What is a coaching philosophy, who uses them, and what are they good for?

Coaching philosophies are statements or values that guide a coach’s approach to training with their athletes. They establish what is most important to the coach and what comes above all else in the way they interact and work with their athletes. Coaching philosophies are important for every coach, trainer, mentor, or anyone who is guiding, teaching, or programming for others that look up to them. As a strength coach and personal trainer, my coaching philosophies guide the way I program and interact with my athletes and clients. They serve as a boundary and template for myself so I can hold my athletes to the same standards while ensuring they receive the most from working with me. If I feel myself straying from my philosophies, I know I need to re-evaluate my values and get back on track so I can serve those that rely on me to the best of my capabilities. 

What are my coaching philosophies?

I have a few of them, and they are constantly evolving the more I learn and grow as a personal trainer. I like to have no more than three main philosophies at a time so I can remain focused and deliberate in my approach to training, while being able to adapt to clients with different goals, lifestyles, and backgrounds.

#1 Client-trainer trust and respect comes first.

One of the main things I have learned from working with clients of all backgrounds, ages, and genders is that trust and respect must be present in order for them to continue to train with me. When I first began training with clients, I knew rapport was important, but I did not realize how essential it was to keep clients coming back. There must be some kind of common ground, understanding of one another, or trust that you as the trainer, have their best intentions in mind. A client must view you as someone they can go to for not just exercise and nutrition advice, but also life advice. A client who feels disconnected from you, will not be able to fully commit to training with you because they may not be fully convinced you want to see them succeed or help them towards success. Establishing mutual trust and respect allows a client to understand that you know what you are doing, you want to help them reach their goals, and you genuinely enjoy working with them. A client’s motivation will only last so long and once that motivation fizzles out, if you have established a relationship that revolves around mutual trust and respect, they will continue to show up because they see the value in working with you.

#2 Balance & sustainability are at the core of each of my clients programs

Clients will often seek out personal trainers at the height of their motivation to make a change in their lifestyle. They will want to hit the ground running and go all-in all at once. As a trainer, you are responsible for educating your client on creating a sustainable and balanced exercise and/or nutrition program. You can give them what they want and create an intense and draining program that they will think will get them fast results. But, once they lose that motivation they came to you with, you will lose them as a client. You will also lose their trust and respect when this happens because they will most likely associate you with their failure or inability to reach their goals. Creating a program that is balanced and sustainable, will help your clients find joy in working towards their fitness goals and allow them to maintain the progress that they make when working with you for longer. You will also build that trust and respect with them because they will realize that you want to see them succeed over the long term and help them maintain the results they work hard to get.

#3 Exercise should be enjoyable and my clients should look forward to their training sessions.

Many times clients begin working with a trainer to hold them accountable for their training sessions. This may work at first, but if a client doesn’t want to workout, they won’t. They will cancel and you will be stuck in a constant loop with them finding their motivation only to lose it and start missing sessions again. So what keeps a client consistently showing up for a session? Is it motivation? Is it the results? Is it the fact that they are spending money to train with you? Nope! The #1 reason why a client will continue to show up for training is if they like it! If they have fun during training sessions, they look forward to it, it makes them feel good, and they enjoy working with you, they will show up again and again and again. If you make workouts that are boring, exhausting, or make them feel bad about themselves they will not return to training with you. Now if you make exercise feel exciting and you program exercises that they enjoy doing, make them feel strong or empowered, and challenge them just enough, they begin to associate training with you with their success. This is where the real magic happens. This creates trust, builds your relationship, earns you their respect, establishes loyalty, and ultimately, gets them the results they want.

So, these are my top 3 coaching philosophies! Once again, these are changing and evolving the longer I have experience in the coaching world and these are not the only philosophies I base my client’s programs on. These philosophies align with my core values as a coach and guide the approach I take with all clients in Train with Tori.

If you have questions or comments regarding my coaching philosophies or starting an exercise program with me, send me an email or insta DM and we can get connected! Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss my next blog post!