How do you track obese clients progress who refuse to let you do weight or measurments?

I personally do weekly progress pictures if they will allow you. If you cant get them to cooperate at all then by the process of you working out with them you can be performing assessments on them that are time or rep based.
You could also measure their heart rate throughout and show the drops or increases and the duration they are able to be held for.

I believe by them seeing the results of your training on paper they will be more willing to allow more intrusive ways of measuring to take place. Especially once you explain the importance of knowing their BMI, how many inches they’ve lost, their body fat, heart rate training zones, obesity classification, fat and lean mass.

I hope that helped!
Good luck to you

If they are really uneasy about doing any kind of measurements or weight right now, I wouldn’t worry about that right now. I’ve found that It’s perfectly understandable for some people who might have issues with the way they look or feel at this point. Try to slowly start into a program and keep really good records of total rep, hr, and times for now. This way you can show them that they have been improving as you see these things improve, but I wouldn’t push it on them. As you build rapport with the client they should come to trust you a little more and they will listen to why these things are quite important. I found really trying to build that initial relationship through trust is very vital before moving forward with a client.

I would just really try to remember you are there to help them get what they want, not what you want. So I have found trying to push somebody before they feel ready never really helped the situation.

Hi Kerry,

I agree with many points that Mike has mentioned already. Some clients may be uncomfortable with certain measurements, and there are other ways to acknowledge their progress. Weight is an extremely sensitive issue, and building initial rapport and trust may take some time. You can certainly explain why you would like to keep track and inform your client of the connection between the numbers and health. However, your client needs to feel that connection with you and then, maybe, over time they will allow you to track progress. If not, then I would respect their decision.

Keep on encouraging and motivating your clients!

Best,
Christine

Thank you all for your feedback. I’m actually very close to this client, she is a family member of mine….sorry I should have mentioned that maybe. For February I have a put program together that shows her progress in reps/weights/time so I will have use that as my tool for now. Although she did agree to “maybe” do a few pictures to use as a visual. 🙂 I won’t push the issue though. Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. I think I was getting tunnel vision. Sometimes it’s easy to do when you know the end result can be so rewarding!

Have a great day!

I had a client who refused to have me measure him until I suggested that he not look!

Everyone has their own path, their own way of doing things.
Some will measure by how their clothing fits, others by their increased energy level

Once confidence is increased your client may be more willing to face the truth tube