Social Support is a major factor for adapting fitness habits successfully. It can make or break long-term commitment. Positive social support means you have people in your life who have healthy habits or at least encourage your efforts to make good choices for your body. This makes it easier to achieve your goals and provides a pool of workout buddies, which enhances accountability.
Most people are more motivated to exercise when they have someone to do it with. Group classes, personal trainers and friends to hike with are all great examples of positive social support.
Isn’t it easier to cancel your workout if no one else knows about it?
DO THIS NOW: Make a list of the people in your life who influence your healthy habits and then have each client do the same. Focus on spending more time with these people.
Negative social support means you have people in your life who criticize your healthy habits. This makes it more challenging to stay on track. It may be necessary to limit your time with these people or at least avoid meals with them.
Ever notice how hard it is to resist temptation when someone else is eating a sugar-filled treat?
DO THIS NOW: Make a list of people who are negative influences on your health and have your clients do the same. Focus on limiting time with these people unless they are coming along to workout with you. Perhaps you can influence them… (don’t try too hard or sacrifice your own well-being to do so – people change on their own schedule)
Activate Your Clients and Their Families
Exercising with friends and family helps most people adhere to exercise programs. Use this principle to make fitness contagious this holiday. Share the circuit routine below with your clients to use with their families and of course, use it with yours as well! You can also create your own routine, using the one below to jumpstart ideas.
Setting Up a Circuit
*Fitness Circuits are great because they work well with limited space.
*Kitchen chairs, walls and couches all transform into fitness equipment.
*Five to ten stations will do.
*Place a sign at each station with the exercise name and description.
*Play music and have everyone switch stations each minute, clockwise.
8 SAMPLE STATIONS (no equipment needed)
Wall Sit
*Sit into a chair position against a wall.
*Keep the knees and feet hip width apart.
*Align the spine with the wall.
Dancing
*Freestyle, have fun with it!
Plank Hold
*On hands and toes or hands and knees on a carpet or a mat.
*Align the spine like a stiff board.
*Keep the shoulders away from the ears.
Favorite Stretch
*Choose any stretch that feels good to you and do it gently.
Jumping Jacks
*Stay soft in your knees.
*Breathe!
Chair Squats
*Stand up and sit up down from a chair.
*Keep the knees and feet hip width apart.
*Squeeze your gluteus muscles as you move.
Couch Sit Ups
*Sit on the edge of the couch and slowly sit back until you touch the back of it.
*Keep your spine straight and feet in contact with the floor.
Standing Side Leg Kicks
*Reach one leg out to the side and then alternate.
Marketing Your Circuit
You can schedule an evening at your gym to demonstrate this circuit to clients and their families. Use weight benches as couches and make it as simple as possible, so people can set up a similar circuit at home. You could give away resistance bands as prizes to the families who bring the most members with them. This will expose you to new clientele and set your clients up for better success this holiday!
What other circuit stations do you like to use? Share them on our Facebook Page.
Beverly Hosford, MA teaches anatomy and body awareness using a skeleton named Andy, balloons, play-doh, ribbons, guided visualizations, and corrective exercises. She is an instructor, author, and a business coach for fitness professionals. Learn how to help your clients sleep better with in Bev’s NFPT Sleep Coach Program and dive deeper into anatomy in her NFPT Fundamentals of Anatomy Course.
