REPS NEWS Self Esteem – Are You Worth It?

As coaches and trainers we are beginning to have a much clearer understanding of what motivates a client. For many years the emphasis has been on learning the greatest techniques, the very latest research on energy systems and such like; all of which is highly relevant, but if we cannot influence our clients to be active and eat well, not just in the couple of hours they spend with us but in their “free living”, then we are merely scratching the surface and offering a temporary fix.

It’s no coincidence that a famous shampoo has the advertising slogan “because you are worth it”. They want people to value themselves so that they buy their product rather than a cheaper brand. If people don’t think they are worth it – why pay more? As trainers if you want your clients to actually do things that they find uncomfortable, or perish the thought painful, such as begin to move their body and use muscles that they had forgotten they had, or have to stop eating foods they enjoy, we must accept that takes some effort. If they don’t think they are worth the effort, they will stop.

It’s for this reason that enhancing someone’s self-esteem and confidence is such an important skill, one that every fitness professional must develop. That doesn’t mean giving undeserved flattery; saying your client looks great when they don’t will only serve to portray you as dishonest, and this will not endear you to them. Your relationship must be based on trust. There are other more subtle ways to enhance your clients self-esteem.

A good tip when working with someone with low self-esteem is to never start a question with “why”. For example if you say “why do you think you look so bad?”, just like a Google search engine, they have to go inside their mind and search for the answer, they then say this out

Convention News

For the first time the REPs South East Convention is to be run over two days.

Planned for Wednesday 15 May and Thursday 16 May 2012 the event will take place at the Raynes Park David Lloyd in London.

Delegates on Day One will be able to join a keynote presentation led by Dr Ian Campbell from television’s Biggest Loser programme who will present on Weight Loss – What Works, What Doesn’t and Why?

They can then choose from a selection of 12

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interactive and informative workshops including Advanced Weightlifting and Functional Training, Bulgarian Bag Training and a session on Physical Activity and Cancer.

On Day Two the keynote presentation will be from international fitness sensation Fred Hoffman (www.fredhoffman.com). Afterwards delegates will again have a choice of 12 workshops including Metabolic Training Using Ropes and Balls and Integrated Bodyweight Training and Eat Smart, Train Hard.

The cost for each day is just

£45 for members (£60 for non-members), which includes refreshments, a buffet lunch. Delegates can earn up to four CPD points.

Can’t make the REPs South East Convention in May? Don’t worry the REPs team have conventions planned for Scotland in November and a national event planned to coincide with Leisure Industry Week in Birmingham in September.

For more details on the REPs conventions including booking information go to www.exerciseregister.org/ upcoming-events.html

loud, which justifies the feeling bad. Alternatively if you say “what has to happen for you to begin to feel better about yourself?” whatever answer they give tells you how to deal with them on an individual level. They might say “I need to lose 12 lbs” and you can future pace and strengthen this image in every session. They might surprise you and say something quite different, but whatever it is, you must accept it and work with it. It’s their goal not yours. As a trainer you are by default a life coach of sorts, and when you approach your work with that mindset, and understand language patterns and how the mind works, then your client will show you without realising, exactly what motivates them.

A good place to start is to get clients to pay attention to their own internal voice. If they regularly stand in front of a mirror and slate themselves with negative statements such as “you look fat” then their unconscious mind processes this as a fact and generates behaviours to support it. If you teach them to say “what do you have to do to look healthier/slimmer” then their internal “Google” gives them a range of answers to choose from.

Increasing someone’s self -esteem involves working with them over time to collapse old negative beliefs, and create new believable ones. When someone believes they are worth it they will invest not only financially in your services, but also emotionally and physically in the advice you give them. When this all comes together you become a real life changer and there’s no greater job satisfaction.

“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Hamlet Visit www.powertochange.me.uk for more information.

Making

Headlines REPs has been in the news again as part of its on-going public awareness campaign.

Registrar Jean-Ann Marnoch has been quoted in the Daily Mail, Femalefirst.co.uk, Medicalnewstoday.com, Zest Magazine, the Daily Star and Malestra.co.uk talking about a variety of issues and promoting the use of REPs registered instructors.

She said: “We know that the more people know about REPs and what it stands for, the more people will insist the fitness instructors they workout with are REPs registered.”

The REPs Journal 2013;27(May):5-7