Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008 - (Page 11)

Confronting a Client Eating and exercise disorders are very individualized. A good course of action is to be non-confrontational. Be ﬁrm, yet supportive and sympathetic. You should be able to tell your client what you have witnessed in their exercise or eating habits and how those compare to normal habits. While it still may be uncomfortable, establish a relationship with a client before you address these issues, as they are more likely to listen and trust what you say. Be ready with handouts of places they can turn to if they choose to do so. eating disorder resources NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION nationaleatingdisorders.org Hotline: 800.931.2237 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA AND EATING DISORDERS anad.org Hotline: 847.831.3438 SOMETHING-FISHY.ORG Hotline: 866.690.7239 Hopefully, your opinion will cause the client to think and, ultimately, take action. If they don’t seek professional help, you must use your best judgment to proceed. You can choose not to train the person. Make it clear that because you care about their well-being, they cannot continue training, as it is not helping. You are not saying that you won’t be there for support, but you can no longer be their trainer. All you’re asking the client to do is to be cleared by a doctor. This is much like the course of action you would take if you had a client that frequently experienced chest pain or dizziness while working out. What would you do if they collapsed? What if you suspected that the client had a prior medical issue that you knew about and didn’t do anything to treat it? An episode similar to that could aﬀect your career for years. Be Supportive Being a responsible trainer means that you need to say the hard things that no one else is willing to step up and say. You are in the best position to inﬂuence their lives because they trust your opinion and advice. In the business of personal training, you change and aﬀect lives every day. Don’t be afraid to aﬀect one more if you are concerned that your client has an eating disorder. Amanda Tikalsky is the 2006 Personal Trainer of the Year at the Wisconsin Athletic Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her six years in the ﬁeld allows her to train a variety of clients. She is also a regular contributor to “Ask the Trainer” in the company magazine, which can be viewed at www. thewac.com. Amanda can be contacted at atikalsky@thewac.com. ● AUGUST2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 11 http://nationaleatingdisorders.org http://anad.org http://SOMETHING-FISHY.ORG http://www.thewac.com http://www.thewac.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor It's a Weighty Issue Current Controversies Streamline with Digital Neuro-Linguistic Programming Continuing Education Mark Your Calendar Act Like You Know About Marketing Blog For Fun and Profit Exercise Spotlight Product Profile New on the Market Spotlight: Krystal Davis

Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008

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