Independence Day War
4.5lbs. Up.
Independence has been declared. Now the REAL war begins.
In the Personal Training world, a holiday week is nothing short of a battleground. From parties, to declared days of rest, all the way to alcohol themed binges--anytime one of these days comes around, I prepare to go to war.
The first attack comes on your schedule.
Now, I have been around long enough to know better (you'd think...), yet I still find myself booking appointments as if it were a normal day. Unfortunately, they years have shown me that no matter what tactic I use, I still seem to get around a 50% show rate for any National Holiday I choose to work.
However, for aspiring trainers out there reading this, I will have to simply say this:
Suck it UP.
We are the discipline in our client's lives. Whether our client's meet our expectations or not, we must choose to meet theirs'. I know it seems unfair, but you have to understand I am always coming from the idea of CLIENT RETENTION. We train to RETAIN around here!
It is important, no, VITAL that you try everything within your power to keep your client's schedule as consistent as possible. Coming to see you--their TRAINER--should be no different than waking up and brushing their teeth in the morning.
This is the mentality you are striving for!
To disrupt that willingly should be avoided at all costs. Besides, you are going to workout YOURSELF, right? So, if you weren't going to miss a day of lifting or running, why should your client? Just be prepared to be productive during the inevitable gaps that happen at the last minute.
Go To War
You will need to keep them engaged; because, when the day is over the true war begins. That is the REAL purpose of this article. I bet you're wondering what the hell "4.5lbs. Up." means. It means that I, Michael Baes, am up 4.5lbs from my activities yesterday. Crap! Beer and chips are sooooooooooooooo good...
And if I'm up 4.5lbs--and I was paying attention--then imagine what's happening to your client's! The last thing you can afford to have happen to your business is for a client to break their normal routine, eat a lot of food, sit real still, and ballon up 4 - 10lbs in 2 days. Think it can't happen? Please bet me.
This is the perfect time for you to re-engage your client. Maybe you've been working with someone for a while and they've been Backsliding a bit. Or maybe you have a brand new person who was going to show you a food log from this weekend (ugh). Regardless of the client, it is a great time to show some immediate results and have a TEACHABLE moment.
9 times out of 10 when a client has an accute weight gain (+1 - 3%) in a short period of time, most of that can be attributed to sodium load. You know that stuff that makes food taste amazing and not spoil? Yeah, that stuff. Hoping on a scale after a couple bratwursts or a burger can be down right depressing. But this is a golden opportunity for the trainer. You can use this situation to help show them what a sodium load is, and how to subsequently remove it from the body. If you don't know how to do that, it's a good thing I'm here.
Here are 3 amazing ways to drop off that water:
1. Asparagus
The ammonia-like substance found within asparagus makes it a perfect water loss candidate. Ever notice how your pee smells after eating it? Ammonia is a poison to the human body and your system will begin to do everything it can to filter it out. This means that higher levels of aldosterone are secreted to help speed up the function of the kidneys. Tell your client the smell is their fat leaving their system.
2. Lemon Juice
Another simple diuretic that can easily be put into a client's water during the day to add flavor, rehydrate, and force the unwanted sodium from the system. In fact, this is a great little techniue that can transfer into a client's normal routine rather than just an offensive strike against a sodium load.
3. Cardio - Outside
There is nothing like a good run session to sweat. It can be cathartic, satisfying, and a mental relief just as much as a physical one. Your client's will notice the increased perspiration they are producing from their activities the day before and they will LOVE it. If you want to take that to a 10x level, just have them do the SAME run they were going to do on the treadmill--OUTSIDE. Putting a body in a non-air conditioned environment will cause body-wide heating. This heating must be cooled with extra sweat. And where there is extra sweat, there is extra electrolyte (salt) loss.
Plus, running outside is hard as crap due to air resistance.
Those three tips are all you really need to get your client back on the wagon. The results should be just as fast as the gain in weight. Within 24 - 36 hours, they may even be BELOW where they were pre-holiday. A good trainer will use this to their advantage, set a new weight loss goal for their client, and bond them as a client even further. It's a win for both parties!
