At RIP training we operate our main services of personal training and group classes almost solely on a booking system. No booking, no session. Now this makes sense for the gym, the coaches and the business for a lot of reasons but today I want to talk about why booking yourself in is important for you, the client/member/athlete.
When we have new and prospective members walk into our doors it can often be boiled down to 2 main reasons;
- They need help. i.e coaching. And/or
- They need accountability
This is how important being held accountable is. So many of us know what we need to do but we don’t make ourselves do it of our own esteem. We need other things or people to help keep us in check and on track.
There’s a few basic ways you can improve your accountability:
- Getting a coach
- Have a training partner or group environment
- Booking in or planning out your sessions
GETTING A COACH
Having a coach is the highest level of accountability. Someone who is going to be at the gym waiting for you and has everything already planned out. All you have to do is show up. And if you don’t, that coach is going to let you know about it. Getting a coach really is the first step to staying accountable.
TRAINING WITH A GROUP OR PARTNER
Having a group or training partner to train with provides almost just as much (in some cases more) accountability than having a coach. Your training buddies know that you are normally at the gym at a certain time and if you don’t show up they are going to wonder why. We also often build close friendships with those we train with as shared suffering and pushing ourselves brings people together.
BOOKING IN AND PLANNING OUT YOUR SESSIONS
This the simplest way to improve your own accountability. It doesn’t require hiring a coach or finding a group training environment. All you have to do is sit down, plan out your training sessions for the week, book them in and make that time non-negotiable. Your training time is time put aside for yourself so prioritise it and don’t let it be easily interchanged for other things that might come up.
WHO ARE YOU REALLY ACCOUNTABLE TO?
2 of the 3 strategies for accountability that I have described above are dependant on other people. But who are we really accountable to? Are we accountable to our coach? Our training partner? the 5pm class we train in most days?
The real answer is none of the above. You are accountable to you. Training is for yourself so when it comes down to it we are truly only accountable to ourselves for whether we show up or not and hit our goals or not. Yes we can utilise having others to help us turn up and get it done but at the end of the day these are just tools and methods to keep you showing up for yourself.
SO…. BACK TO THE TITLE….
It’s very common in the fitness industry and especially the group fitness space for gyms and trainers to have booking systems. This helps the business and the coach plan ahead and know what to expect for their session. But the benefits of the booking system go beyond this, especially for the client.
I’m endlessly encouraging the members at my gyms to book in and book themselves in advance. “plan out your week, book in the sessions and lock it in”. But very few people actually book themselves in more than a few hours or even 1 day in advance. We are constantly leaving that door open for ourselves of “just in case something comes up”. And for most people this leads to an overall lower attendance than if they simply booked themselves in and made their training time non-negotiable.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen plenty of people who are super consistent and don’t need to book in to be this consistent. But this is the exception, not the rule. I will even admit, I have personally been a culprit of this for around a decade. I spend most of my life in gyms so I know I’m going to get my training in and when the sessions are. So I gave myself and out for not booking ahead of time. But just recently I’ve decided that theirs no reason that I shouldn’t be booking in, and booking early, just like everyone else.
The more we all book in, the more we see our mates names and go “oh yeah sweet, he’s going so I’m definitely in”.
So….. Have you booked your sessions in for this week?
