This document discusses strategies for successful lifestyle change based on research into behavior change processes. It covers 5 key points: 1. All behaviors are complex and should be broken down into smaller, achievable steps. 2. Change is frightening but examining the consequences of current vs. new behaviors can alleviate fears. Reinforcement, not punishment, drives permanent change. 3. Change must be positive through enjoyable activities and intrinsic/extrinsic rewards, not painful punishments. Take gradual baby steps towards goals. 4. Becoming is easier when simplified through progressive steps rather than complicated processes. 5. Knowing more about the change process through self-monitoring, feedback, and awareness allows for more control over change

1. Postgraduaat ‘FUNCTIONAL
TRAINER’
HOW PEOPLE CHANGE?
Lifestyle change interventions for fitness
professionals

3. Postgraduaat ‘FUNCTIONAL
TRAINER’
COACHING FOR SUCCESS
Lifestyle change interventions for fitness
professionals

4. Research by psychologist James O.
Prochaska, Ph.D., an internationally
renowned expert on planned change,
has repeatedly found that change
occurs in stages. To increase the overall
probability of success, divide a behavior
into parts and learn each part
successively.
Strategy: Break down the
behavior
Almost all behaviors can be broken
down. Separate your desired behavior
into smaller, self-contained units.
He wanted to go to work by bicycle,
so he wrote down what that would
entail: waking up, showering,
dressing, preparing breakfast,
eating, getting on the bike by 8:30
AM, parking and buying coffee—all
#1. All Behaviors Are
Complex

5. We resist change, but fear of the
unknown can result in clinging to status
quo behaviors—no matter how bad they
are.
Strategy: Examine the
consequences
Compare all possible consequences of
both your status quo and desired
behaviors. If there are more positive
results associated with the new
behavior, your fears of the unknown are
unwarranted.
If she didn’t get fitter she would
probably never been able to get
pregnant and start a family
#2. Change Is
Frightening

6. Reinforcement-not punishment-is
necessary for permanent change.
Reinforcement can be intrinsic,
extrinsic or extraneous. According to
Carol Sansone, Ph.D., a psychology
professor at the University of Utah, one
type of reinforcement must be present
for self-change, two would be better
than one, and three would be best.
Strategy: Enjoy the act
Intrinsic reinforcement occurs when the
act is reinforcing.
I will run the Marathon of N.Y. in 6
months, but I enjoy every run in my
training plan
Strategy: Admire the outcome
An act doesn't have to be enjoyable
when the end result is extrinsically
reinforcing. For instance, I hate
#3. Change Must Be
Positive

7. In a group class of 20 participants, the
instructor yelled, "No pain, no gain," amid
gruelling instructions. After four weeks,
only three participants remained.
Uncomfortable change becomes
punishing, and rational people don't
continue activities that are more painful
than they are rewarding.
Strategy: Take baby steps
Write down the behavior you want to
change. Then to the right, write your goal.
Draw four lines between the two and write
a progressive step on each that takes you
closer to your goal.
The first week, go once a week for a
morning walk before work, then add one
day each subsequent week until you
achieve your goal of 5 days a week.
Strategy: Simplify the process
Methods of changing are often
unnecessarily complicated and frenetic.
#4. Being Is Easier Than
Becoming

8. Surprise spells disaster for people seeking
change. Knowing more about the process
allows more control over it.
Strategy: Monitor your behaviors
Some therapists insist on awareness of
both current and desired behaviors, but
research suggests it's sufficient to be
aware of just the new one.
In a journal, she recorded every morning
she went for a walk
Strategy: Request feedback
Reflecting on personal experiences with
others is key to successful change. Every
last Friday of the month she discuss with
jer Personal Trainer the changes she
made
#5. Know More, Do Better

9. Postgraduaat ‘FUNCTIONAL
TRAINER’
COACHING FOR SUCCESS
Lifestyle change interventions for fitness
professionals
CHANGE IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT

11. How do my habits
define who I am
How can routines
change my
lifestyle?
Who are the
people I should
follow to get the
results I want?
What is the
blueprint to my
success?
What do
succesful people
do that I am
missing?
Who are the
people I surround
myself with?
What does
BELIEF have to
do with lifestyle
change?
What action do I
need to take
NOW to change
my lifestyle?
WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD I ASK MYSELF?

12. WHERE TO START FROM?

13. Specific.
• A common goal, “get healthy,” is too general. There are so many ways to get healthy.
How do you want to do it? Is it losing weight? Start exercising? Stop smoking? Break
it down and it will be easier to manage. Let’s pick weight loss and make a SMART
goal out of it together. For example, “I will lose weight.”
Measurable.
• A goal to “lose weight” is not enough. How will you track your progress and how you
will know when you have reached your goal? Making your goal measurable means
adding a number.
Attainable.
• Before you can add a number, you have to know how high or low you want to go. It’s
good to ‘shoot for the stars’, but don’t be too extreme. Likewise, a goal that is too
easy is also not very motivating. Only you know your limits.
• Let’s take our goal above. What percentage is attainable for you? Research suggests
that a 5-10% weight loss is attainable for most overweight people.
• A measurable, attainable goal could be, “I will lose 7% of my body weight.”
Relevant.
• Set goals that are important to where you are in your life right now. Don’t set a goal
that someone else is pressuring you to attain-that isn’t very motivating.
• Examine our goal so far. Does it seem relevant to you? If so, let’s keep going. If you
are not concerned about weight loss or this is not a good time in your life to focus on
that, choose something that IS motivating to you.
Time-bound.
• Include an end-point. Knowing that you have a deadline motivates you to get started.
• Since healthy weight loss is about 1-2 pounds per week, set your deadline
accordingly. For our example we can use 3 months. “I will lose 7% of my body weight
in 3 months.”

16. Thankyou, thankyou very much!
info@functionaltraining.be