Coach HubTheir reality is reality
The most common way coaches fail Gen Pop clients isn't bad programming. It's assuming the client knows what the coach knows, lives how the coach lives, and cares about what the coach cares about.
Don't assume literacy
Cooking. I once worked with a guy who had never cooked a day in his life. He'd had helpers in the house since he could remember. He was 32 when we met, and it was four weeks into the plan before he told me. Cooking, shopping and meal prep are skills. Some clients have to build them from zero.
Food. Tell a client to eat blueberries and some will think frozen blueberries don't count. Give them frozen and they'll message asking permission to have fresh. Same with spinach. Spinach is spinach. It sounds small, but low nutritional literacy is everywhere and coaches miss it constantly. Assume nothing, explain everything once, and make it obvious what counts.
The gym. Some coaches have completely forgotten what it's like to be a beginner. For a lot of clients, the heaviest thing they've ever lifted is their shopping bags. When you carry a 20 kg plate across the gym between your fingertips, they look at you like you're Superman, because for them that would be an entire exercise. Their relationship with gravity is harder than yours. Program and speak with that in mind.
Sometimes the answer is less
Not every literacy gap means doing too little. Meet the cardio bunny: runs in the morning, boxing classes, hot mat Pilates, and when she does hit the gym it's glutes only. She's training twice a day and not changing. She's the archetype of a client who needs to do less, do it better, and recover. More is not always more.
Your own background is a blind spot
Where you came from shapes how you coach, for better and worse.
| Coach background | The strength | The blind spot |
|---|---|---|
| Bodybuilder | Knows programming and nutrition inside out | Has curated their whole life around their goal. Often lacks empathy for someone who doesn't like lifting and just wants the result. |
| Athlete | Discipline and work ethic | Just-do-it-or-else mentality. Struggles to tell a client to take a day off, rest, or have a sleep-in when that's the right call. |
A great bodybuilder is often a poor coach, not because they lack knowledge but because they lack the people skills and empathy. Your client's job is not to be a professional athlete. They are not getting up at the crack of dawn to do cardio, and you shouldn't be building a plan that needs them to.
Close the gap: before you set any target, ask yourself whether it fits their life, or whether it only fits yours.