The emerging specialty area of Health Coaching positions Personal Trainers well as a potentially strong conduit between healthcare providers and their patients.
We are in the wake of a new era – one where Personal Training of the last 30 years or so is being challenged. The notorious drill sergeant persona, go-hard-or-go-home training style, and critical analysis of food diaries is the old school way to great health. For, as far as everyone in health and wellness knew, exercising hard and eating well were how great health was attained. But as we are now coming to learn, there is far more to great health and bikini bodies than meets the eye. Our clients can eat well, and train hard, but so often don’t reach that next level in health and wellbeing that they know is rightfully theirs.
We are already aware of the problem: too many people are suffering health-related problems despite the majority of people claiming they are, indeed, healthy. Obesity, lifestyle disease-related symptoms and conditions, liver and thyroid dysfunctions, sex hormone imbalances, chronic and debilitating stress, gut dysfunctions, poor dietary intake, lack of regular daily movement, recurring sinus or ear infections, mood disorders and irritability – and the list goes on. Any symptom, ANY symptom, is your body communicating that there is some system in our bodies not working optimally. Symptoms are our body’s messengers simply saying telling us that something is awry and that something needs fixing. And did you know that often a bodily function or system drops to less than 50% of it’s optimal function BEFORE you experience your first symptom – that’s scary stuff!
For a long time we thought if we exercised enough and ate well most of the time, then our health would naturally take care of itself. But over the years we’ve realised that something is missing, that there must be other pieces to this intricate puzzle of health.
The arena of Health Coaching delves into the broader scope of health, and helps us to uncover the ‘why’ – why do we feel this way or why are we experiencing certain symptoms. Health coaches are health detectives searching for healing opportunities, and utilising a trio of skills (behavioural, nutritional, and physical movement), a series of investigative and inquisitive tools and forms, coupled with the clients greatest wants and needs, we embark on an adventure of self-discovery, self-discipline, and self-achievement.
One of the game-changing dimensions to health coaching is the real emphasis on listening to the client and learning from them. There’s a shift in focus from, “I’m the expert to solve problems’ to “Let’s you and I go on the journey together to help you change your life.’”
With respect to the individual subspecialty areas, Health Coaching brings critical behaviour-change services that have been lacking in modern exercise, nutrition, and other healthcare environments. The coaching element incorporates support strategies – they are services that are dependent upon behaviour change in order to achieve positive outcomes.
Health Coaches help you implement small changes, little by little, at a pace that’s comfortable for you so you can meet your own individualised health goals. We work with you to help you discover your bio-individuality. There is something that will work for you – the trick is finding it.
Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase energy or just get healthy, health coaches take the time to listen to your concerns, help you discover where and why you are struggling, and help you navigate the world of contradictory nutritional advice to figure out exactly what works for your body.
Everyone is unique and different. Health coaches don’t promote one specific type of diet, or one specific way of eating or being. They help to investigate why you may be experience such symptoms via functional analysis of blood tests, metabolic tests, and endeavouring to create correlations and possible causations. They help you experiment with finding what will work for you specifically to address your symptoms, and how to change up your diet and lifestyle as you continue to grow and make strides forward.
Health coaches are at the forefront of today’s health revolution. At a time when one in five people will die of lifestyle-related disease, as well as when diabetes and obesity are at an all-time high, health coaches provide the nutritional and lifestyle guidance society desperately needs to find its way back to health.
- Corinne Austin
- Health Coach & Movement Motivator
- fitfixnz.co.nz
