How do you handle clients asking you to email them the workout you prepared for their session?
Hi Lynn,
Unless they are on a vacation or away for business I don’t email workouts to my clients. I also provide Skype training, so if someone is away I usually connect with them via Skype and do their workouts in this way. The problem with emailing clients workouts is that they will get into that habit and then they will keep asking you to do it on a constant basis. Unless I charge them for emailing them workouts or it was part of the deal I made with them when they were signing up for sessions, I don’t engage in this type of dealing with them.
You might be in a difficult spot, but maybe you should make it clear to them that for safety reasons (their safety) you can’t email them workouts. It’s your job to make sure they perform their workouts safely and also your job is to make sure they stick within the parameters you have set in order for them to have an effective and efficient workout (in other words you want to make sure they keep up the intensity and not wasting their time). Another way to approach this, would be by letting them know that they came to you for a reason and it’s your obligation to keep up your part of the deal.
Best,
Harris
Hi Lynn,
I have an in-home training business and also train at a local community center. Part of my
in-home business is to provide the workout to my client if they ask for it. My mission is to educate the client first to make sure they have proper form, of course. I have some clients who only meet with me once a week and I give them the workout for homework to keep them accountable and on track. However, my e-mail always includes the proper safety cues and reminders. If I had a training session first where I felt someone didn’t perfect their form on an exercise, I would leave it out or give an alternate exercise for the written copy. I always explain this to a client.
At the community center I may have the occasional request from someone going on vacation, and I will do it one time for that. I did have a request from a long-term client to write up three different workouts, and I told her no unless she wanted to pay an additional fee or use a session for this. It is not expected or part of my job at the community center.
You may want to just make a decision to include this or not with your clients, and therefore have a set foundation.
Christine
Hi Lynn
I have an in home training business and in my own experience for most occasions I would have to say that sending workouts by e-mail is a bad idea. However I can understand that sometimes you get put in a difficult spot. Actually, quite recently I came down with a stomach flu and I did send some of the clients I have been working with for quite a while exercise routines to work through. Now I found that due to the friendship I had already built with them through time they were more than understanding that this was a one time thing. As well I made sure the routines were exercises they were more than able to handle. As for the clients I hadn’t been working with that long I either gave a plan to another trainer I knew to work through with them, or I set a new date for a couple days down the road when I was feeling better.
Mike
It all depends on the reason.
I have long time clients that have been training with me for YEARS and they know proper execution, so yes I will email them exercises if asked
If a NEW clients asks, I won’t do it because I don’t know them well enough and visa versa
With todays technology, it’s not that uncommon to use phones for pics and email for exercises.
Hi Lynn,
just as Susan mentioned, it depends on the situation. It is certainly a legitimate request from a client to want A workout. However, that may not necessarily be the workout for the session you are just conducting.
Often, there is an understanding at the beginning of the training that clients work out on their own. In those cases, I usually provide an exercise program with exercises that clients can safely do themselves. In the sessions with me, I often throw extra challenges at them but may not want that they do this on their own (yet).
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com