Coach's Chat
Coach's Chat
Tips To Help Clients Balance Fitness Goals And Relaxation On Summer Vacations
Clients traveling this summer? In this episode, I share my recent experiences traveling to D.C. and discuss how we, as trainers, can help our clients stay consistent with their fitness goals without sacrificing their vacation fun. Learn how to program workouts for travel, make the most of hotel gyms, explore new classes and activities, and even when to encourage clients to take a break from their goals. I also discuss the importance of rest and how to discuss "guilt" when it comes to taking time off.
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Hey, hey, this is Coaches Chat. I'm your host, Betsy Foster, personal trainer for over 12 years. I started on a completely different career path and headed into personal training with just a piece of paper. That said I could do it. I learned along the way, building a successful personal training career in commercial gyms, privately and remotely, And now I'm here to help you, whether you're a new grad, a career changer or somebody who's already a pro just looking to get better. I'm sharing what I know, the stuff the textbooks didn't teach you, and bringing on other colleagues to share their experiences, and I'm doing it with compassion, big smiles and a lot less bravado than you've come to know in the fitness industry. I'm happy you're here. Let's get going. Hello, hello. We're back for another episode of Coaches Chat. It's fast Friday, so we're going to keep this episode short And we're talking about helping your clients with their summer travel, their fitness goals, their nutrition goals and summer travel. And this is perfect because I got some observations of my own from my most recent travel.
Speaker 1:Just got back yesterday from a trip to DC, got to see my friends, zach and Andrew getting married and it was lovely. Dc is a cool place I haven't been in a long time And we got to sort of experience a few different areas, got to see some friends who live there, got to walk a ton Because DC I think I don't know this and I didn't look it up before, which you know. That's me. I would say if I were to describe myself to someone I'm a person who's interested in learning a fact but doesn't look it up, especially when it's a random fact. I think I read somewhere that DC was the number one rated like fittest city in America or most active city in America, and it might. Even if it's not number one, it's like high up there because it's a very walkable city. Recreation is really popular. We saw tons of people doing like adult dodgeball leagues, lots of people on bikes, lots of people running. The National Mall is like beautiful for running and the weather was delightful.
Speaker 1:Now, as a trainer, summer can get a little tricky because clients tend to disappear for long periods of time And you probably also, as a trainer, want to take vacation of your own. But clients are usually looking for some help, some guidance with their own travel and keeping to their goals or even just sort of psychologically thinking through what it means to go on a trip relative to their fitness goals. So the question becomes first is like does this person, if they're going on a long trip and they have really sort of more lofty fitness nutrition goals, are there things that they want to do over their vacation that keep them to the progress that they're making? Do they want to stay consistent? Do they want to sort of have a little bit more structure to the plan on their trip? Or are there people who also just really could benefit from the rest time, the change in routine? If you're traveling a lot in the summer, the constant change in routine can be really difficult. So you may find that some people are looking for some ways to kind of keep a through line when it comes to their fitness and nutrition, or people who are only going to take one or two trips and are really looking for a break. So we'll talk through that. But first the first question to ask a client is like kind of what they're looking for in terms of sticking to fitness and nutrition And you can offer advice relative to their experience and what you've observed from them, because some people you might really want to encourage to just take a break if it's overwhelming for them Versus some people, you might want to encourage ways in which they can stick to what they're doing. So we'll talk about sort of workouts, food and then regeneration.
Speaker 1:When it comes to traveling and doing workouts, it may be beneficial for you to either program for your client or encourage them to do something off program but still active. So if that person is traveling a lot and they're seeking consistency in programming, then you're going to program workouts for their travel. You're going to think through what will they have available, what can we guarantee they'll be able to do so they don't run into hiccups thinking through what a hotel gym might have available, what a body weight in hotel room workout can look like, because that can also be totally doable and still keep them to their routine. If they have big strength goals, how can you help them think through whether or not they need to see if a local gym has day passes? It's sort of anticipating what's going to be best for them or not even just what's best for them, what they would prefer. So either hotel gyms, day passes in room workouts and then actually providing them with the program so that they have something that they can really stick to, or encouraging them to do it on their own and say this is a great time for you to go off program and try some of your favorite exercises in a hotel gym.
Speaker 1:If you were like me and you were coming back from travel, or if you were in a place where there's an active community, can you get some walks in? Can you try an exercise class there that they don't offer here? That was maybe one of the things I was kind of craving. We don't always have the same things in Gainesville that they have in big metropolitan areas. I could have done a cycling class that they offer there and not somewhere else, but that might be a suggestion that you make. So you're thinking through their particular goals as well as the things that will support them from a psychological and emotional place, because some people are really going to need that extra support to stick to it, or they're going to sometimes need and nobody needs permission, but sometimes people feel like they need permission to actually go off the program or to just seek movement for movement's sake. So, thinking through that, either hotel workout, programmed guest gym day. I've had people who go on long trips and we still do our virtual sessions together because they have a way that they can set it up and that's helpful for them. It's really about that person.
