One of the most exciting things for a Personal Trainer is when their clients move up from a Level 1 Client to a Level 2. At this point in their training career, you will be able to start doing more cool suff with them! This is also the point where we can really start to see some client longevity and amazing retention so if your clients are getting to this point, you should pause and congratulate yourself: keep this up and you will be one of the trainers who beats the statistics for a Pt's appallingly short career life span. 

Make sure you brush up on this article on client levels here and what to do with level 1 clients here. Now you have mastered this info, let's get rolling!

Training

For level 2 clients we can start having bit more direction and specificity with program design. 

1. Programs can be goal orientated templates. 

With a beginner, any training works for any goal. A leg extension machine will help a beginner squat more. At this point we want to do better and cater the programs and the acute exercise variables used towards a specific outcome. Templates can still be used here and are still a better use of time than trying to redo entire programs from scratch for each client. 

I would recommend having templates for the following goals: general hypertrophy, regional specific hypertrophy (shoulder focused, glute focused etc), general strength, powerlifting focused strength, fat loss with steady state aerobic work and fat loss with high intensity interval work. 

2. Consistency reigns supreme

Consistency is always key, however at this level it is more about establishing a routine. For a level 1 client, if they make it into the gym 2-3x a week that is great, however you want a level 2 client doing consistent days and times each week. This rhythm will help them establish the habit of exercising even deeper and is essential for long term retention. 

3. Use the appropriate method of progressive overload.

Our progressive overload for level 2 clients need to be specific to the goals, whereas level 1 clients get better in all aspects of fitness from any training. our progressive overload needs to be both goal specific and logistically considered - an example of this is training in a gym with limited dumbbells. Increasing weight is probably a strategy with limited value here compared to increasing overload with repetitions, tempo and strategic pauses for overload.

Nutrition

Nutrition is where level 2 clients are starting to come into their own. They are developing autonomy and starting to learn what works best for them. It is a very exciting time.  Here are the best tools to use with level 2 clients to help with their nutrition.

1. Portion Control

Portion control is the key to body composition changes. For level 2 clients, dialling this in will lead to expedited results and also a rapid journey of self discovery. 

2. Calorie Awareness

Calorie tracking can begin with level 2 clients. They often have the nutritional literacy and emotional maturity around food to start doing this. Here are some resources they will need. 

- Food scale

- Tracking app

- Education for reading labels

- Measuring cups for cooking

3. Macro Awareness

Once our clients have nailed appropriate calories for their goals, we can then look at what macros are ideal for what they want to achieve. Sending them resources by people qualified in this area or referring to a sports dietician is the ideal step here if you are not insured to do it. 

Mindset 

This is a tricky area for level 1 clients, as they are super excited about the transformation process, yet are extremely vulnerable to setbacks becoming disasters very quickly. Here is what to focus on with them:

1. Relationship with Food

In my opinion, our relationship with food is the number 1 factor for maintaining a healthy body composition throughout life. If our clients have a good relationship with food it makes any nutritional intervention so much easier to manage and any setback that much easier to deal with. 

2. Stress management strategies

How our clients deal with stress has massive implications for their results. If food, alcohol or drugs are used to manage stress (amongst others) a clients results will be affected negatively. Learning productive ways to cope with stress (and to identify stressful situations early before they get out of hand) is incredibly valuable not just for personal training clients but any human being. 

Accountability

This is where we can relax a little with level 2 clients. Here are my favourite strategies. 

1. Automation

This is now the time automation is ideal. These clients have autonomy, intrinsic motivation and are building up discipline and grit. Exercise and healthy habits are becoming a part of their identity so we can use automation to help facilitate that and make it a habit for them like brushing their teeth. Choosing the appropriate data is the biggest challenge here.

2. Photos and Measurements

These are fantastic as they are easy for the client to execute and show progress better than every other metric. They can also be fantastic sources of motivation and at this point clients can really benefit from seeing that. People feel better about their physique and the process at this point and are much more receptive to this. 

3. Zooms and consults by request

Clients will be a lot more autonomous by this stage, but will still need individualised support. Having an  option for occasional zooms or consults can make all the difference in solving their problems before they become bigger issues. Having availability for your clients is also desirable from their point of view and many of your clients will never actually take you up on the offer. 

If we can implement the following with our level 2 clients, not only we will get better results, we will get higher amounts of enjoyment and satisfaction from our jobs. Stay tuned for the final post in this series where we go over how to deal with level 3 clients.