In today’s era of remote work, infinite TikTok scrolls, and 15-minute food delivery, staying in shape quickly becomes synonymous with spending unforgiving hours at the gym. Nothing short of a lazy fitness guide will get people moving again.
As a personal trainer, your first task is to get your clients out of that mindset and get them thinking about exercise in a positive light. The good news is that laziness and staying fit are not mutually exclusive. you can help a client who has zero interest in exercising achieve their fitness goals with a little bit of creativity.
So how exactly do you do that? Well, that’s what this article addresses. Let’s get into how to design the perfect lazy fitness guide for training clients and everything you need to get started.
Who is the Lazy Fitness Guide for?
The lazy fitness program is for clients who seem unmotivated; they show up to training sessions, and it’s like they don’t want to be there.
Sometimes, it’s because they are genuinely lazy and uninterested in putting in the work, and they just hired you because they think you’re a magical weight loss bullet. But other times, clients seem lazy because of some other factors.
They may not enjoy the routines you recommend, or they may have other, more overwhelming priorities in their lives.
It’s critical to get to the bottom of their “laziness” before you begin to design any sort of routine.
Great Tips to Design an Easy Fitness Program
One thing to keep in mind is that you’re already designing a lazy fitness program on some level. When you take out an exercise from your client’s program because you know they won’t enjoy it, you’ve put their motivation and willingness first.
But if you’re going to kick things into high gear, you’ll need to consider a couple of other factors as well. This way, you’re fully prepared to train any client.
1. Understand Your Client
You can’t design a lazy fitness guide for a client you don’t know. While it’s true that they may be lazy, they may also be experiencing some depression, suffering from ADHD, or a host of other conditions.
That’s why when trying to keep clients motivated, It’s critical to understand your client’s history with fitness, their daily routine, and possibly, examine some of their ideals. How much exercise is too much in their book? Do they prefer a specific kind of workout?
Here are some other factors to consider before you begin designing a program for your client.
- Lifestyle: You can’t design the same program for a smoker and someone who runs twice a week.
- Fitness Levels: Knowing this allows you to pick up where they left off, challenge them, and keep them motivated
- Nutrition Habits: Some clients will show up to your sessions with low energy because their diet is deficient in macro and micronutrients. You may need to fix this to get any real work done.
- Medical history: You shouldn’t even train a client without understanding their medical history. While you don’t need to see their doctor’s notes, simple questions can quickly help you determine what exercises they are fit to perform.
- Client Goals: Do they want to lose weight? Improve their overall appearance? Build muscles? You’ll struggle if you recommend a cardio-intensive routine to a client who wants to build as much muscle as quickly as possible.
2. Assess Your Client’s fitness level
It’s one thing to ask them about their gym history and another thing to test them physically. Seasoned workout pros know that, when given the opportunity, most clients will lie and exaggerate their workout history. If you’re training a new client, this step is doubly important.
Begin by performing simple physical tests like jumping jacks or a quick lap around the gym. How well can they manage it? Are they wheezing after a few short steps? Well, in that case, they may not be lazy but instead simply unable to keep up. You can also perform NASM’s six-step movement assessment for greater insight.
Use the information you gather to tailor the program to your client’s needs.
3. Choose A Rep Range
When looking to become a successful personal trainer, you’ll quickly learn that it’s best to begin novel exercises with 6 – 8 reps, especially if you’re dealing with a lazy training client.
More reps usually mean a loss of form and focus and quick onset of fatigue – all things you should try and avoid. Another thing to keep a close eye on is the rest duration. For example, the rest for leg-intensive exercises like squats may be as long as two minutes because leg day is a beast in its own right.
You’ll need some testing to find the optimal rest range because clients tend to lose focus if rest periods are too long.
4. Be Sure to Warm-Up
Select simple and fun exercises to launch the lazy workout sessions. Great examples include riding a bike, dancing, or, heck, a quick run to buy their favorite magazine.
The goal of the warm-up is to get your clients moving, raise their heart rates, pump endorphins into their bodies, and help them enjoy the exercises to come.
5. Decide On The Exercises
Don’t feel like you have to aim for a 40 – 60 minute workout to achieve any tangible result. Granted, shorter isn’t always better, but when it comes to a lazy workout, it’s your best bet.
Once you get into this mindset, use everything you know about your clients to design a routine. Here are some suggestions.
The short-circuit/ HIIT method
These are two great ways to exercise in a short time frame and get impressive results. You want to bundle exercises that the client enjoys with those that are best for their goals. That way, they get the best workout.
