Five Questions Every Trainer Should Ask Every Client Every Session SJJT

Why bother with the five questions? Because it is so very simple to do and easily benefits everyone: you, the client, and your business. The five questions are an excellent
addition to the service you offer. Every single one of these questions offers a way to…

  • Show clients you care by inquiring about the right details
  • Create an opportunity to share solutions to their struggles
  • Make clients aware of your commitment to the latest research
  • Eliminate awkwardness during sessions by properly directing conversations
  • Easily maintain professional relationships with clients
  • Improve clients’ value of you as their trainer by illustrating a focus on their success
  • Clearly ask for greater accountability from all clients In addition, asking these questions melds beautifully with your new assessment and reassessment tools.

The Questions:

1. How are you as a person?

OK, this phrasing will feel weird at first. Delivery is what matters. This is not a perfunctory “how are ya?” nor is it a handholding “let’s sit and talk for 15 minutes” tone of question. It is delivered sincerely with eye contact and lets the other person know that you care about their state of being today. Personal training is personal. (If you think otherwise, you are in the wrong career.) The answer to this question can be the perfect BIG-PICTURE sense of where the client stands for the workout. The underlying implication is that you are identifying a distinction between the physical and mental aspects of working together. And that will really set you apart from other studios while illustrating your level of interest in the client’s success.

2. How is your body feeling today?

Very different than the first question. A person can be on cloud nine with a sprained ankle. (Just ask Kerri Strug.) This question gives the client permission to share the status of injuries, illnesses and discomforts or, even better, the option to share where they are making progress with how their body is feeling. It must be addressed at the beginning of the session. This could easily affect their program for the day and your need to make changes on the fly in terms of ROM, load, or intensity.

3. How is your water consumption?

Water is so important and such an easy change for many people to make if someone is holding them accountable. You need to be that someone. Hydration is integral for metabolism, clear thinking, fatigue reduction, recovery from exercise, and a safe workout (especially in the hot outdoors). Show them it’s important by asking. Suggest ways to improve it if needed. Additionally, this question could be a slam dunk for clients who are otherwise not experiencing success with habit changes as quickly as they’d like.

4. How is your sleep?

Recovery is vital to what we do. If your client isn’t sleeping well or doesn’t know how to improve it, our efforts with workouts are greatly limited. Be sure to address what their bedtime ritual is like, what time they are going to sleep, how well they are staying asleep, what their bedroom is like (screens, pets, partners) and what time/how they wake up (to snooze or not to snooze). Bring your knowledge of sleep hygiene to the table and any research that could help persuade them to improve this powerful asset.

5. How is your stress level?

The answer is often simple. The real question (and follow-up if needed) is — how are you handling your stress? The important takeaway is that they are reminded of the impact
of unmanaged stress on their health and fitness gains. The impact of cortisol levels alone is a convincing argument for any clients trying to lose weight or change body composition. The other important point is the offer of support in terms of easy stress- relieving suggestions from you, their healthy living, or athletic guru team. Does the studio have an offering or added service that could help them? This is a perfect and sincere segue to help the client in a new way and help the studio and your role here.

How do I implement these?

It’s simple. Pick one of two options.

Option #1 Start by asking one new question with every client. For example, Monday morning, ask every client question #2: “How is your body feeling today?” at the beginning of every session. Listen carefully to their answers. You will be surprised at how it may affect your program for the day AND change how they view your interest in their success. Every couple of days, add another question in the same manner until you have included all of the questions with all of your clients.

Option #2 Jump in (our favorite). At the start of every session, tell clients that the studio team is making some positive changes to their training. These changes will include checking in more regularly on their progress. Then, commit to asking every client every question. Fair warning: You might find out that it’s tough to hit every question initially, especially with more talkative clients. That is OK. The power of the questions is that they are asked frequently. They also teach the client that these components are important to their success and important to you.

Good luck! You’ve got this!

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