If a client threw up in a session, would you feel good about yourself or bad?

I’ve seen trainers and fitness instructors gloating over the participants who have either hurled or collapsed during a training session. I’d never return to a session with someone like that.

But on the surface you need to ask what was going on before you rush to judgement. A new participant may not know that a big breakfast is not a good idea right before a 6am training. Or they may have been fighting the flu all weekend.

That’s why it’s always good to find how they’re feeling during warm up. You can gauge exercise intensity off their responses and with experience learn to judge body language that tells you a client is moving too hard or too fast or “just doesn’t have it” that day. Despite what we all want to think, clients don’t always tell us what they think is “bad” news.

Either way both trainer and client have a learning opportunity when things like that happen.