The 3 types of clients: Here's how to

coach each type to success.

Ive noticed a very disheartening trend in the fitness industry over the last
few years.

Personal training gurus are instructing fitness professionals to fire clients

who dont immediately do everything the trainer asks the ones who
arent willing to work hard for the results they want.

To me, thats just lazy and cynical: are fitness professionals really supposed
to work only with the easy clients, the ones who need the least help, while
refusing to help the ones who need it most?

We can do much better than that.

At Precision Nutrition, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of how to

coach and if youre a fitness professional reading this, Im betting you do
too.

Dont fire your clients help them!

In the Precision Nutrition Certification Program, were careful to remind

fitness professionals never to dismiss clients as unmotivated or lazy.
Every single client can lose fat, build muscle, and improve their health.

The question is: how do you do it?

Well, an elite fitness professional recognizes that different clients will

require vastly different coaching approaches, and will change his or her
approach as needed to help ALL kinds of clients.

At Precision Nutrition, we group our clients into 3 categories, each one

requiring a different coaching strategy:

Client #1: Low compliance.

Struggles to follow the program.

Client #2: High compliance, low results.

Follows the program, gets below-expected results.

Client #3: High compliance, high results.

Follows the program, gets above-expected results.

Each of these types has specific needs and the ability to make dramatic
change.

Learn the coaching methods for each group and you will start to see
success with EVERY client that comes to you for advice.

Client #1: Low compliance

Struggles to take the action you prescribe.

Roughly 60% of all clients.
Goal: Boost compliance.
Strategy: Make it too easy.

In our online coaching programs, for example, we define a low compliance

client as someone who does less than 80% of the habits and workouts we
prescribe and as a result, gets poor results.

Of course, this is the type of client that many people suggest you fire. Just
one small problem: this type also happens to be the vast majority of all
personal training clients.

Many trainers write the Low Compliance client off as unmotivated, but
with some help changing habits, this type of client can see amazing results.

At Precision Nutrition, weve found that the Low Compliance

client needs the following:

1. A clear understanding of why change is important to them.

We never assume that getting in shape is important to our clients; instead,
we ASK them. On a scale of 1-10, how important is this to you? If its
anything less than a 9, we begin by helping the client find their own sense
of purpose and meaning in their pursuit of fitness otherwise, its just a
matter of time before they flounder and quit.

2. Confidence in their ability to do whats asked of them.

This is the cause of so many issues for clients theyre just not confident
they can actually do what the coach is asking. And many coaches, out of
haste or ignorance, forget to ask! Our experience is that unless a client is
nearly 100% confident that they can follow a plan, theyll never begin in
earnest.

3. Clear operating instructions to avoid ambiguity.

We make no assumptions that our clients will understand what were
asking them to do. Take fish oil may sound simple, but what brand? How
much? When do I take it? With meals or on an empty stomach? Any
ambiguity in your advice will lower confidence, and in turn, compliance.

4. Simple, high value habits they can feel successful in doing.

Coaches often assume that their advice is easier to follow than it actually is,
and become judgmental of clients who cant follow it. In fact, behavior
change is extraordinarily difficult. Advice as simple as Make a healthy
breakfast can really mean a dozen changes to a clients life, from how they
shop to what time they wake up in the morning.

So be cautious when giving advice, because its far easier than most
coaches realize to give advice that is essentially impossible to follow.

The solution? Make it easier too easy, in fact. Advise only the
smallest possible behavior change that will yield a noticeable and
significant physical result.

So how do you do all of this at once?

The confidence method:

1. Suggest a daily habit to be followed for 2 weeks. E.g., Each day,

youll make yourself a healthy breakfast of your choosing from the
Gourmet Nutrition cookbook.

2. Ask the client to tell you how confident they are that they can
do it. On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you can do that
every day for the next two weeks?

3. If theyre at least 90% confident, go with it. If they answer either

9 or 10, have them start practicing that habit, and check back in a week
to see how theyre doing.

4. If theyre less than 90% confident, suggest an easier habit and

try again. If they answer 8 or below, simplify the habit or come up with
an easier one. E.g., How about a quick shake each morning? or, How
about taking 6 grams of fish oil each morning? Keep going until you get a
response of 9 or 10 on the confidence scale. When you get it right,
clients typically respond, Psshhh, well, obviously I can do that. And thats
the exact response were looking for.

5. Once youve found your habit, give the client permission to

ignore everything else. The client needs to know that this one habit is
all that matters. They can skip everything else theyve read about nutrition,
and everything else they think they ought to do. But once they commit,
this habit has to be done every day.

Why it works:

Instead of following orders, the client is co-creating their own

new behavior. Instead of disempowering clients by telling them what to
do, we guide them and encourage them to choose for themselves.
Ultimately, all change has to come from within.

