health & fitness orientation

Certificate III in Fitness ‐ HFO Lecture 2 v3.0 23/04/2020

Copyright FIT College 2020 1

HEALTH & FITNESS ORIENTATION

Lecture 2

What you will learn

This session will teach you about:• Health & Fitness Consultation

• Fitness background• Goal setting

• Nutritional habits questionnaire• Fitness testing• Services, programs and facilities

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Fitness Background

Fitness background

• Now that we have learned how to determine if a client is at risk and have taken some basic physiological measures, it is time to discuss these results and set some goals

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Gathering information

• First, we gather some information from the client, e.g.• What exercise are you doing currently?• What have you tried in the past to get into shape? • Are you satisfied with your health and well-being? • What’s the initial goal that you have in mind?• What do you feel are the obstacles or barriers that could

impede your progress?• Outline any methods that you can use to overcome these

obstacles or barriers?• Are you interested in personal training?

• This might seem very simple, but information like this can give valuable insight into the client and can provide many discussion points

What exercise are you doing currently?

• Congratulate them! • Whatever they are doing is good, and we want to emphasise this

• However, you still need to dig deeper• How many times per week?• How hard?• Easy, moderate or high intensity/hard

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What have you tried in the past to get into shape?

• To optimise results, you must learn as much as possible about their past exercise experience

• This will help you target your client's likes and dislikes

• You also gain valuable insight into why what they did before did not work, why they stopped, and their previous levels of effort

• Pay close attention to the other things they've tried and why they thought they would work

• You must take the opportunity to talk less here and listen more

Are you satisfied with your health and well-being?

• If someone interested in training is asked this question, they'll likely admit they don't feel great about their health and well-being or even appearance

• Using their response, your goal is to ask further questions to help them think more critically and positively about how you can help change their health and well-being

• Why is that important to you?• Has there been a time in the past when you were satisfied?• Describe how you looked/felt back then?• How would you feel if you achieved your goal six months from

now?

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Are you satisfied with your health and well-being?

• This should improve their emotional state or the way they feel about themselves

• These are ways to create a powerful emotional connection with them and use it as a conversation piece to assure them that, with your help, they really can change

What’s the initial goal that you have in mind?

• This helps you identify their motivating factor• What has stopped you achieving this goal?

• This helps identify any possible objections or barriers• Often, the reasons a client can't achieve their goals are not fitness or

nutrition-related• Instead, they could be a conflicting work schedule, family obligations,

income, gender, religion, language or something else• You need to unravel the puzzle that is preventing them from reaching

their potential• Remember, everyone is different, with different abilities, knowledge,

interests and free time

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Obstacles or barriers that could impede progress?

• As with anything, obstacles can and will present challenges

• At this point, you may need to help the client identify any potential obstacles, barriers, or high-risk situations that may threaten their progress

• An understanding of common barriers to physical activity and developing tactics to overcome them in advance will mean they will have better effects in overcoming them

Obstacles or barriers that could impede progress?

• Work with the client to create strategies to overcome these potential obstacles/barriers, e.g.

• Set realistic fitness goals • Choose activities they like to do• Ask for the support of friends and family

• End with a statement confirming that you are glad they have stopped thinking and are ready to move on

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Are you interested in personal training?

• This helps you identify if the client would like personal training

• Use their responses to do the work for you of convincing themselves to buy personal training services

Goal Setting

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Goal setting

• After discussing the health screen responses, you can transition the conversation to talking about their goals

• There are a few key things to remember when addressing this part of the consultation

• First, keep the flow! • Let them start talking and then guide the direction of the

conversation as it unfolds• Avoid a complete robot-like conversation

Goal setting

• Second, do some digging

• This is an excellent opportunity to mention specific details the person shared in their questionnaire

• You're looking for any information that you can use to help the person be successful

• Use the responses to explore and understand their motivation

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SMART goals

• Without a roadmap to a client's fitness goals, they will never reach their destination because they won't know how to get there

• No matter how big or small a goal is, making change requires planning and SMART goal setting

• SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide goal setting

• To make sure goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:• Specific• Measurable• Achievable• Relevant• Time based

Specific

• The goal should be clear and specific; otherwise, people won't be able to focus their efforts or feel truly motivated to achieve it

• When drafting the goal, try to a person answer the five “W” questions:

• What do they want to accomplish?• Why is this goal important?• Who is involved?• Where is it located?• Which resources or limits are involved?

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Measurable

• It's important to have measurable goals so that a person can track their progress and stay motivated

• Assessing progress helps a person to stay focused, meet deadlines, and feel the excitement of getting closer to achieving their goal

• A measurable goal should address questions such as:• How much?• How many?• How will I know when it is accomplished?

Achievable

• A person’s goal also needs to be realistic and attainable to be successful

• In other words, it should stretch their abilities but remain possible

• An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:• How can I accomplish this goal?• How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as

financial factors?

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Relevant

• This step is about ensuring that the goal matters to them and that it also aligns with other relevant goals

• Everybody needs support and assistance in achieving goals, but it's important to retain control over them

• So, make sure that the plan drives everyone forward, but that they are still responsible for achieving their own goal

• A relevant goal can answer "yes" to these questions:• Does this seem worthwhile?• Is this the right time?• Does this match other efforts/needs?• Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?

Time based

• Every goal needs a target date so that there is a deadline to focus on and something to work toward

• This part of the SMART goal criteria helps to prevent everyday tasks from taking priority over longer-term goals

• A time based goal will usually answer these questions:• When?• What can I do six months from now?• What can I do six weeks from now?• What can I do today?

