What they Want vs What they Need

So your client arrives for their first session with you, after a chat and quick postural assessment you realise that their posture needs serious attention and their current exercise programme is not helping.

You find out that what they want from the sessions with you is to be more toned with strong “abs” and to improve their flexibility. The problem arises when you see that what they want and what they need are two quite different things that will need different approaches.

What to do?

1. Disregard what they want and do what you like
2. Ignore what you know is needed and just give them a tough workout
3. Compromise

I trust you all answered 1. - JUST KIDDING! I am sure you all realise the correct answer is 3. If you totally ignore their wants - they will not be clients for very long. You need to be able to offer them a little of what you want for them and a lot of what they think they need for themselves.

Exercise or Education?

We Pilates teachers tend to attract and keep those clients who respond best to our teaching style. Even if we can get great results - if the client/teacher rapport is not there the relationship will not last.

As trained teachers you know the benefits of working with a neutral spine alignment and the importance of layering muscle activity for best technique and performance. However, the fine details are sometimes challenging for clients. They sign up for an exercise regime, not an education in Pilates anatomy.

Its necessary to make sure that the fine line between information and lecturing is kept in the right place. In order for clients to make permanent change they need to understand the reasoning behind what you are teaching, however they also want to leave the session feeling they had a good workout, that their body has responded well to your instruction.

Its a sign of the times that clients are well informed about all types of fitness and health, they may have tried several regimes over time and Pilates may be the next in line. On the other hand they may be Pilates followers with experience and have a strong opinion about what Pilates is to them. At times a clients interpretation of the Pilates technique can be very different from yours, especially in these days of so many fusion style classes.

Know Your Client

In order to begin your relationship with your client in the best possible way you need to understand where they are in the Pilates/fitness spectrum. This doesn’t need an in depth interview, just a few simple enquiries will help you understand, just knowing where they took their sessions can sometimes tell you everything. Of course as you work with them you will quickly see how they perform the Pilates movements, what type of breathing they use and how they modify the movements if it is necessary.

In a group scenario this may be easier to assess as you will be giving generic cues regarding movements, together with options to vary levels to suit individual ability. In a personal training session you will need to communicate directly with the client.

Change One Thing

This is a situation where your teaching style and philosophy may become an issue. Because as teachers we need to be able to change direction very quickly, it is sometimes necessary to call on different cues, to change the position of a movement or alter the usual breathing pattern of a person in order to help them achieve the best experience with the least stress.

These changes may lead the client to ask if you are teaching them Pilates or something else. This question comes from clients who have participated in a lot of fitness programmes, or those who have been to a very specific style of Pilates for a time.

People become set in their ways and if you start to introduce changes they will questions you. For clients who have not worked with neutral alignment, or those who may consider a tilted pelvis for abdominal exercises to be the safest way to perform them, getting them to understand and appreciate the benefit of working with neutral alignment can take time.

Take It Slow

My advice would be to start and finish a session focused on a neutral alignment and during the main body of the session to cue it but not labour the point. Over time clients will come to realise the part that a neutral spine can play in creating best results for posture change and quality of movement.

By taking this step by step approach you will allow clients to enjoy a dynamic workout at the same time gradually improving performance. If you take the route of spending large amounts of time “ensuring” your client is in neutral you may find the client decides to find a new teacher.

I am not advocating a sloppy approach to the Pilates technique, I am just saying let the client move then whilst they are moving give them the information in a drip feed effect. This way you will keep your client happy and active at the same time giving them time to understand the deeper elements of the Pilates technique.

Hyper-Active Clients

Another aspect of client behaviour is their attention span - some clients even as adults are easily distracted, they live their lives in a heightened level of activity or nervousness, trying to make these clients “slow down” is a challenge in itself. The best way I have found to deal with this is to keep the client moving, ideally using professional Pilates equipment or if that is not available using small equipment as well as changing the position of the client throughout the workout - not keeping them in one place for too long. This has worked for me with hyper-active clients as it keeps them engaged.

Keep Them Busy

If you have this type of client, the last thing they will cope with well is many minutes trying to achieve subtle movements - they will become agitated, possibly even refuse to carry on. Avoid this frustration for both of you by keeping your Pilates session moving, when you see the hyper-active client losing attention, either give them something else to think about, for example change the breathing pattern, or change the exercise. Even changing the way the client is facing will help. In a group situation keeping a good flow with clear transitions will work, creating combinations of movement also keeps the class thinking.

Bear in mind that keeping your clients will cut the costs of constantly having to find new ones. People buy what they want not necessarily what they need. You know you have a great product, but sometimes you just need to re-package it.

Let me have your reaction to this article at info@thepilatesconsultant.com

Nuala

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