Stopping, thinking and reflecting upon the obvious is an opportunity to learn. There's time and space for that... Today, I would like to reflect on a topic that I consider crucial in the area of personalised training: how do we understand the excellence of this service?
When we talk about personalised training (PT) and service excellence, what are we really discussing? What distinguishes an excellent PT from the rest? Is it just experience? Let's investigate.
The process in which training takes place is undoubtedly an important factor, but is it the main one? Does the training experience completely define service excellence? Perhaps, but in order to validate this claim, we need to ask other questions: what is involved in the PT experience? How can we break down and analyse its integral elements? I invite you to explore these questions throughout this brief article.
Personalised Training
Each sector has its own specific parameters for evaluating excellence. In the area of fitness, we often hear: ‘This service is excellent’, ‘This training was excellent’ - but how do we objectively measure this? Whilst reflecting and researching this topic, I came across the following statement:
“Fulfilling customer expectations and the brand promise defines service excellence”
Is this the answer we were looking for? Let's evaluate it together once again.
A service is something intangible, resulting from the relationship between the customer and the brand - whether it's a company or a coach. Excellence can't just be measured quantitatively, although there are metrics that can make it easier to understand. So the question remains: how do you measure excellence in TP?
Substance and form
In my opinion, it should be analysed through two fundamental elements: form and substance. But before we address these two elements, we need to reflect on the relationship between student and teacher.
The student-teacher relationship is two-way, requiring learning from both. There is a formal process, learning the technical aspects of training, such as human motricity (kinesiology, exercise physiology, neurophysiology), and an informal process, covering factors not directly linked to training. And what does this have to do with form and substance? Everything!
If the teacher must lead the pedagogical process, ensuring that practical aspects of human motor skills are learnt, they must also be able to implement strategies that suit the physical and emotional conditions of each student. Both teacher and student coexist and influence each other, which is why the training process must be individualised, taking into account both neuromuscular and other psycho-emotional aspects, and knowing that these vary from session to session. It is in this complex relationship between teacher and student, company and client, that personalised training takes place.
Going back to the question of form and substance... only by understanding and respecting the subtleties of the pedagogical relationship between student and teacher, by realising the harmonious relationship between the training structure (form) and an appropriate methodology (substance), will we be able to envisage a TP of excellence which, in summary, would take the form of the following:
Empathetic relationship, aligned with the student's objectives.
Clear definition of priorities and training needs.
Individualised and adjusted methodology.
Continuous attention during the execution of exercises.
Thorough correction, based on the student's momentary needs.
Balance between form and substance in training.
Do you agree? Enjoy your reading and training!
Note: The NEX Performance® Methodology seeks to apply knowledge based on scientific evidence in its practices, and thus represent the substance of personalised training of excellence.
Professor Eduardo André
Exercise Physiologist
Degree in Physical Education and Sport
Master in Exercise and Health
Postgraduate in Cardiac Rehabilitation
Mentor of the NEX Performance® Methodology
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