What the LFC Session Looks Like
The LFC session would be best enacted in person in a one-on-one fashion. In this scenario the coach can have the dialogue needed to uncover the obstacles and desires of the client then move into the fitness training portion of the session directing the client how to perform the prescribed physical activity to its most affective degree. Phone-based coaching has also been found affective in producing results for the client with health and fitness goals. A pilot study published in Patient Education and Counseling (2009) found that coaching in-active men and women to achieve their fitness goals over a twelve-week period over the phone produced positive results. Fourteen obese men and women were given a pedometer, a food log, and manual describing the physical activity they would do. An LFC phoned each participant once a week to get updates on their progress, deal with obstacles, and to set goals for the next week. The measurements and weight of each participant was taken and sent in to the coach at the beginning and end of the twelve-week program. The data showed that the participants improved their dietary habits and each lost approximately eight pounds which is a statistically significant amount (Archer, JD, MD, 2010). Then there is the option of group coaching. To illustrate this is the account of one woman and her experience as client then coach.
Real Results
At age 21, Debra Mazda, MEd, of Mazda Motivations LLC, weighed over 300 pounds. At the bottom of despair and depression she decided to transform her life. Mazda began exercising regularly at a local gym despite the stares and discomfort. By rehabilitating her dietary habits and engaging in consistent physical activity, Mazda lost 140 pounds and kept it off for more than 25 years. Passionate about her own fitness and that of others, Mazda went on to earn a bachelorʼs degree in human movement and a masterʼs degree in sports psychology. Mazda then became a group fitness trainer and a teacher trainer. ShapelyGirl Fitness is what became of Mazdaʼs passion and profession. ShapleyGirl Fitness is a training center for women size twelve and over that has five locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At ShapelyGirl Fitness Mazda and her trainers instruct clients in groups through classes that include cardio and yoga that run for about 45 minutes. Following the workout, the group then participates in what Mazda calls “circle time.” Circle time in essence is a coaching session in which the group comes together to share obstacles and strategies to overcome them. The women in the group hold each other accountable and Mazda and her trainers hold the group accountable. Mazda is now taking ShapleyGirl Fitness to another level and is organizing a team to do the 10-mile Blue Cross Broad Street Run in Philadelphia offering the women in the group an outside experience within the community which will indeed challenge them and reward them with confidence and achievement (Durrett, 2012).
The Future of Possibility
The need to address the nation of the United States of Americaʼs obesity epidemic creates a perfect opportunity for this style of coaching to pervade the collective consciousness of its population. Physical fitness has not proven to be affective on its own. While coaching in its many distinctions have helped business executives, entrepreneurs, and everyday people achieve their goals, it is still a young profession and not yet widely utilized. Where there is demand there will be supply. The U.S. population is searching for a remedy and lifestyle fitness coaching could be the prescription.
Bibliography
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