT training schedule even if you don't have any symptoms of high blood pressure.

For more information on HIIT training workouts and exercises please get in touch by email tsilvester@getcoached.net or Facebook @getcoached.net or register your email address at www.getcoached.net for your free HIIT workout sheet.