If you broke down the elements of fitness and organized them according to priority, you’d draw a pyramid.
At the base of that pyramid would be nutrition. On top of that would be exercise, then sleep, and then mindset. Your pyramid might be slightly different. CrossFit’s pyramid is different. But we all still put nutrition at the base, right?
No matter what the goal is, a client must get nutrition right.
If I’d understood this principle when I started coaching in 1996, I’d have opened a nutrition practice with a squat rack out back in the alley. Instead, I focused on what I loved—powerlifting, at that time—instead of what would get my clients results.
When I found CrossFit, I found an exercise regime that would get most of my clients most of the results they wanted. But still, without nutrition coaching, they didn’t get too far.
And COVID highlighted other needs: As a species, we’re not sleeping well. And in a stay-at-home society, our mental health is getting worse and worse.
These elements of fitness are intertwined. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. But you can’t out-diet depression, either—that’s a recipe for an eating disorder.
Good coaches who want to get their clients results must focus on the whole picture: sleeping, eating, moving and managing life.
Solve Your Clients’ Problems
What’s really stopping your clients from reaching their goals?
Is it a clear plan?
Is it a clear “next step”?
Is it understanding why they’re doing this workout, right now, today?
Is it distraction? Problems at home? Lack of sleep? The “carb closet” beside the kitchen?
If you want to get them results, you have to solve these problems.
Other Media in This Series
“How to Get Better Results for Your Clients”
“How to Make a Prescription”
“Benefits-Based Programming”
“Assessments: A Linchpin to Long-Term Success”
“Assessing Clients With Nathan Holiday of Level Method”
