March 8, 2012
I am a pretty simple guy. If something makes sense and it helps me become better at what I love to do so that I can help others do what they love to do, then I am all in! So often in our industry we get caught up in trying to justify everything that we do with boring detailed research and impressing others with how smart we are.
Well, let me be the first to burst your bubble. Clients could care less how smart you are or how much research you can read or show them. Remember to communicate with your clients in their language, not yours!
Clients usually have one of three goals or a combination of all three. (My opinion)
Simple really. If you can communicate to them WHY and HOW something will help them reach THEIR goals they will do it. When I teach proper breathing for optimizing performance invariably someone asks me how they can get a client to do this when all they want to do is workout. My answer: ‘If they knew what you knew about breathing and how critical it is to fitness and health do you think they would do it?’
Your job is to teach them in a language they can understand.
Now if I just want a quick go for the kill answer to a client that asked a question of why they should be breathing. They just want to train hard. I always ask, ‘How good to you want to be?’ (Insert their goal here). If you want to be your best and reach that goal this will help you get there faster. Enough said!
The points below will help you give a bit more details if needed. This post is not an anatomy lesson or a corrections protocol. That you must learn on your own. This is just a small glimpse into why YOU and YOUR client should care about breathing. If you have dysfunctional breathing patterns where the lungs and chest work too much and the diaphragm not enough, you will pay the price in poor performance and health. It’s that important!
Show me a champion and I will show you someone who owns their breathing.
So is breathing important? If you want to be a champion it is!
Optimal breathing is the SECRET WEAPON your clients need.
If they don’t use it….they LOSE!