The chosen habits are confidence-inspiring, realistic and most

of all, attainable. Clients get easy-to-follow daily habits perfectly suited
to their own lives and abilities, which drastically improves compliance.

By simplifying and clarifying the habit, you can help your clients feel bigger
than the challenge ahead.
And as their confidence increases, their compliance and rate of change (fat
loss, performance, health markers) will increase as well. Then you can
challenge them with incrementally bigger habits, and the results build on
themselves.

Client #2: High compliance, low results

Takes the prescribed action, doesnt get the expected result.

Roughly 20% of all clients.
Goal: Measurable progress.
Strategy: Experiment with new (and somewhat more
challenging) habits

A High Compliance, Low Results client follows the program but isnt
getting optimal results.

In our online coaching programs, a high compliance client does more than
80% of the habits and workouts we prescribe but falls below our body
transformation targets. With clients working on fat loss, for example, we
look for those losing less than 0.6 percent of their body weight per week
(for guys) or 0.5 percent of their body weight per week (for women).

[One caveat: fat loss isnt always linear, and progress may be made in fits
and starts. But on average, over time, the above numbers are what we aim
for.]

Now, this type of client can be just as frustrating as the first group, but for
a different reason: they seem to be doing all the right things, but the
results just arent coming. But lets not fire these clients yet either. They,
too, can be helped.

The goal with this type of client is to have them lose weight at or above the
target rate of weight loss, which will also increase confidence and
motivation. And we use two approaches to help boost their progress.

First, we help them achieve a slightly higher compliance rate.

Simply going from 80 to 90 percent compliance often makes all the
difference in this type of client.

Second, we individualize their program. And this is where your all

your training as a fitness pro can really shine through. Heres where you
tweak the training program, introduce more advanced nutrition concepts,
and start those fancy, body-type specific supplement protocols.

[If youd like to see how we do individualization, I strongly recommend you

check out the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. In the certification
program, we offer all sorts of advanced troubleshooting and
individualization ideas.]

Client #3: High compliance, high results

Takes the prescribed action, gets the expected result.

Roughly 20% of all clients.
Goal: Prevent burnout and build sustainable habits.
Strategy: Give praise, permission to be imperfect, and cautious
attention.

A High Compliance, High Results client is someone who follows the

program with greater than 80% compliance and is also meeting the target
rate of body composition change.

For example, at Precision Nutrition, our target rate of fat loss is 0.6% of
body weight per week for men, and 0.5% of body weight per week for
women, on average.

Results higher than that are fantastic clients are doing the program, and
getting the results they want. However, they still need your cautious
attention.

When the going is good with this client we recommend two things:
congratulations and a new challenge.

For the congratulations portion, offer praise and recognition.

Its obvious how much you want this, John your dedication and results
have been amazing so far. Nice work. Lets keep it up.

You can also throw in a gift certificate to a healthy restaurant, or hook

them up with a book you think theyd enjoy. You could also post their name
up on a progress bulletin board at the gym.

In the end, the method doesnt usually matter the fact that you recognize
their hard work and progress, either privately or publicly, does.

As for the challenge, consider giving them a similar but new and
more challenging habit to follow. Thats assuming, of course, that
theyre still 9 or 10 on the confidence scale. And as time goes on,
choose habits that build lifelong nutrition strategies and allow for
imperfection.

For example, if clients have a history of binge eating, habits might include
weekly hunger management or appetite awareness practice; if a client has a
tendency to be obsessive about food, habits might work on eating healthy
while relaxing the rules a bit.

We mention giving this type of person your cautious attention because

sometimes the clients who start out strongest do so by throwing
themselves completely at their goal. Thats OK, but only if theyre also
developing strategies they can follow when theyre unable to devote 100%
of their life to fitness. And, none of us can do the all fitness, all the time
thing.

So keep a close eye even on your superstars, because burnout is

always a risk with them. Youre in a perfect position to help out if it
arises, and if you watch closely, you can often prevent it in the first place.

To help all clients, add nutrition coaching to your

resume.

I cant tell you how many times other fitness pros have told me, Man, I
envy you. You have the best clients. If I could get clients like you have, Id
love my job.
But we start out with the same mix of clients that every other fitness pro
starts with. The difference is this: we know that each type of client can
climb the ladder and move up to High Compliance, High Results.

We start with a belief that every client can become the perfect
client, and were constantly testing new strategies to make it
happen.

The key is the ability to identity what type of client someone is right now,
how we can help them, and what specific steps we can take to get them to
that next level.

That is the job of the elite fitness professional and with a little effort, its
a skill you can learn. If youre interested in learning how, well teach you in
the Precision Nutrition Certification.