The Client Who Learnt "Nothing"

I asked a client I've worked with for 18 months what he'd learnt from me. "Nothing," he said. I laughed nervously. Then he explained...

He has a demanding job and a packed diary. He doesn't want to learn the ins and outs of the gym. He wants to trust that I know what I'm doing, so all he has to do is turn up, get a session that works, and leave better than he arrived.

That's when it clicked. My job was never to teach him everything and set him loose. It's to make sure the session is safe, the intensity is right, and that it's in the diary (because getting it in the diary is 90% of the battle when life is demanding). 

He learnt nothing from me. And yet he taught me everything about what my clients actually need. Not more knowledge, but one less thing to think about.

Personal training isn't a course you finish. It's a long-term subscription to not having to think about it — the same reason you'd hire an accountant instead of learning to do your own taxes.

One of my clients came to me to help her get stronger, healthier and build some muscle mass to help manage her PCOS symptoms. She mentioned that she had worked with a PT before, but that they had given her a rather restrictive plan based on obtaining a specific physique.

That's when I paused to ask, "Did you actually want that physique?" because I couldn't recall her mentioning that during our consultation. "No," she laughed.

Feeling relieved, I went on to explain how I understood why these situations happen because I'd been there before too. It's easy to see clients as an extension of ourselves, which can result in our own goals being projected onto them. But that's not what good coaching is really about.

Since working together, she has built consistency, developed a healthier relationship with training, and made progress without feeling like her life revolves around the gym. For her, success wasn't about chasing a specific look. It was about feeling capable, enjoying the process, and knowing she had a coach who listened.

It's not my job to decide what my clients' success looks like. It's my job to listen, understand what success looks like to them, and build a plan to help them get there.