This is a bit late for the New Year's resolution people, but none the less I would like to share my views on how some of the coaching process works for myself and my clients.
Does anyone remember algebra? ME TOO (har har) !
Basically, the less variables you know in the equation, the harder it would be solve.
ABCDEFG = H
If we want to know H (the end goal), then we're going to have to turn some of these variables (ABCDEFG) into constants (an actual value, ie. "7").
Lets say A is the amount of sleep you get every night. Let's say we know you get 8 hours of sleep every night. Perfect. For the use of our example, lets say A=8.
Let's say B is the Food you eat each day. C is the amount of cardio you do. D is the workouts you do per week. E is your stress levels. F is your environment/social setting. G is physical limitations such as rotator cuff injuries, knee injuries etc.
The more you can CONTROL these, the more we can solve for H. Individuality will put more things in front of H (so some people might have ABCDEFGHIJKLMN = O) or less.
So, we set your food at a certain amount. Now we know the value for B. We get you on a workout program. D is now a constant as well.
Do you see where I'm going with this?
If you vary your cardio and your food intake every week/day... now we don't know the values for B and C. How the HECK are we going to be able to know what to change to solve for H?!?
Also when assessing progress, don't change more than one variable at once. Think about it: if we change A,B, and C all at once, and progress occurs, how do we know which one was the cause for most of the progress?
There are going to be some variables also that effect one another. Let's say you wanted to change C, and do more cardio. This could negatively effect E, causing your stress to go up because now you need to allocate more time to the gym. Conversely, maybe you're one of these crazy people who enjoys cardio, and C positively effects E, causing your stress levels to descend.
This is how PROPER individualization can occur.
Control your variables to the best of your ability.
Listen to your body. Work with it, not against it.
As always, Mr. contest prep red deer wishes you the best of luck in your goals.
