by Janine Stichter, PhD (Behaviorist) and Scott Schutte (Coach/Gym Owner)
Dr. J here to start us off.
Welcome to our series on Behavior Science and how coaches can use some of these tools to improve client results, enhance retention, and stand out from the competition.
I want to start by highlighting some habit myths that might be derailing your clients’ results, and maybe even your own attempts at change.
Does this sound familiar? “I’m starting a new habit today of walking for 15 minutes a day”; or “My new habit I started this week is to drink a few ounces of water each day.”
Or perhaps you have said to a client, “This week get in the habit of swapping your regular soda for a lower calorie alternative”.
Obviously the desired changes above are good things, but they are not habits, they are behavior changes.
Let me explain.
Habits are defined functionally as something that is automatic - in that you do not have to actively think about it and it's built into your environment. This is the joy and curse about habits. Once established they are pretty easy and fluid. Unfortunately, this also includes habits that we do not want to keep. The more seamless the habit is embedded into our lifestyle, the more challenging it is to change.
And to add injury to insult, popular media perpetuates the notion that you can develop a new habit in two weeks, 21 days or whatever new variant short timeline is currently being touted. The reality is that these short timelines are is rarely true, especially when replacing an old less desirable habit with a new habit.
So when your clients start a new behavior and assume that if they do it consistently for a few weeks, it should become automatic, they get frustrated and defeated when it still feels like work or the old habit creeps back. This in turn creates the feelings I know you’ve heard from them like “Nothing works”, or ”I just don’t have the willpower, or motivation to make a change”. Even though those feelings are based on a misconception, those repeated hits to self esteem create long lasting challenges to behavior change that many of you are battling with your clients.
It’s important to note that consistently engaging in a new or modified behavior for a few weeks can produce substantial progress toward a desired goal (i.,e weight loss, better sleep, more energy, etc). So celebrate the small wins and the consistency. But establishing a true “habit” is a process and needs to be viewed as such. The whole process is similar to motor memory. Depending on the complexity of the movement, it takes your body a while to adapt and adopt it as a subconscious response to a cue.
For most of my clients and when talking to coaches, I suggest as a rule of thumb to presume that for every year someone has been exhibiting an old habit (drinking sugary soda, inactivity) it will take a month of consistent focus to create the replacement habit. Think about the clients that have had success losing weight, kept it off for two years and then put it back on. Guess what? The changes they made to lose weight (not having junk food in the house, walking daily etc) were not maintained long enough for the new shopping behaviors and activity engagement to become a true habit.
Occasionally, new habits can be established sooner than the one month to each year rule, but this time frame helps people realize this is a journey and one to keep making sure the cues and supports they put in place to start the new/modified behavior continue until it's automatic.
Scott here to explain how I use that ☝ info with my clients.
Have you been hearing a lot more about the power of habits recently? I sure have. It seems building “habits” are the new simple solution to all our problems. I agree that healthy habit formation is what we need to steer our clients toward, but we have to be careful with this oversimplification associated with creating a new habit or changing an unhealthy habit. What’s the problem with oversimplification you ask? Here is my equation that sums it up very nicely:
HAPPINESS = REALITY - EXPECTATIONS
It is vital for us as coaches to set the right expectations early and help facilitate that reality for our clients. It’s a key component to be a successful coach. So what common mistake can you avoid to ensure you’re on the path to being a successful coach? The one I’ve observed is many coaches misusing the word “habits.” For example if a coach says let’s start a new “habit” of drinking more water this week. As you now know, that’s not a new habit. That’s a behavior modification, that if done consistently over time can become a habit. And as Janine shared above, it's not just doing it consistently for 14, 21, or 66 days. So if a coach is sharing or reinforcing those numbers, they’re setting up the wrong expectations, which will lead to unfulfilled and unhappy clients.
So what can all of us as coaches do?
For starters, we need to have a set time off the gym floor to have more in-depth conversations with our clients.
Secondly, we need to help educate our clients on the behavior changes that need to happen to reach the goal they are seeking.
And finally, we need to help our clients understand that this might not become a true habit for some time, and that’s perfectly fine. That’s why we as coaches are here for them: to help navigate the challenges, maintain the necessary consistency, and help them set up their environment so the behavior change is easier.
Learn more about how Dr. J changed my training philosophy here.
In our next installment of this series we will dive further into specific strategies and examples of how to build better habits with your clients (even yourself), while simultaneously making the process enjoyable.
You can learn more about behavior coaching and how this can improve your income and impact at healthybehaviorinstitute.com
About Janine Stichter & Scott Schutte
Scott Schutte is a personal trainer, weight loss behavior coach, gym owner, and fitness educator. He has successfully guided thousands of people on their fitness journey. His education and experience have led him to work with many clients and educate other fitness professionals on how to be successful coaches with an emphasis on behavior change.
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Dr. Janine Stichter has been in the field of behavior change for over 20 years as a researcher, author, educator and practitioner. She understands the importance of behavior science for client success. Her career has focused on understanding the why behind behavior and identifying clear practices that are practical and result in sustained change.
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Most recently they co-founded the Healthy Behavior Institute, an educational platform for fitness professionals and gym owners that specialize in behavior modification. Their educational materials provide professionals with a clear system to add an additional service for better client results and increased revenue.