Questions to Ask Before You Start a Training Program

I enjoy the initial consultation with a new client.

It’s not just about setting goals. It’s also a personality and self-awareness test.

At this point in my career, I’ve figured out that I need to understand what kind of person you are before I decide what kind of training program you need.

The best training program isn’t necessarily the newest, hardest, or most popular one.

It’s the one that fits your life well enough that you can actually stick with it.

Before I prescribe a program, I want to know where you’re starting from, what you expect, what your life looks like, and—perhaps most importantly—what has prevented you from succeeding in the past.

So, which kind of trainee are you?

The Beginner

“I’ve never really trained before.”

If you’re new to training, I’m interested in much more than your goals.

I want to understand your experience, your expectations, your lifestyle and, yes, your relationship with exercise.

Here are some of the questions I’d ask:

  • What made you decide to start training now?
  • What are you hoping to accomplish?
  • Is your goal primarily strength, weight loss, muscle, mobility, feeling better?
  • Have you done any regular physical activity in the past?
  • What does a typical week of activity look like right now?
  • Do you have any experience using gym equipment?
  • Are you comfortable exercising in a gym, or would you prefer training at home?
  • How many days a week can you realistically commit to?
  • How much time can you give each workout?
  • What do you think might prevent you from following through?
  • Are you expecting dramatic changes quickly?
  • How do you feel about starting slowly?
  • What would make you look forward to your workouts rather than dread them?

The biggest challenge for the Returner can be psychological.

You remember what you used to be able to do.

You remember the weights you lifted, the distance you ran, the size of your muscles or how quickly you recovered.

But your body doesn’t care what you used to be able to do.

It cares where you are today.

Your previous fitness level can be useful information, but it shouldn’t become the standard you punish yourself with.

Starting over doesn’t mean starting from zero.

It means starting from where you are now.

The Serial Starter

“I’m always starting a new program, but never sticking with one.”

This can be a challenging client.

They can have a great coach, a well-designed program and every piece of equipment imaginable—and still find a way to get in their own way.

Maybe they dislike discipline.

Maybe repetition bores them.

Maybe they constantly need something new and exciting.

They like the idea of training, but the actual process needs to be as entertaining as an infomercial with perfect lighting, dramatic music and suspiciously enthusiastic people smiling while doing burpees.

And there’s the problem.

Training isn’t always exciting.

Sometimes it’s just Tuesday.

So these are some of the questions I’d ask

  • How many different programs have you started in the last few years?
  • How long do you usually stick with one?
  • What normally causes you to stop?
  • Do you lose interest?
  • Do you get bored?
  • Does the program become too difficult?
  • Does life get in the way?
  • Are you constantly looking for something better?
  • Do you change programs before giving one enough time to work?
  • Are you chasing results that aren’t realistic?
  • Do you actually enjoy the program you’re doing?
  • Are you trying to train like someone else?
  • What happens when you miss a workout?
  • Do you consider one missed workout a failure?
  • Are you looking for motivation when what you really need is a routine?
  • Are you addicted to starting—or committed to continuing?

That last question might be the most important one.

Are you addicted to starting, or committed to continuing?

There is a big difference.

Starting feels exciting.

Continuing requires commitment.

And results are usually found somewhere in between the two.

It Comes Down to Ownership

I’m driven to help my clients become better versions of themselves.

But I also want them to develop some basic self-awareness.

Yes, I’m interested in helping you decide what to train and how to train.

But I also want you to understand:

Why are you training?

Where are you starting from?

What can you realistically commit to?

And perhaps most importantly:

What has prevented you from succeeding in the past?

I’ve been a personal trainer for more than two decades and I’ve been training for nearly three.

I’ve been the Beginner.

I’ve been the Returner.

And I’ve been the guy who starts something, loses momentum and has to figure out what went wrong.

More than once.

So my coaching philosophy is pretty straightforward:

I don’t believe in magical programs, and I don’t encourage my clients to go looking for them.

What I ask instead is that you take ownership of your starting point, your expectations, your

schedule and ultimately your commitment.

It doesn’t sound particularly sexy at the beginning.

But the sexiness tends to reveal itself in the process.

Because there is no perfect program.

There is only the program that is appropriate for you, at this particular point in your life.

And your job isn’t to find the perfect program.

Your job is to find one you can own.