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Action-oriented SMART goals

• Now you have a SMART goal!

• With a SMART goal, it's a good idea to set a few smaller more action-oriented SMART goals so that you have a complete game plan

• For example;• I will walk three days per week for 20 minutes • I will drink water instead of soft drink every day this week • I will bring my lunch to work instead of buying take away three

days this week

The takeaway

• When you use SMART, you can create clear, attainable and meaningful goals

• This will help improve client motivation, help prescribe specific exercise and support needed to achieve them

• It's a great way to build trust and show a person you will be creating a customised training plan unique to their starting point and goals

• Spending time on this part of the process can also help make talking about personal training packages a lot easier

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Nutritional Habits Questionnaire

Nutritional habits questionnaire

• Now that we know the medical and exercise history and have set some SMART goals; we can use the nutritional habits questionnaire we looked at in HEI to make recommendations to our clients based on the healthy eating guidelines and how following these guidelines can help a client to achieve their goals

• REMEMBER to stay within your scope of practice and if in doubt refer on to an appropriate Allied Health Professional (AHP)

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Fitness Testing

Physical fitness testing

• The assessment process is a excellent opportunity to see what a person's physical strengths and weaknesses are

• It provides initial baseline measures for a reliable, safe and realistic starting point with your program

• It is also a great way to build rapport

• Just doing a screen/assessment alone will highly increase your professionalism and the trust that the client has in you

• You are looking for more, you know more, and you are going the extra mile

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What to assess

• Important - you should assess only what's necessary• If a client wants to lose weight, you don't need to do any maximal

strength testing with them

• Use your client's goals and needs to strategically assess what you will need to know to design a program

Discussing fitness results

• Once the fitness testing is complete, you need to spend time with the person discussing the results

• What do the results mean and are there any results you need to address or make mention of?

• Does any result indicate you need to refer the client to a medical practitioner?

• Based on the person's goals, where do they sit based on the results they achieved and the goals they have set?

• How do the results influence the type of training they need to do?• Can they still achieve their goals in the time they have suggested?

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The takeaway

• If you want to nail the initial consultation, there's more to it than knowing how to design a training program or how to help someone lose weight

• Take time to get to know your client• Find out what their health and fitness challenges and

goals are

• Get measurements and assess their cardiovascular health, flexibility, and muscle strength

The takeaway

• By doing this, you will have all the information you need (objective and subjective) to not only create an initial program but also to have a strong sense of how it should progress

• When all is said and done with the initial consultation, you should walk away excited and confident about the journey you are about to embark on with and your new client

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The Referral Process

The referral process

• It is essential to develop referral relationships with doctors and other health professionals

• Important – referring a client doesn't mean losing a client

• It means that your client receives the right care, at the right time and will start their exercise program under the supervision of qualified professionals working as a team

• Providing regular referrals to medical or allied health services will result in reciprocal referrals and client growth for you and your business over time

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The components of successful referrals

• Screen and assess• Identify client health risks and determine your client needs

• Evaluate• Know your scope of practice and duty of care• Determine whether your scope of practice meets your client needs or

whether you require guidance from a medical or allied health professional

• Decide• Ask yourself some key questions to determine how to manage your

client's needs • Decide what expertise you need to develop your client's exercise program


• The type of health professional that you might typically need to connect with include:

• General practitioners• Physiotherapists• Chiropractors• Accredited exercise physiologists• Accredited dietitians• Osteopaths• Podiatrists• Psychologists• Occupational therapists• Remedial massage therapists• Personal trainers

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• Prepare• Compile relevant, accurate and concise information for the referral

• Consent• Involve your client in the process, ensure they are informed and gain consent to

share their health information

• Connect• Plan ahead and understand the expectations of medical or allied health

professionals• Take appropriate, professional and effective referral actions: make a professional

introduction; understand health professional needs and expectations; develop trust; be responsive

• Commit• Commit to ongoing dialogue to provide feedback about the referral and achieve a

positive health outcome for your client

Services, Programs and Facilities

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Services, programs and facilities

• Not all clients are the same!

• Clients could be:• People from a range of social, cultural or ethnic backgrounds• Regular members or new clients• Clients with normal or 'routine' fitness goals or clients with special or

specific goals• People with varying physical and mental abilities

• To be able to service clients and meet their needs you need to understand who they are and what they want from their experience

• Ultimately your role is to facilitate fitness success


• Many clients are motivated to exercise but don't feel comfortable trying complicated exercises on their own

• Rather than have them sit idly by until their once or twice weekly appointments try to find any way possible to keep them moving and engaged between training sessions

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• Some clients need structure for their cardio training, you can recommend group fitness classes

• For clients who are athletically inclined, you can recommend boot-camps or sport-specific coaching

• If a client indicates a high-stress level from work or needs some additional flexibility training, you can recommend yoga or pilates classes

• When clients are motivated to develop muscular definition or improve strength, you can recommend personal training


• Most clients will appreciate the recommendations. However, be careful when recommending a specific service to a client

• The decision of whom or what they do should ultimately be left up to them

• If you give too much guidance or your specific opinion as to who they should see, this can be seen as being biased and may have negative consequences for you and the fitness facility you work for (if you work for one)

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• If the client enjoys the exercise experience, this can help them develop long-term adherence to regular exercise

• Bonus - if the client has fun and enjoys the experience, you are in a great position to gain new referrals because they'll be talking up your services to other people

The end

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health & fitness orientation

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