So, what about those traits? Note how I said “positive” traits. Traits like being on-time, compassionate, and professional are a given. They should be taking place on a regular. Some would argue that being aggressive can be both positive and negative, as it does have a little of both. Being aggressive could mean yelling or it could mean being persistent.

 

What about being patient and exercising patience with our clients and their results? This is by no way a novel idea. Of course we have to be patient with our clients, but it seems for some of us we forget this and it shows. We forget to be patient with ourselves and also with our clients. I bring up this subject because patience seems to be severely lacking these days and it’s not good.

 

Here’s a brief example, have you ever seen a trainer yell at their clients or be hard on them when they aren’t getting their results? Yes, it’s frustrating when we work so diligently to help someone break through their shell and they aren’t putting in the required effort. It’s even more heart breaking when they’re actively sabotaging their hard earned results, but this is where we must exercise patience and change our strategy.

 

Some trainers have dropped clients completely; it tarnishes their reputation that this client isn’t getting results in the designated timeframe. While there’s room for debate, as some clients need to be released for varying reasons, it’s best to give people some time. One can’t transition from an unhealthy lifestyle into a super model body overnight. It may take years, and sometimes both client and trainer don’t want to wait that long.

 

It seems like the fitness industry has become impatient. Clients aren’t getting their dream body as quickly as they want so we have to design new programs with harder, faster, and possibly more risky movements to satisfy their appetite. If they think they’re working harder that’s a great thing, right? At least their head is in the game. However, what’s really happening here? Have we succumbed? Shouldn’t we, the professionals, dictate the pace and practice a more patient and strategic approach to gaining results?

 

No one can expect to gain lasting results in a short period of time and unless we, as an industry, set the pace we’re going to keep molding and shaping until it may not even be safe for the common person. Then again, some would argue that we’re already there. What happened to the days where we told people it will take time? That it could take months and years and that it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle demands consistency and hard work over time, one where the results will show but one needs to be patient in their practice.

 

Patience; that’s what it takes, we need to be more patient and set the tone going forward. Yes, our clients and the wider world may want to move faster and train harder, but is this really what it will take? Can we slow down and honestly tell our clients that this goal we call fitness requires patient, strategic, and consistent effort? If there’s one quality we all need to exercise this year is patience. Patience in ourselves because we too will make mistakes, patience in the program because it needs time to work, and patience in the tone we’re setting in the fitness industry going forward.

 

We have to be the ones to guide the future and that means giving the public what they “need”. That may require more strategic programming with safer, less risky, exercise movements and asking that they invest time in a program and follow it without feeling they need to give up if they don’t see results in a few months. It’s up to us; we have to make it happen.

 

One thing I can make happen this month is offering you the gift of a new career path. If you’re new to our newsletter and haven’t heard about our flagship program, the NPI-Certified Posture Specialist™ program, or you’ve thought about it in the past, this is a great opportunity for me to mention it. Expand your career, assess & correct posture, and change the world one spine at a time.

 

Here’s the program >>