In November, my wife, Dr. Lisa Lewis, will host a two-day live workshop in Boston focusing on psychological skills for fitness professionals. I’ll admit I’m biased, but I truly believe Lisa’s content is outstanding. Over the past decade, much of my growth as a coach has come from confiding in her and embracing the idea that the “soft skills”—empathy, compassion, listening, and a deeper understanding of motivation—were the biggest gaps I needed to close. I suspect this is an area most fitness pros could benefit from improving as well.
I’ve sketched out the weekend’s general plan, though I now see how my earlier explanation might have sounded a bit vague. Why learn about motivation? I’m not a psychologist—why does this matter? What exactly should you expect? What am I getting into here? Lisa has kindly provided far more detail about what you can expect and how the information will help you become a better coach.
INSIDE THE COACH’S MIND—EXPLAINED
As a coach, your knowledge of programming, anatomy, physiology, getting people stronger, getting people leaner, and guiding clients toward their goals is essential. But your technical knowledge and coaching skills aren’t the only tools you use. Coaching also involves building a relationship through rapport, communication, collaboration, and facilitating change. You work hard to understand each client, with their unique personality, tendencies, biases, and quirks. And you are yourself a unique person with your own tendencies, biases, and ways of thinking and feeling. In other words, you and your clients have a psychology—and that psychology directly affects the coaching process and outcomes.
Psychology is the study of cognition (thinking), emotion (feeling), and behavior (doing). Your psychology shapes how you think, feel, and act toward, with, and for your clients. In short, your psychology—and understanding it—matters.
Volume I of Psych Skills for Fit Pros explored the nature of change, motivation, and the skills coaches use to facilitate those psychological phenomena. Volume II dives into the coach’s psychology: your thinking style, strengths, and thinking traps; your emotions, unconscious tendencies, and processes; your professional boundaries, communication style, and self-care habits.
You might be wondering what all this has to do with being a good coach. Two important reasons: First, when you understand how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors work, you can see people, problems, and situations more clearly. When you’re aware of your own biases, blind spots, triggers, and stressors, you can separate your issues from the issue at hand. Second, you are the constant variable in your coaching. Clients and settings change, but you remain you. By developing awareness of how your mind works and how you influence coaching relationships and outcomes, you grow personally and professionally. Personal and professional development is central to long-term effectiveness and enjoyment in the coaching profession.
On November 6th and 7th, 2021, Volume II of Psych Skills for Fit Pros will be live at Ethos Fitness and Performance in Boston, MA.
Curriculum Overview
Day 1 (Full Day)
– Introduction: Psychology in coaching—why knowing your own mind matters; self-awareness as a long-term investment; mindfulness as preparation for self-awareness and effective coaching; Psychology 101.
– Cognition: Thoughts and how they work; thinking styles, tendencies, and traps; identifying thinking traps and using clear thinking to coach; character strengths; application (identify and correct traps to improve coaching; leverage strengths for maximum impact; case study).
– Emotion: Feelings and how they work; unconscious influences and how they affect coaching; past experiences shaping present perception; transference and countertransference in coaching; content and process in coaching; applications (identify emotions and processes that influence coaching, triggers for negative emotions, and a plan to correct unhelpful emotions and processes; case study).
Day 2 (Half Day)
– Behaviors: Your actions and how they work; interpersonal boundaries; setting the “frame” for coaching; self-care for optimal coaching and thriving; application (outline boundaries, coaching frame, and self-care practices to maximize performance; case study).
– Bringing It All Together: Your psychology as the most powerful tool for helping clients; top takeaways; beyond the seminar; leveraging strengths; addressing blind spots and biases; ongoing learning.
Who Is This Seminar For?
Coaches who have the core coaching skills (programming, sets and reps) and want to deepen their effectiveness by exploring their own psychology. Coaches who are open to examining their strengths and weaknesses and investing in long-term personal development, even if the benefits aren’t immediate. Coaches who understand that professional and personal development is a long-term commitment and that psychology and mindset are as important as physiology and fitness.
Who Is This Seminar Not For?
Coaches who want only the nuts-and-bolts aspects of coaching and don’t want to explore their inner world. Coaches who don’t see psychology as part of fitness. Coaches who expect immediate benefits and aren’t looking for longer-term changes.
If this sounds like you, come to Boston.
Where: Ethos Fitness and Performance, 46 Wareham St., Boston, MA 02118
When: Saturday, November 6 (Full day) and Sunday, November 7 (Half day)
Cost: $699