Speaker 1:When we talk about nutrition on vacation, the big one I always say is enjoy food. If you are going somewhere on a trip, go, enjoy the food you want to try. You get to go to different restaurants, you get to have different local cuisine. Really seek out that food that you want to try and that you want to taste. That is really a benefit of vacation, of travel and of getting things outside of your immediate area. Now, for folks who travel a ton for business or who are sort of constantly traveling, some of that might wear thin and they actually might be craving some similarities because their stomachs aren't holding up or whatever. Similarly, if that person is traveling to some place, great and they get to try all this amazing food, but on travel days they're in an airport and the options are slim or they're constantly having to have some foods that don't sit well or maybe like too rich for their stomachs or that they can only have a little bit of without becoming sort of too much, and they're sort of craving some of those routine foods. I know, sometimes I go places where I like, love the food, but I'm eating a lot of like I don't know, just foods that are more flavorful or more rich and interesting. There actually comes a point where I'm like I really just want to go find like a bland food, or I want to go find a salad bar because my body's actually asking for it. I'm not saying that that's right or wrong, i'm just saying that's sometimes what happens.
Speaker 1:What we can do is kind of encourage people to enjoy food. If this is a special trip for them, if that's something that they want to do, if that's one of their hobbies is like trying new things. Same thing goes with like desserts and alcohols and stuff like that. Enjoy the stuff that you want to enjoy. If you have articulated that that's important to you, i don't encourage my clients to skip that stuff. If they've articulated that this one specific goal is more important and they want to skip that stuff, i'll help them through it. But I typically don't sort of encourage that because I think those kinds of goals that require such specific restriction, even in like short vacations, they don't tend to be all that sustainable. But it depends on the client. I do encourage people to pack a few things and particularly prioritize some packing of protein or at least seeking out protein in those other meals.
Speaker 1:Let's say you're traveling and maybe on that first day in the airport you have some things packed with you so that you're not having to navigate less than ideal or less than nourishing situations for yourself and kind of to keep yourself maybe your tummy feeling okay, keep yourself regular, whatever that might look like as far as travel goes. That's an important thing. Sometimes clients don't really have that idea ahead of it. You can talk through packing protein bars, or here are. If you end up in an airport, here are five great things to look for. That might be a more filling, more nourishing option than X, y or Z.
Speaker 1:While you're at your destination, make sure you enjoy the things that you enjoy. Or if you're going to go out for dinner and you're not sure what you should have before dinner and you're still going to get a workout in, here are some options while you're traveling. It's kind of just presenting some options for the client, because I think we forget as trainers that we have some knowledge that they don't necessarily have. As far as nutrition goes or exercise goes, we can kind of anticipate and we have strategies. We have to offer them these strategies and then they can choose to use them or not. So typically I'll suggest the packing of some items that are sort of normal for a person, or at least part of their routine, i'll suggest the prioritizing some protein, and I'll suggest getting a lot of water that can be hard to do in travel as well. So making sure that they sort of at least, are thinking about it in addition to really relishing and enjoying the kinds of food they want on vacation. And then I will also encourage them.
Speaker 1:My last one, so I'll cover the, you know, workouts, nutrition, and then I'm talking about Actually enjoying themselves and resting. I always talk to my clients about How a few Days, weeks, even a month away does not Negate all the things that you were working for. So while we'll try to think through ways to keep you In alignment with your goals, we also know that part of what allows us to maintain sustainable fitness and nutrition habits is to actually enforce that needed rest time, that needed break time. When can we rest? so I worked out on my last trip. I got a ton of walking in and then, the one day that I could fit an actual workout in, i did, and it was actually very social. I got to work out with friends and they went a little off program, but I still got a ton of movement in. It was really, really fun.
Speaker 1:Next week I'm traveling and I will not work out.
Speaker 1:I will probably get a lot of walking in, but there will not be any organized workouts And I actually planned that ahead of time.
Speaker 1:So I wrote a program that went all the way up to this coming Friday and Then my D load no workout week, just walk in, swim in if I want, but like super relaxed is My vacation week because we need that time away, and so I'll just I'll talk my clients through that potential guilt or that sort of like Inability to let themselves relax, and I'll encourage them to use that vacation time to relax, because if we really allow ourselves to do that Well, we come back. We can train hard, we are more, we're looking forward to training and maybe the first day back is hard, but we we've gained a lot from actually allowing our bodies To have some regenerative Experiences. So that's how we're helping clients with summer travel. Okay, if you have questions about that, you can send me a DM at foster underscore strength or an email, betsy at be foster strong calm. That's our fast Friday episode for this week and until next time, go, do amazing things. Bye.