One of the greatest strengths that many fitness professionals possess is a passion for the benefits of exercise and an active lifestyle. This passion, in addition to the benefits we reap from being fit, is probably one of the reasons you ended up in the pool or the gym trying to help others achieve a similar appreciation of physical activity. We like the feeling of exercising, we like to hang around others who are active, and we’re attracted to places where we can be active. However, it would be a mistake to assume that your clients have the same perceptions or appreciation of exercise and fitness as you. In fact, this lack of understanding of what motivates your clients and how to impact that motivation can result in fitness professionals getting highly frustrated and often pointing the blame at “lazy” clients when they don’t show up or they don’t “work hard.” While there are certainly many unmotivated people in the US, aren’t the people you see already halfway there? They already thought about why they want to exercise, looked for a place to exercise, got their gear together, and have shown up at your facility. However, the motivation to start is quite different from the motivation to stick with it, and as you probably know about 50% of people who start a new exercise program drop out in the first 3-6 months. Part of the reason people drop out of exercise programs is a mismatch between the needs of the individual and the staff and climate at a particular facility or program. Understanding more about how to optimize this interaction between you and your clients may help you play a bigger role in transitioning them from sedentary to active lifestyles.

• Principle #1 – Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Often fitness instructors are too wrapped up in all of the assessments, health histories and getting the class started to really find out what motivates their participants.  Take a few moments when you meet new clients (in the first 1-2 weeks) and find out why your client is there, what they like, and what they want. Specifically, ask some of these questions to help you “seek to understand:”

• Why did you start this program now?
• What kind of experiences have you had in the past?
• What would you like to get out of this experience, and why? 

• Principle 2 – Create the right “climate” in your gym, pool, and group exercise sessions.

Extensive research has found several key factors of physical activity environments that can lead to increased motivation and adherence in participants. If you can find a way to build these factors into your sessions, classes, or facility, you may find participants are more likely to show up and to return again and again.

• Give them some choices and let them be actively involved.  This is a great opportunity for you to put your physical laws and aqua physics into use.  Increasing or decreasing lever length, range of motion (ROM), speed, acceleration of a movement or using buoyancy assisted, resisted or supported movements all allow us to manage a class of participants that are not all made from the same mold. 
• Challenge them and let them experience success.  Specific, informational feedback that builds competence will let your clients know they are doing things correctly.
• Let them play.  Themes, games or adding something new to an old routine can add fun and flair to any class.  If they have fun in class they will come back!

• Principle 3 – Help keep clients accountable to their fitness goals (in a positive way)

Help them adjust their goals and identify and plan for barriers.  This will assist in building a relationship between you and your participants and that relationship will keep them coming back for more aquatic exercise.

All of these principles are designed to help exercise become a meaningful activity for your clients.  Health benefits, the love of exercise, social connections, stress relief, or a combination of motives will drive your client’s motivation levels.  Meaningful questions build stronger relationships with your clients and will help you to adjust your view from what you once saw as a “lazy” person to now understanding their unique situations.  You may find that most clients are actually quite motivated to change, they just haven’t figured out how to put all the pieces together to establish a regular habit. So if you view your clients from this perspective and think to yourself, “what skills can I teach this person to help them achieve their goals” you may find yourself less frustrated and more successful in creating lasting change.