Module 2: Intake Forms and Interpreting Them

Lifestyle comes after food and training in this module, but it's arguably the most important thing to understand before writing someone's plan. We build plans that fit into people's lives without asking them to overhaul them. There's always some push and pull and some sacrifice, but we're not coaching professional bodybuilders or elite athletes who can spend every hour of the day on their body.

If a client has to give up the things that give their life balance, the things that would help them stick it out long term, we've failed.

What their job tells you

Plenty of clients say they'll do "whatever it takes, seven days a week, two sessions a day." Then you look at their job and they're a desk jockey getting 4,000 steps on a good day. I once worked with a guy who barely hit 2,000.

Someone's job tells you their general expenditure, and how big a leap a training program will be for them. Could my 2,000-step client make the sacrifices to fit in four or five sessions a week? Yes. But it would leave him so wrecked that he'd be discouraged from going back.

Think of it like driving a car. Go straight from neutral to third gear and you'll struggle to get off the line, and probably stall. Start them in first gear.

Travel, breaks and real days

Read between the lines of their work: how often they travel, and when (or if) they get a break. This feeds straight into the nutrition plan.

A bodybuilder can fit in five meals a day. Sally runs out the door every morning with her work bag over one shoulder and her baby on the other. She doesn't have a minute to make breakfast. Would eggs on toast be smart for her? A smoothie is a much better call.

Expenditure and appetite

Someone with a desk job and very low expenditure probably won't be hungry most of the day, because they're not burning much. They may do well on two or three meals a day. Match the structure to how their body and day actually run.