Hey Everyone!
Are your clients logging their workouts consistently?
If you have clients that aren’t tracking their workouts, it is likely that they will not be around as the ones who do.
It is just that simple.
Remember that just about every member’s goals can be summed up into three categories: look, feel, and perform.
Looking good is somewhat measurable over the long term, but for many it will never be perfect. We also know that looking good is a side effect of being healthy. You get healthy by consistently training, sleeping, and eating well. The hard part is building that consistency over time when the noticeable results are slow. There is also the problem of when the person is 95% of the way to the body they want, maintaining commitment after most of the ‘looking good’ results have been achieved is another challenge.
Feeling good is notoriously hard to track. Most people will notice when their back hurts, their shoulder hurts, or they have less energy. Far fewer people are able to notice when their back stops hurting, their shoulder hasn’t flared up in months, or when they have that spring back in their step.
Performance IS trackable. It is something that gives us clear feedback immediately. It is something that can build consistency and motivate people to keep putting in the work.
Research on the world’s top performers in business, sport, and life, has shown a clear trend. Top performers keep journals. They track their performances. They learn from their mistakes, and use small wins to stay motivated.
By getting people to track their workouts early and often, we will see the benefits in the ‘Look’ and the ‘Feel’ categories, even if ‘Performance’ isn’t one of their personal goals!
Having members track their results will also make you a better coach. You’ll be able to give better guidance, more celebrations when they win, and spot problems before they start.
“But JJ, I want everyone to log, but some just won’t!”
Generally speaking, it is nearly impossible to get EVERYONE to track their all of their scores, but we can strive to get the majority.
It starts with education. Talk about the importance of tracking workouts and keeping notes. Point out to members that we repeat workouts every week, and do benchmarks 1-2x per week so they can continue to see the gains (and stay motivated).
Next comes the tool that your gym uses to track.
We started off with paper logs at the gym, then moved to spreadsheets on my computer. While these work better than nothing, there are far better tools out there now for sure.
My favorite is Beyond the Whiteboard!
There are dozens of reasons why I really like BTWB (and why you’ll like it too), but I’ll just cover some of my favorite reasons:
First, you can get Thrivestry programming loaded for your gym directly! This can save tons of time each week if you are logging it somewhere else. If you are interested in getting it through them, message me and we can get you set up (or click the link above). There is no additional charge (on top of the monthly Thrivestry fee plus their base monthly gym membership). Everything is input individually, from warm ups, to lifts, to metcons.
Second, their app is really awesome and has many great features for driving engagement. It is really easy for clients to find the workouts, look at leaderboards, upload their results, etc. Members can comment on each other’s results, start ‘squads’ to compete with friends (in and out of you gym). The app is free for clients, or they can load their results on any device with a web browser.
Third (one of my personal favorites), is their Fitness Level. While consistently putting in results will help people see PRs over the 3-6 month range, the Fitness Level will give them immediate feedback almost daily! It uses hundreds of data points to create an overall fitness rating that is a pretty decent measure of general physical preparedness (GPP). It also gives charts and tables to show progress over time and where there are areas of weakness/neglect. Many people get highly motivated to be more consistent with their training so they can see this number get bumped up each week and each month!
Fourth, it shows people what they did last time, BEFORE the workout. For those who check, they will see how they scaled, and what their score was. They will see their notes about how they attacked the workout that day. This is important so that people can get the most out of their next attempt, when repeating workouts.
There are other programs out there, but in my mind, Beyond the Whiteboard is still the best available!
More tips on getting compliance from members on logging
- Talk about it every day in class, and post about it in your social groups.
- Set up a ‘wod screen / leaderboard’ at the gym so members can see their names and performances.
- Make people check their numbers before starting the workout (do it as a group), especially on benchmark days.
- Use the system (all the coaches), and go in and comment, ‘flex’, fist bump, or whatever when clients post!
- Set up a ‘challenge’ to give awards to people who have been the most consistent about logging.
- Publicly celebrate wins (PRs or finishing a workout at a tough level) that get posted, in class and on social media.
- Elect to only post the workouts the night before on the system for a couple weeks to get people in the habit of checking it often.
Wrap Up
In the end, paying for a tracking app may seem like an added expense, but it WILL help retention. If it keeps just one or two clients, it pays for itself and then some!
And remember “What gets measured, gets better.”
Members can get stupid good results by just coming in and landing in the middle of the scaling guide consistently. But tracking will help keep motivation high, while making progress on those other (Look/Feel) metrics, and keep people around for much longer!
Thrive on.
-jj
What I am reading/watching (content for you or to share on your social media):
Simon Sinek on Intensity vs Consistency (in organizations and leadership) – RSA
Form, consistency, intensity, is a phrase that gets thrown around in the functional fitness space quite a bit. But maybe you should be putting consistency ahead of intensity in your business and your community as well!
Something Beats Nothing – Ross Training
“Don’t let your inability to do everything stop you from doing anything.”
Why is CrossFit so Expensive? – BoxRox
Our gyms aren’t the same as other gyms. We do not sell classes, or rent out equipment. We sell a coaching service and inclusion into a community.
Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In AnUnderslept State' – NPR
"Every disease that is killing us in developed nations has causal and significant links to a lack of sleep," he says. "So that classic maxim that you may [have] heard that you can sleep when you're dead, it's actually mortally unwise advice from a very serious standpoint."
High Protein vs Low Protein – Optimising Nutrition
How much protein should you be eating? Why is getting enough protein so important?
Yes, I Do Play My Favorites – Changing the Game
A coach talks about playing his ‘favorite’ kids…“I am not talking about favorites when it comes to silly politics, daddy ball, parents buddying up to a coach, or even a player’s athletic talent. You are right about that kind of favoritism that it has no place in youth sports. But as a coach, I certainly have my favorites, or those that I want to make sure get a lot of playing time. Again, at the youth level, this has less to do with athletic ability than more important intangibles. I am talking about the kids on my team that are a joy to coach because they exhibit certain traits. When it comes to those characteristics, yes, I do play my favorites.”
On to the Programming!
VIDEOS:
Monday: 171106 Mon wk45 La Grange -
Practice context, warm up notes, pause power cleans, double under tips, time guide, weekly overview
Tuesday: 171107 Tue wk45 Not Afraid -
Competition context and logging, warm up notes, who should be full snatching and who shouldn’t, not hyper extending the back on kb swings, why kb swings are hard for people with tight shoulders,
Wednesday: 171108 Wed wk 45 Jackie -
Competition context (again), what do on ‘coach warm up’ days, front squat options for this focus, who should be doing HSPU and who should be doing a progression, going in waves, not tearing hands on pull ups
Thursday: 171109 Thu wk45Aint No Grave -
Practice context theme, overhead carry best practices, time guide, who should scale up, how to scale toes to bar, broad jump tips
Friday: 171110 Fri wk45 Dumbbell DT -
Practice context theme, front rack mobility and power cleans, locking out the strict presses, flat back on db deadlifts, not hitting the legs on db cleans,
Saturday: 171111 Sat wk 45Hot Bronze -
Mental toughness and not pacing, even on a short workout, time guide, notes on dynamic warm up, team variation
Sunday: 171112 Sun wk45 Fade to Black -
Why good form in the beginning is such a good idea, rope climb practices for advanced people, doing movements that aren’t in metcons, notes for knees to elbows, what to do if not enough rowers,