I had the greatest client session yesterday and wanted to share with you the lessons learned.
My client let me know before her session that she was not feeling up to par. Nothing catastrophic or contagious, but that we might need to take it into account.
Since she let me know ahead of time, I was able to look at her program and keep in mind some potential adjustments. Some Plan B’s, if necessary.
When she got to the gym, we discussed specifics and decided to go ahead with the plan, take a little longer warm up time, and assess along the way.
The workout included bench press, squats, and barbell rows, so it wasn’t no sissy workout, yall. We left off a couple of the heaviest sets for bench and squats, but she still did 80% of the planned session.
Romanian deadlifts were added in, and a lunge superset was cut.
It worked. She left feeling refreshed and not run down.
Press On
Appropriately timed, Dave Draper wrote in his weekly column, published today 10/24, “We press on. Something hurts, we assess it curiously and work around it. We lift and learn.”
Currently published at https://www.davedraper.com/dave-draper-columns.html the column is titled “A Chill in the Air”.
I love that! That’s exactly it! You don’t have to quit if something is off. Try to keep your plan, and make adjustments as you warm up and get feedback from your body.
Things She Did Right
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She let me know what she was feeling, and in time to make adjustments if necessary
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She was honest about her capability
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She trusted me to try the program, to “press on”
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She gave it a real go- hard work, adjusted for her body’s condition that day
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And, she updated me.
Talk about a happy trainer! That message made my day.
Lessons Learned
Follow Dave’s advice, and assess curiously. Don’t immediately write off your plan. Start with a slow warm up, and if you feel good, if your body gives you a green light, progress. Continue to use each set as an indicator for the next.
You might need to adjust, but you might not. Have you ever felt a little off but had a great session? Sometimes you surprise yourself. Let me know; I’d love to hear your stories!