As my friend Alan Aragon says, “If you program around preferences – in diet and training – you get better adherence. Personal preference drives *sustained* adherence. And, adherence is everything”
In other words, adherence isn’t just important with diet, it’s also important to consider when it comes to your training. So, both your diet and your training should be founded in universal principles but fit to your individual preferences.
With this reality in mind, here’s a list of questions I’ve been asking clients since I first started as a personal trainer. These questions have helped me to improve client communication, satisfaction and retention by better understanding their training preferences.
Keep in mind, the following isn’t an exhaustive list of all the questions I ask clients I’ve worked with throughout my career as a personal trainer. We certainly discuss their goals, training history, medical history, along with other important subjects that influence the training direction I take with them. This post is specifically focusing on the questions pertaining to individual training preferences.
What types of exercise styles do you tend to enjoy?
What types of exercise styles do you tend to not enjoy?
Do you have any favorite exercises? If so, why?
Are there any particular exercises or movements you hate? If so, why?
Is there any type of exercise equipment that you enjoy using? If so, why?
Is there any type of exercise equipment that you hate using? If so, why?
Do you enjoy faster paced workouts like circuits? If so, why?
Do you enjoy slower workouts like bodybuilding/powerlifting style? If so, why?
Do you get bored easily from working out? If so, what particular aspects of working out bore you?
Do you enjoy consistently performing certain exercises? Or, do you prefer more exercise variety?
