What being a dog parent has in common with being a fitness coach
Some impromptu dog training on San Francisco steps. Always about connecting with the one being trained.
A few months ago, a puppy arrived in my life. The last time I got a puppy, I was only 12 years old so I didn’t have the same responsibilities of caring for the puppy. It’s been a tough experience and I’ve had to forego some things, like keeping up the same cadence with my blog posts. But being a puppy parent has reinforced some of the things I’ve learned as a fitness coach.
Patience. As a trainer, I know everyone’s different. And – every dog is different. Dogs, more than humans, feed off of your energy. So it’s especially important to stay patient. This is definitely a practice in willpower when you’re running on little sleep and have to take the little pup out to go potty in the middle of the night for the third time.
Only so much can happen in a session. Puppies seem to intuit this better than humans. People sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what one–or even two, three, four–sessions can accomplish. On the other hand, puppies don’t hesitate to let it be known during a training session, “Yeah, I’m done.” Long puppy training sessions can end up being counterproductive. If only more athletes also realized this!
Trust is everything. And trust has to be built and earned. This is as true with my athletes as it is with my puppy, Jackson. Key to building trust is setting someone up for success and not putting them into a situation that they’re not ready to handle. And linking back to the previous point: trust in the process too. Incremental steps (e.g., adding 5 pounds to a lift) can ultimately get you to your big goal (e.g., new PR).
I do feel like my experience as a fitness coach has better prepared me to be a puppy parent, and vice versa, being a puppy parent has given me important reminders about being a good fitness coach. I’m looking forward to creating more success with both Jackson and all of YOU in 2022.
To that end, I’d love to know: what are your big goals for 2022? Let me know and we’ll work on breaking it down into achievable, incremental steps together.
Sending all good wishes!
Andrew
