Pandemic Pivot (365 days later)
Today marks the day in which the company I work for officially put us on lock-down. The days leading up to this day were filled with cancellations for in-person sessions to insure the safety of my clients, myself, and everyone surrounding us.
The unknown of what was to come based on my in-person business meant I needed to shift how I normally do things and FAST. The only solution I knew that could work was online. At the time, I had already been 8 months deep into a life coaching course in which women from around the globe met online weekly to go through the course live.
I thought, ‘HERE is the SAFEST solution!’
How my normal, in-person business works:
1. Question how my clients workouts/body has been feeling since we last met.
2. Assess their body’s range of motion/ warm-up (using isometrics administered by my own touch)
3. Get to work using the physics of exercise
What this meant was, one of the biggest tools I was utilizing to assess and get clients going was gone. My physical touch and feel for what clients could and couldn’t do vanished as quickly as the pandemic came.
What do I do now?
Well, I used every skill I possibly had available in my toolbox to bring the highest quality, most effective sessions to my clients.
What we all tend to do (I’m guilty as well) is lean on the things that are easiest for us to do.
This online world had challenged me to use every other skill I had put on the way side.
1. Detailed verbal cues (matching muscle fiber direction/action)
2. Slowing down and speeding up motions to visually identify areas of focus
3. Understanding and using objects in the house utilizing friction, resultants, and elastomers
4. Teaching my clients exact set-ups to ease them in and out of exercises with those household items
5. Isometrics to gain a better understanding of what and how to use specific muscles
6. Homework assignments specifically tailored to what we had seen in the session we just had to keep them progressing
(I could go on, but I’ll leave it at 6)
Not only did this force into the online world show me what exactly was possible for me, it showed me what was possible for my clients as well.
Having the ability to work through and address injuries without having to leave your house. Getting in better shape (physically & mentally) than when the world was in it’s normalcy. Gaining new clients from all over the united states that I otherwise wouldn’t have ever met. Developing long lasting habits and skills that will continue to grow and flourish.
(Again, this list could go on and on!)
All and all, this pivot was something that brought me and my clients clarity as to what is possible given the right mindset and people in your life. Even if it’s online :)
