PUTTING THE PERSONAL
BACK INTO PT
After accepting that the PT-client relationship goes both ways, personal trainer Katelyn Bartlett
realised that both parties had much to gain from more open communication.
ve been a personal trainer for half
a decade now. When I first started
in this industry I made sure to
know more about my clients than they did
about me. I always directed the conversation
in training sessions to make it focus on them
and their lives. I’d made notes of their
important upcoming events, such as their
birthday, anniversary, work projects, school
events or upcoming holidays. I’d learn their
favourite food, restaurants, places they shop
and the names of their family and best
friends. I’d ask probing questions to find out
as much as I could to discover what
motivates them and what their pet peeves
are. All of this allowed me to keep them
I'
focused on our training sessions and plan sessions that would help
them reach their fitness/health goals in an enjoyable way.
As time went on, clients that I’d been training for over a year started
to ask me questions about my goals and what I did at the weekend.
In my mind, the client was paying for my time and knowledge to
help them, not to hear about my goals or my personal activities, so
I’d keep my responses short. I’d say something along the lines of
‘maintaining my health and getting a new PB’ in whatever it was I
was training for at the time, whether it be running a faster 5k fun run,
tackling an obstacle course or lifting heavier weights.
From private to personal
However, I came to realise that keeping my personal goals and life
away from my clients didn’t enable them to see that I’m just like them
and that they too could achieve the things I achieve. I shifted my
NETWORK AUTUMN 2019 | 27