I'm a certified personal trainer and have had my share of clients who at some point lost motivation. It's called workout burnout. This doesn't always reflect the trainer. Some people just find it hard to stick to an exercise program, even if they are being guided and instructed, even if they have paid a lot of money for the instruction. Some people really do have money to burn.

Want to know how to motivate clients? There are ways to help clients avoid feeling burned out or uninspired, and there are ways to resurrect motivation in your clients. This applies not just to personal trainers who work one on one with individuals, but also to people who instruct group classes.

If you instruct a step or other cardio class, don't keep doing the same moves, week after week after week. This also goes for "cardio-strike" kickboxing. I was once a devoted participant in a kickboxing cardio class, and every doggone week, it was the same moves, even the same music. It really got to be a drag. There are many permutations for this kind of class, yet the instructor kept having us do the same patterns and moves over and over, week after week. She even used the same music.

The same patterns over and over can really be a drag. Vary the music as well. Why always the same music? And it doesn't always have to be hip-hop or funk. In fact, try a class with no music and see what happens. If you doubt this will go over well, consider that workout sessions in the military, and at actual martial arts schools, do not include music. No scientific studies to date verify or support any theory that music is needed to successfully conduct a fitness class. Again, realize that music is hardly ever used in the military to whip people into shape.

For personal trainers, be on the lookout for muscle imbalances, incorrect form and bad posture in clients during routines. Promptly correct them.

If you have a long-term client, from time to time ask that person about motivation, and learn about their gym attendance habits when you don't have sessions.

Include outdoor workouts. Use hilly portions of grass for running, jogging, or even kangaroo-hopping. Use tree branches for pull-ups. Take your client outside even just for a few minutes of stretching or casual warm-down walking. Also, you can set up obstacle courses, indoors or out, and time your client. When a client is timed, this can be very motivating. It's hard to lose interest when the client knows the time to beat.

Keep track of your client's weight-lifting performance. Yes, pull out that pad and pen and document amount of weight lifted, and reps, each week. Your client will have more to look forward to, knowing that performance will be documented. He or she will feel a responsibility for living up to what is expected of them.

Many trainers do not supply much feedback. You must let your client know where he or she is, in term of progress, how much weight is lifted, reps, sets, distances, speeds, resistance settings on cardio equipment, etc.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/332306/ways_a_fitness_instructo...