There are a ton of fitness coaches out there these days. You can get a one-on-one trainer, group trainer, home trainer, or online trainer. Whichever route you decide to go (but you should obviously choose the online trainer. wink wink) you should look for this one thing. If your coach doesn't do this, fire him/her.
Tell me why!
If your coach doesn't tell you why you're doing things the way you're doing, this should be a red flag. Your coach should always be able to provide a reason for things in your program. You are paying for your coaches knowledge, not just your coach. You may say you don't care about knowing the explanation behind each program decision but I say you should definitely care. Why? It's simple. You are literally putting your health in your coach's hands. You could face long term health consequences if you don't question your coach. When you buy a car, do you take the dealership's word on it or do you research the car yourself? If you do question your coach and he/she doesn't/can't provide you with a "why" for each "what" in your program, it means 1 of 2 things:
- Your coach doesn't know why. Your coach could just be making things up that sound good. This isn't to say that your coach hasn't gotten you results. There's certainly multiple ways to achieve your fitness goals but what if your coach isn't using the best methods? You could be leaving lots of progress on the table or even worse, you could be jeopardizing your health to get results via horrible methods. Does hours of cardio and only eating chicken and broccoli sound familiar to anyone?
- Your coach is keeping it a secret. While this problem is less severe in terms to your health, since your coach does in fact know what he/she is doing in this instance, it is morally worse than the first. If your coach refuses to share knowledge with you, it means they don't want you to know because they just want your money.
Try this out. Ask your coach why your program is the way it is. Ask for details. Check to see if they can provide reasoning behind their decisions. More importantly, check for yourself and see if their information is up to snuff. Anyone can make up a reason why they make a decision.
Don't think I am just bashing on other coaches and telling you I'm the only good coach out there. There are a lot of good coaches. I've learned from many of them. But unfortunately, for every good coach out there, there are a horde of bad ones. Don't just assume your coach is one of the good ones. Heck, don't just assume I'm one of the good ones. If you're reading this and you are one of my clients, ask me questions. Ask me where I got my information from. Look the information up yourself. Decide for yourself if I know my stuff. My goal is for you to get the best results in the healthiest way possible.
Thanks for reading. I hope this article will prove to be helpful. I have an announcement. Treadaway Training now offers a couple's plan and a family plan. If you are considering a coach for you and your loved one(s), click here.
