Clients may be struggling to gain lean mass because they are not capable of breaking down their muscle tissue. This is because they lack the prerequisite levels of strength. In order to gain lean mass, the client needs to be capable of breaking down muscle and recovering from that breakdown.

Fitness Coaching is unique, unlike other industries, the customer relationship does not end after the marketed good or service is sold. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Successful coaching businesses are dependent on the long term health of the relationship with the client. The ability to build these long term client relationships is the differentiator between professional coaches and group class instructors.

James starts this conversation by addressing the opinion that some of the events at the CrossFit Games are not always the most entertaining, specifically the Triple Three (For time: 3,000 meter row, 300 double-unders, 3 mile run). “While tests like the snatch may seem entertaining on television it does not come from the movement itself, it comes from the commentary,” says James. “The tests that actually are effective are boring . . .” When it comes to the high-level fitness testing James wants us to remember that “you have to keep in mind that the tests we see at the Games might not be the best tests [of fitness] as they are based on logistics and entertainment.”

There is a worldwide epidemic taking place as we speak, the elimination of movement from children’s daily lives. Physical Education has almost vanished entirely from the public school system here in the United States and the growing prevalence of electronic entertainment is crushing children’s desire to move every day. But, what is the solution? As coaches, we are quick to recommend a structured program. However, it has been proven that the traditional approach is not the answer. In fact, we need to look through a totally different lens.

When programming the AirBike for general population clients keep it simple. “For good health, most people need some form of good resistance training and easy aerobic work,” says FitzGerald. That’s where the AirBike comes in, as it does not require skill for a client to get an effective aerobic dose-response. While the fitness industry has popularized training the Pain system, with hard intervals, 99% of clients do not need this type of training. They simply need repeatable aerobic efforts, “easy” aerobic work. Learn what repeatable aerobic efforts look like for three modalities in this blog.

The goal of this 30-minute video is to show coaches 5 common program design mistakes and a detailed explanation of how each can be avoided. Coaches will also receive a demonstration of how using The OPEX System of Coaching creates better results for both the coach and the client. You can watch the video here.

First, ask the client “does this pain you feel lead to a decrease in your function?”  If the answer is yes then a medical route should be pursued. But, if the pain does not decrease the client’s function than it is up to the coach to identify the cause of the pain and work around it.