ABSTRACT
Getting a client to stick to your programme is one of the hardest challenges you will face as a personal trainer. Roughly half the people starting an exercise routine will drop out within the first six months (Dishman, 1982). Whilst most exercise plans or fad diets work in the short term they are often doomed to failure because most people cannot maintain them over longer periods of time. Many people looking to lose weight have been dieting and exercising on and off for years. This causes fluctuations in weight that place stress on the heart and predispose them to further weight gain. Psychological intervention involves manipulating your client’s environment and the way they perceive that environment to make them stick to your programmes. A psychological programme designed to
maintain motivation must go alongside the exercise and dietary plan that you prescribe. It is the psychological and behavioural interventions underpinning adherence to a programme that are likely to be key to an individual’s success, not just
over five weeks but for the next five years. In this chapter we will look at motivation, how we can help to motivate individuals, how we can remove barriers to success and what simple psychological tools are available to us to help clients achieve their goals.
