Fitness Coach vs Personal Trainer: Psychology in the gym.

Fitness Coach vs Personal Trainer. Learn about the different techniques and methods.

While the Personal Trainer is known as a reference figure in the fitness sector to optimize physical results, a new trend is beginning to open the way, the Fitness Coach or Wellness Coach. Fitness Coach or Wellness Coachcoaching in healthy lifestyle.

The fitness coach helps and inspires you to set your own goals and achieve them, generating powerful and creative conversations that are thought-provoking and help you to find the and help you find a way to reach your goals and keep reach your goals and maintain your new healthy habits forever..

In the sessions we work on different topics such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, emotions, weight, tobacco...

You can find the Fitness Coach in your "gym", but his work and results go beyond the fitness rooms. The Fitness Coach fits perfectly in modern gyms, where the new trend, thewellness (wellness), is proliferating, and as a consequence, instead of finding rooms full of machines, we are now moving to centers where there is not only a space to train muscles, but also relaxation activities (such as spa, massage cabinets, saunas), group classes (yoga, pilates, tai-chi...) along with leisure and relaxation areas (cafeterias, hairdressers and esthetics).

What is Wellness?

Today, there are still many interpretations as to the definition of fitness and wellness. TheFitness could be considered as an equivalent of "physical condition" or "being in shape".. Fitness is based on two fundamental pillars: physical activity and healthy eating. It allows the person to improve Cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, strength and muscular endurance, provides more agility and balance, speed, toning, all accompanied by a correct and balanced diet. If necessary, consuming the appropriate supplementation in each particular case, but never anabolic. Fitness is sometimes confused with bodybuilding, but the latter focuses on achieving extreme muscle definition and volume in symmetry, sacrificing the overall well-being of the person and functionality.

On the other hand, the Wellness concept or philosophy is considered a more global term. It would not only encompass fitness as the improvement of physical condition, but goes beyond that and uses physical condition as a means to improving health, providing longevity, quality of life and beauty.. In other words, wellness as a synonym for physical, psychological and emotional well-being. It is no longer just about being in shape, but also about finding a balance between body and mind.

Coaching in the gym

The staff of fitness centers and gyms has grown in recent years with professionals with degrees in physical activity, sports or health sciences.

In the late 20th century, personal trainers relied on their knowledge of physical activity and biomechanics, thinking it was enough to keep clients adhering to their programs and get them to improve their lifestyles. As time has passed, many have come to realize that instruction and technical support are not enough to cover the diversity of clients' schedules and the need for individualized client treatment. Other variables, especially psychological ones, must be taken into account if customer engagement is to be maintained..

Research into the factors that influence exercise led experts to explore emotional and nutritional needs, and often revealed lifestyle patterns that were harmful, behaviors that were addictive, and personal and family challenges that interfered with goal attainment.. These aspects needed to be redirected in order to follow the training successfully. Even before psychology and coaching appeared in fitness centers, personal trainers were already aware of the need for communication skills and intervention models in these areas.

The inclusion of the Fitness Coach in fitness rooms has given access to the appropriate methods for working with clients in these areas. Two questions then arise regarding Fitness Coach and Personal Trainer: "Which method works better?" "Are the two methods equally effective for all clients?".

In order to answer these two questions, one must understand how both models work.

Fitness coach vs Personal Trainer

Clients who want to hire a fitness coach instead of a Personal Trainer should be aware that they will encounter two different work methodologies and two different communication techniques.s. The Fitness Coach will prioritize relationship building and communication. He/she will focus on the client's stories and strategies, and provide motivational and supportive messages (e.g. using NLP techniques). Although some schools of coaching recommend giving advice, Most coaches encourage the client to get to the answer alone by using powerful questions (Socratic questions) that challenge and confront their self-perceptions and limiting beliefs..

It is a process of personal inquiry and discovery to help the client become more aware, identify and take responsibility for realistic goals, with a focus on strategies, actions and feedback.

The Personal Trainer may have similar aspects, but is more focused more focused on instructions and technical information. In addition, he/she uses a more hands-on approach by guiding the client through the exercises and training, with a directive style of communication, and creating a relationship of dependence on the person he/she is guiding. Personal trainers are more concerned with defining their role as experts in physical training and biomechanical knowledge, but they do not foster personal growth or ensure that the client learns the true concept of wellness.

Now, having learned that coaches and personal trainers rely on different working methodologies, it's time to answer the second question I posed above: "Do the two methods work the same for everyone?". To answer this question we need to understand the client, as each person is different, has different goals, unique past experiences and needs that may vary from one to another.

Therefore, to better understand the needs of the client, we need to understand the Self-Efficacy Theory from Albert Bandura (1977)Self-efficacy, which emphasizes the role of what one tells oneself during the process of acquiring the goals one intends to achieve, and determines one's behavior and the way one acts in each situation.

Self-efficacy: The key to achieving long-term goals

The Self-efficacy is the judgments and beliefs that a person holds about his or her abilities to successfully perform a given task and, therefore, directs the course of his or her action.. These expectations determine the preference for certain activities, motivation, persistence in such tasks and emotional responses to various situations. In addition, and very importantly, self-efficacy expectations are variable and context-specific. For example, beliefs will be different when practicing swimming or when preparing to run marathons. Self-efficacy beliefs are affected by one's own past accomplishments, vicarious learning or observation of others' behavior, verbal persuasion, or level of emotional arousal.

Some clients may come to the gym knowledgeable about nutrition and exercise, but unable to adhere to a training plan or diet. Others, on the other hand, will know absolutely nothing about the exercises they should perform.

The first example refers to people who have mastered self-efficacy related to physical activity, but may have cognitive and emotional difficulties in designing, implementing, or maintaining behaviors related to goal acquisition. The second example refers to people who need instruction to get started in exercise and, therefore, will need a directive style to get off to a good start, achieve quick results and avoid injury.

Looking at clients' Self-Efficacy from different angles will allow us to identify people who need to improve their physical ability to achieve their goals, or it will give us information about people who need to improve their cognitive and emotional competencies to successfully manage the necessary transitions in a change process.

Conclusion

In summary, people can have skills and competencies that are a necessary but not sufficient condition for achieving goals. One of the variables that influence the acquisition of goals is the perception of self-efficacy, that is, the person's expectation of success when faced with a particular situation, depending on the resources he/she believes he/she has and the characteristics of the situation and the context.

A person may avoid situations in which he or she doubts his or her ability, no matter how challenging a goal may be, believing that he or she does not have the necessary resources to achieve it. The perception of self-efficacy is key in the coaching process and is necessary to achieve long-term goals. The Personal Trainer can have very useful tools and so can the Fitness Coach. The ideal to be a good professional in this field is to have the necessary competencies to be able to use both ways of working both ways of working according to the client's needs..