As coaches we’ve all asked this question, “What are your goals?” To which our new, nervous client goes, “I don’t know”, “to be strong”, “to lose weight”. None of these are your traditional SMART goals. This ends up being an empty question which leaves the client feeling vulnerable and you the coach, nothing to truly work with.
Let’s consider some barriers to entry a client has upon joining or coming back to a gym. Sure; time and money. How about fear of failure, not feeling good enough, exposing themselves to a new environment or even just dressing in clothes that don’t feel good to them. “What if I look dumb?” or “What if I sound dumb?” floating through their minds.
Have you ever gone to a conference or seminar and thought, I know I have questions, but I don’t know what to ask? That’s goal setting on day 1. The client knows why they are there, but they don’t know what they need. That’s likely why they came in in the first place.
Here are some alternatives to “What are your goals” that will bring you closer to the person sitting in front of you:
- What drew you to our gym?
- What does a regular day look like for you?
- What are some barriers you see coming up that may prevent you from following through on our schedule?
- What are your expectations from our time together?
- On a scale of 1-10 how committed do you feel to changing your habits?
- What’s your relationship with exercise?
- Have you ever worked with a personal trainer before? In a gym? In a class?
- What did you like about working with a trainer? What didn’t you like?
- In 3 months, what are you hoping to gain from this experience?
In the not too distant past, most training experiences were only for competitors and elite. Thankfully, now a days, you will get a vast array of ages/special populations, both men and women who are just doing this to feel good and for longevity. In that sense, SMART goals can at times be, out dated.
If someone has specific goals, excellent. You will likely know about them right away. Perhaps you were even sought out for a specific skill set. However this initial conversation goes, revisit these answers in 8-12 weeks. Did you meet their expectations? Did they meet theirs? This is an easy way to establish a goal has been hit, or to rejuvenate the conversation/relationship.
There is a good chance, after you’ve established a connection and shown the client their capabilities, this second conversation may be flooded with goals that would’ve sent them running on day 1.
–Coach Meg
The Break Room 