It’s that time of year again. The New Year brings with it new ideas, new dreams and New Year’s resolutions. For so many, these New Year’s resolutions focus around getting healthy through improved eating habits and increased physical activity. It’s our job to help our clients and patients reach their goals by keeping them focused. Unfortunately, although these journeys begin with the best intentions, more often than not they are cut short by busy schedules, a lack of motivation and non-existent support systems. So, how do you help your clients avoid the excuses and find success in their New Year’s Resolutions?

First, take the time to understand your clients. Every person is different, so understanding their struggles will help you tailor a plan that will fit their needs. Let’s take Kate for example. Kate faces the same struggles that most any of us face. She doesn’t have enough time to add in a workout plan. However, for her New Year’s resolution, Kate decides that she is going to start working out every day. But, after a couple of weeks, she gets tired as the stresses of work piling up on her desk and a busy home life get the best of her. So, she gives up on her workout plan. How can you help Kate?

The key to solving any scheduling problem is to create a solid schedule. You’ll need to help Kate identify the times in her day that are open for fitting in exercise. By going over Kate’s schedule, you can help her prioritize the things that she has to get done (ie: Attend work meetings, pick the kids up from school, etc.) with the things that are a lesser priority than exercise. If you have weekly meetings with Kate, take time during your meetings to identify her exercise schedule for the week. It may be the same each week. But, be sure to remind her to take in to account special events each week that may interfere with her schedule.

As we all know, even the best laid plans sometimes need to be changed. So, provide your clients, like Kate, with a list of backup activities. When the weather gets nasty or the kids get sick, it’s a lot harder to get out of the house and hit the gym. Some of these substitutes may be things they can do at home or at work. But, make sure they can be done easily in any home. The goal here is to avoid allowing your clients to make excuses as to why they aren’t sticking to their workout plan.

Accountability is the word here. Without accountability, there is no one keeping Kate, and all your other clients, on track as they get tired, lose focus and even get frustrated if things aren’t going just as they hoped. So, be the accountability that they need. There are a lot of different ways to hold your clients accountable. One easy way with today’s technology is to offer an accountability text service. Monitor the schedule that you helped them create and follow-up with them after workouts or at the end of the day to see how they’re feeling. Make sure you keep it positive and motivational too.

Lastly, make sure to make Kate’s workout plan easy to stick to. If you hand her the perfect workout schedule designed by a Certified Personal Trainer, how can she not stick to the plan?

So, that’s just what we’re doing. We’ve created an easy to use workout plan that you can print and hand to your clients so they’re ready to tackle the New Year and their New Year’s resolution. Just click here to order the free download. Complete the checkout process and the free download will be emailed directly to you.

Before you go, check out the NCES Exercise Section for great exercise equipment for any workout.