Varied Not Random #66: Should a coach “fire” a client?

[@keithwalker1457]

I've had to fire both my wife and one of my daughters as "clients" from my garage gym due to them being very hard to work with for differing reasons that caused me great dread. My wife is slowly coming around, she cherry picks workouts with me and lets me program workouts and does them on her own to great satisfaction for us both. It was hrd, sucked big time, but in the end it was for the best for all of us.

[@timmitimmi1]

What a great episode! So useful for me as a fresh affiliate owner. My reaction to question one. I always ask people to come to the open gyms if they want to develop a specific skill. Then question 2. I had a person like this some years ago when i was working for another CrossFit box. We discussed it with all the coaches and decided to do the "real conversation". In that case it worked but we never thought or spoke about the Fire option. Good to here about this subject so we can maybe address this situation better the next time. PS great fan of your work. It helps me a lot

[@btwbmedia]

Thanks for your support!

[@mikekloehn3540]

“Old Man Yells At Cloud”, classic. I caught your reference there Boz.

[@timgibbons890]

Oh man. Question 2 is real life coaching. Great discussion and great advice.

[@DrRichardNorris]

Thanks guys for your input. Every session refines my coaching. As a self-employed coach and only brought in to do classes, up to 15 min extra coaching is a good boundary. Beyond that...my thoughts would be to charge for it. I am mindful of the principle: you have to sow to grow.

[@spencergsmith]

Agreed

[@btwbmedia]

Well said!

[@toddm3208]

Hey Pat And Adrian, I’m a rookie programmer who kinda fell into my position because I’m passionate about it but also our programmer stepped out of our affiliate. I’ve had a handful of complaints about programming , most recently a 10x250m row sprint in which no one showed for class and the night before I received complaints word of mouth through my couch. I know I’m on my way to figuring out what is good and what is needed for my athletes through various avenues such as your podcast(s). Here’s my question: have you ever been so passionate about programming that when no one did your workout it left you somewhat heartbroken? It really sucked when no one showed to class after I knew people weren’t thrilled about the workout because it wasn’t our usual STR/MetCon class. Just wondering if that’s ever been the case for you or if I’m just too emotional lol

[@rockfieldsfitness]

Write the intent of the session and see if that helps... If someone can get excited about WHY they are doing something, maybe -big maybe - they will show up. What i have done in the past is to throw it in as a finisher.

[@beckjacob]

Pat - Serious question here. Where can I get one of the shirts you're wearing? I dig it and want one!!! Next actual question for both of you: As a 50-year old garage gym athlete who is always looking to improve physically and mentally, what are your thoughts on the value or return on investment of attending a Level 1 Seminar? And, is there more value/merit to attending an in-person over the online version (other than the obvious of having that personal interaction)? I believe the knowledge gained from attending one of these seminars would be invaluable to the average garage gym athlete but curious to hear what you both think.

[@TimoZiemann]

Its available at Rogue

[@beckjacob]

@@TimoZiemann thanks!

[@spencergsmith]

If you go into it with an open mind and humble attitude, the Level 1 course is a gold mine of fitness education.

[@jobimzapico44]

Love the show guys. You two have been idols of mine for a long time. I had a question about how to communicate with a coach at my gym who is confusing coaching standards with actual coaching? For example, we had a workout recently that had air squats and power clean and jerks in it. He was spent much of the workout telling people to get deeper in their squats but missed virtually every single lack of hip extension in athletes jerks. I feel like I see this a lot with coaches and athletes. The lines of competition vs improving fitness get blurred. People think because they hit a standard for a movement it’s good movement. Any thoughts on how to reframe the paradigm? Thanks.

[@arkastrengthconditioning3705]

We all have those kind of members from time to time 🙂 I have a question for Pat and Boz. Me as a coach do I really need to be concerned about how my members aesthetically look because of doing crossfit? Well of course they are getting fitter and stronger however because of their lifestyle habits, it doesn't really show on them... I am also a nutrition coach and I talk to them a lot about the value of nutrition and provide the service in our box as well. I feel its like my duty to make them look differently and also that is another good image for our gym. What do you think about? Thanks Karim

[@mitchcollins5840]

Another option is tell the client to take a forced month off from your gym. Tell them they may return IFF they straighten up subject to a zero tolerance policy.

[@timkestner4168]

Hey Guys! Thank you a lot for your podcast, it is awesome! I also have a question to you: I am relatively new to Crossfit , so I did not collect a ton of data on my training performance yet. I am asking myself the following question: How much of an influence does it have for my performance if I am having a bad or a good day? Is it mostly mentally or is the physiological limit on "bad" days really lower, and if so, how much on average (like 10%, 20%), or is it individually so different that it can not be told so easily? Does it make sence to compare two single workout results (of the same workout) and conclude from that if I improved my fitness or do I rather need to do it more often to evaluate if I really improved?

[@btwbmedia]

Hey Tim! It definitely depends on what your goals are, but ultimately data is just a great way to track your fitness journey. The mental and physical stress depending on the day are important to understand but also not something you should harp on. It's important to not get too caught up on good and bad days and to remember that every day that you train, you are doing something to improve your overall fitness.

[@timkestner4168]

@@btwbmedia Thank you very much for your answer!