Finding & Knowing Your WHY. 

The key to lifelong fitness and goal setting.

 

 

 

 

As a coach I am constantly in contact with all different types of people, each with different goals.  New clients who want to lose weight, CrossFit athletes in search of new ways to get better, parents of students who want their young child to succeed at their chosen sport, men & women over 45 who have decided that a sedentary lifestyle is killing them, you get the point.  One thing all of these individuals must know or find out if they don't is their WHY.

 

Why am I coming to the gym?  Why am I doing this special programming?  Why do I come to the gym twice a day? 

 

These are just some of the questions I hear from people on a consistent basis. Although I don't get to speak with each individual person who walks through my gyms doors, I do get to interact with a lot of them.  When a new client walks into the gym one of the first questions I ask them is "What are you here to accomplish?" or "How can I help you with your goals?"  Usually I get a generic answer that sounds something like this "I'm here to get into shape."  Well duh!!  So I pry a little further and ask what is a specific goal of theirs so that we can help them reach this goal.  More times than not I get a blank open eyed stare, because this new client has no REAL idea what they want.  But they know they want something, and they want our help. Otherwise they could have accomplished this on their own.

 

Now is where we get to the nitty gritty.  Lets say a client says they need to lose 30 pounds.  Most of the time that is not a random number.  But why do you need to lose 30 pounds?  Why not 25, or 35?  Maybe the answer is they have a wedding coming up, or a vacation, or 30 pounds ago they fit into a very special outfit, and this outfit represents a better time for them.  We have all heard it said "its all about how you feel."  Naturally if you look good, and feel good about yourself it will permeate into every aspect of your life.  Now THAT is a why!!

 

Maybe one of my CrossFit athletes wants to compete in their first RX competition.  This may represent to them, all their hard work and skill training has elevated them to the level of athletes they look up to.  To outsiders it may appear the athlete is just competing to look tough, or have an "I'm fitter than you" attitude.  But to the athlete it could mean so much more.  It may represent a feeling of accomplishment they thought would never happen. 

 

Now here is where it can get tricky for some people and coaches can lose clients over this.  What happens when you help someone achieve their WHY?  They have spent 6 months losing the weight, getting ready for the competition, acquiring a certain skill.  Now what? 

 

 

 

The answer is they must find a new WHY? 

 

Lets say an athlete trains for 6 months to hit a personal record on the weightlifting platform, or get their first muscle-up, or compete in their first Spartan Race.  Once they complete this achievement, they may feel lost again.  What do you do when you achieve what you fought so hard for?

 

An important job for coaches and trainers is to always raise the bar for the athlete or client.  If they don't have a new WHY yet, you may help find one for them.  After all you should have built a rapport with them during the last 6 months.  It is up to both the client and the coach to work together to consistently push the WHY.  Maybe after losing those 30 pounds and fitting into that special outfit your client now feels confident to run a half-marathon.

 

What can also happen is the client may lose interest.  They figure they have achieved what drove them to the gym in the first place.  If this person walks out the door they may never come back.  They may fall back into bad habits and gain that weight back and are now too embarrassed to even go back to what helped them the first time.  But by setting a new goal they can push ahead and continue on a lifelong fitness journey.

 

 

Find what drives you to the gym.  Find the reason you will get up so early and sweat so much while others are sleeping.  Find your reason to belong to the fitness community.  Find your WHY.