What to do when a client is suddenly “bored”?
I have a client who was doing great – motivated, progressing, etc. Suddenly, there are complications: she doesn’t “like” to sweat, she can’t jump because her arches hurt, she won’t work out on her own time anymore. She’s getting new shoes, which will hopefully address the issue of her sore arches (and therefore opening up new exercise opportunities during our sessions). However, she’s “bored” and wants to do other things. I’ve been working on the major muscle groups with her, using a variety of full-body exercises, along with more traditional strength and resistance training. She’s happy with her muscle tone and likes to see her progress there. Her current goal is weight loss.
Any ideas on how to motivate her? Any ideas on finding new “fun” exercises that she can do within these new limitations? It’s very frustrating because I feel like she’s her own worst enemy and needs to give a little (but not with pain), but I also want to make her happy and find things for her to do that she’ll enjoy.
Thank you for any advice!
I would also have a conversation with her about this issue. Did she say she was bored or is that your thought? Does she have exercises she likes more than others? I have clients who hate cardio and if we have too many cardio circuits, they lose interest.
Maybe there is something else going on in her life that has diverted her attention? I always try to talk to a client about what is going on when I see a 180degree change in behavior like the one you’re talking about. Most of the time there is something else going on that has nothing to do with our sessions. I then ask how they’d like to proceed. We can add in yoga to close out our sessions if they’re stressed from work. We can train for an event to “escape” a tough situation at home and provide a respite. Just a couple examples.
Let us know how it goes.