For example, you could design a circuit that involves situps – a crowd favorite – with something like lunges or pushups.
Your HIIT workouts could follow the same pattern and focus more on getting the client to crank it in as little time as possible.
Fit Breaks
Fitness breaks throughout the day are an excellent way to divide and conquer. Your client can exercise for 10 minutes at breakfast, 10 minutes at lunch, and 10 minutes at dinner.
It’s great because your clients can focus on the 10-minute session and immediately get back to their day. And since it’s not a drawn-out routine, they will have a ton of energy by the end.
6. Be stubborn about What’s Best for Them
If your client is trying to lose weight, they need cardio; no two ways about it. As much as you want to keep them motivated, you also have to insist on these exercises so they can find the best results. If you’re also training an older client, you’ll have to modify your standards of motivation so that you don’t push them past their limits.
7. Don’t Forget Nutrition
A workout is never truly complete without a balanced diet containing protein to rebuild damaged muscles, carbs for energy, and electrolytes for fluid balance. While creating your lazy fitness guide, be sure to recommend essential foods like these to your clients:
- Nuts: Nuts like almonds or walnuts should replace sugary snacks.
- Water: Switch out sweetened juices, sodas, and alcohol to liquids such as water, unsweetened juices, and tea.
- Low-calorie foods: If your client is trying to lose weight, avoid high-calorie carbs and focus on protein diets.
- Fruits: Fruits, especially apples, oranges, and pears, should be in your client’s fitness guide.
Tips To Keep Your Clients Motivated
Motivation does not come easy for lazy clients. But luckily, they have you, and you have the workout pro blog! Use these tips to keep your clients motivated.
1. Use Their ‘Why’
Your client’s training goals are the ultimate motivation; harness these, and you may not need to work through the rest of this list. A good idea is to constantly remind them why they hired you in the first place to keep them on track.
If they are trying to lose weight, remind them that they are about to fit in skinnier clothes. If they want to become more mobile, show them obstacle courses that they can realistically complete at the end of your time together.
2. Add Incentives And Accountability
Incentives are excellent, especially if the reward is immediate. Great ones include watching their favorite shows, modest cheat meals, or something else that they enjoy.
You can also use social media to motivate your clients by helping them connect with other clients who share the same goals. Send motivation quotes; add them to online fitness groups; send them gym fail videos, anything to keep them focused on their goals.
3. Communicate
Talking to your clients about their life and interests helps them feel connected to you and see that you actually care. When you form this bond, they won’t want to let you down and will be more willing to take a little push from you.
4. Reassess Their Goals
Your client may switch goals without knowing it. They might have desired to lose some weight in the beginning but might have grown more comfortable with their body and now prefer to stay in shape.
Some trainers love to reassess clienets every three months, so they know how to modify the routines to fit new goals. Reassessment may also uncover valuable information. For example, your client might have made more progress than you thought, and it’s time to up the ante. You’ll need to assess and frequently change their programs where necessary.
5. Keep Track Of Their Progress
A client logbook is one of the most valuable items in your gym starter kit for a good reason. It can help you track your client’s progress and makes it easier to remind them how far they’ve come.
It’s also particularly useful when things don’t go according to plan, for example, when they gain a few pounds on Christmas or Thanksgiving. It becomes critical at this point to remind them how much progress they made and to assure them that the best is yet to come.
How Not to Train Lazy Fitness Clients
Never Giving Any Leeway
Trying to motivate your clients is one thing, but keeping them on a rigid program is another. Very often, clients who don’t want to work out will ask for frequent breaks, time off training, or they may even refuse to show up.
It’s critical to maintain a delicate balance between keeping them on track and giving them leeway every now and then. This ensures that they can come back motivated, happy, and ready to work.
Adding Exercises They Don’t Like
You know what’s best for your client, but sometimes, it’s best to structure training based on their preferences. If they love doing sit-ups because they believe it burns belly fat, don’t shoot down their idea and remove situps from the routine.
Instead, incorporate it with other exercises that will actually help with body fat. Exercises that clients love are gems. Harness them, and your job will be so much easier.
How Your Clients Can Stay Physically Active
- Instead of escalators and elevators, have your clients take the stairs
- Listen to their favorite tunes as they exercise
- Encourage them to move around more during their day
Wrapping Up
The first step to a successful fitness guide is knowing your client is unmotivated, learning what makes them tick, and using that information to push them.
