If you’re like me, you’ve got many clients who have been training with you for a long time. Most of them look great, are incredibly healthy and certainly don’t have much more body fat to lose. So what can you do to keep your training fresh?
I’ve found an answer in incentive-based training. That’s my name for giving clients something to shoot for, even when most of their goals have been met. Incentives could include little giveaways, like t-shirts, water bottles or certificates. The idea is, you set something for them to achieve -- like maybe surpassing 30 push-ups in a minute or running a seven-minute mile -- and when they do, they get a reward.
The goal must be meaningful to them; however, not all goals/incentives need to be long-term. Some can be for the workout. Just this week, I did a tough workout with my small-group clients, and at the end, when all were fatigued, I told them if they beat their own personal best on each set of exercises, they would win a t-shirt. Many dug deep and finished the workout stronger than they believed they could and took home a new t-shirt (that bears my studio’s logo). That worked well for us all!
