Whether you want to spend more time on the floor, with your family, or working on your business, most coaches want more time in the day. Thankfully there is a way to find that time and for most fitness coaches it is as simple as becoming more efficient at writing your client’s exercise programs.

During a recent Mastermind for OPEX Gym Owners, OPEX COO, Carl Hardwick, shared these four tips for improving your program design efficiency. When executed these tips will help you become more efficient and free up more time in your day.

(Coach’s Resource: Learn how to become a more efficient and professional coach with this free course)

4 TIPS TO BECOME A MORE EFFICIENT COACH:

IMPROVE YOUR COMPETENCY:

The first tip is to improve competency. Before you can become efficient at any task there is a base level of competency you must possess. Writing exercise programs is no different.

To improve how efficiently you write exercise programs, you must understand core strength and conditioning principles like the six essential movement patterns, the strength continuum, how to plan and periodize, and the basics of energy system training. Start improving your competency and get a refresher on the OPEX System of Coaching in this free course.

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FOR SUCCESS:

The second tip is to create an environment for success.

Have you ever tried to write an exercise program on the gym floor? It’s not that easy. Why? Because there are hundreds of things to distract you. To become more efficient you need to minimize distractions and work in a productive environment. 

Ask yourself where do you feel most productive? For some, it’s a coffee shop and others it’s their home. Once you know your spot, designate it as sacred and only go there when it’s time to work. 

FIND YOUR RHYTHM, THEN SCHEDULE IT:

The third tip is to understand your rhythm.

Just like reaching optimal health, to become a more efficient coach you need to pay attention to your rhythm. How does your energy flow throughout the day? When are you the most productive and creative, and when are you the most tired?

Analyze your day for the times that you are the most productive and then block out that time for your most important tasks. In this case, it would be programming. An example would be blocking out your calendar from 9 am to 10 am after your floor shift just for programming.   

MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME:

The fourth tip is to maximize your time.

Maximizing your time is the key to scaling your coaching business and maximizing your dollars per hour. A way to make the most of your time is to write programs for similar clients back to back. This is called chunking. 

This could look like writing programs for health and vitality on Monday, fat loss Wednesday, and sport on Friday. Tip: Become ultra-efficient and use chunking during your scheduled programming time.

PROGRAMMING EFFICIENCY TAKES TIME

When used together these four tips will help you improve how efficiently you write exercise programs. But, out of all the tips provided the one that yields the best returns is improving your competency. 

As a coach, you “cannot fake it until you make it.” Your clients are expecting results and if you don’t deliver they will go elsewhere. Thankfully, improving your competency is totally within your control. Take the first step towards improving your competency today and sign up for our free Professional Coaching Blueprint.