I recently
saw a post from the Wall Street Journal called:
How Doctors Rate Patients
What's Your 'Activation' Level? How
Involved Patients Are in Their Own Care.
The chart
from the Wall Street Journal
This
motivated me to write about my experiences in the Fitness and Health Fields
since 1989 and as a Personal Trainer since 1996.
What about
the four levels of taking care of your health and fitness levels? You might be
at different levels for different parts of your life. You might even move
between or change levels depending on where you are in regards to a health
issue. We are not static in the sense that we are constantly moving around the different levels when it comes to specific parts of our life.
IMO, the most successful trainers and coaches know how to move their clients from level 2 to 3 and know how to teach them to stay away from the Con's of level 4.
In
order to be the best trainer I can be, I strive to continue to learn
more about human motivation and the behaviors that come from them.
My Pro’s
and Con’s for each level with examples are below.
 |
| This is how someone at Level 1 pictures the coach (lion tamer) and themselves (the Kitty) |
Level 1
Predisposed
to be passive. (Externally motivated) (I have
never had a client hire me that is at this level.) It isn’t a good idea for
them to hire me because it would be a waste of our time and their money. They
feel like the only reason they start doing something to improve their health is
because they have to.
An example would be the person who is going to have a heart
attack or maybe cancer. They haven’t perceived a reason to take better care of
themselves. They think it will never happen to them.
Pro’s:
They don’t stress over missing a work out because you don’t
work out.
They never get injured or over trained due to exercise.
They save money on not having to replace clothing or
equipment used for exercising.
They don’t wear their replacement joints sooner than
expected.
Con’s:
Eventually their health pays for the lack of maintenance
of their body. Sooner or later something does happen to them.
Cardiovascular problems such as: Heart attacks or Stroke.
Muscular stiffness and weakness which can lead to orthopedic
problems such as: Stiff and weak joints.
I saw many patients at Barnes – West Hospital at this
level. Fortunately they were the minority. Doctor, just make the pain go away.
They tend to have trouble being motivated to keep doing their exercises. Since
it is a great idea to continue doing these exercises for the rest of their
lives, they might develop other issues when it comes to mobility and strength levels.
 |
| Level 2 |
Level 2 ) Building
Knowledge and Confidence. (Moving
from external motivation towards internal motivation) They understand what
common knowledge to use to improve their health and might know how to get
there.
The majority of my clients start at this level. My goal
is to educate and motivate them to move towards level 3.
Pro’s:
They know they need take care of themselves. Sometimes
they educate themselves and sometimes they know they need help and are willing
to seek it.
Their health is good enough to avoid a lot of problems.
They won’t over- train limiting the chance of overuse
injuries. They might find a comfort zone and stay in it. This zone
might be what they need.
Con’s:
They might wait too long to make the changes needed.
They might not progress like they can because they stay
in their comfort zone.
Their results are only as good as their own knowledge or
the person helping them. Some examples of people training like this: Frequent
walkers/runners/cyclist/gym goers. Another example would be the person that has
had their wake-up call such as a heart‘s attack (my dad’s main motivation to
begin working out) or cancer. (Our motivation for my wife Barb's getting stronger
and both of us eating a healthier diet.)
 |
| Level 3 |
Level 3 Taking Action: In many respects these are my ideal clients.
(They are and excellent blend of being internally and externally motivated) They will listen to others when they feel it is necessary. (or another way to put this is they are highly coach-able) They are
eager to learn because they are internally motivated to change. They want to instead
of have to.
Pro's
Being highly coach-able they make great progress and are willing to adapt if convinced it will benefit them.
Con's
They can be lead in the wrong direction if their trainer/coach/mentor isn't as well trained as they should be for their particular needs.
It can take time for them to understand why things should be done a certain way. They will get there when they are ready. (I consider this a potential pro or con)
 |
| If this applies, you are probably at level 4 |
Level 4 Maintain
behaviors, pushing further
They rely on their internal motivation. I know many endurance athletes like this. I
have been one myself. It can be very hard to coach someone like this.They feel like they must do things a certain way. They think they know best. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't.
Pro’s
They are always willing to do what it takes to improve
their health. They make the most out of their talents and potential.
Con’s
They are the poster child for over-training. They think if a little
training is good, a lot of training is better. This can only be maintained for
so long before the body breaks down. It might take years to get there, but they
will if they don’t change their approach to training.
They can be very resistant to change or can be highly Un-coachable. If they still have a trainer/coach or mentor, they might think
they know better than the professional that is helping them. Sometimes they
will, but sometimes they won’t.
They are so close to the situation that they have trouble stepping away to take a better look at how they are doing/what changes they might need to make in their lifestyle or training.
What did you learn from this post today?
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