I was recently asked how many of you were aware of my goals as an owner. Would most, or any, of my clients be able to articulate what my coaching philosophy is, or what we as a team focus on? Are you aware that I’m extremely passionate about the emotional impact our coaching program has on our clients, maybe more so than any aspect of our business? I pray everyone who comes into our gym feels at home, grows (emotionally, mentally, physically), feels seen, feels cared for, gains self-confidence, and finds empowerment through health & fitness. That’s what I’ve been called to do.
The last few years have all built to this: health can be simple, even though life is complex. An effective coach can be someone who brings radical life change. The coaching relationship is built on trust and communication. The best coaches know that every client deserves intention, patience, effort, and care.
During March of 2020, we pulled the team together and decided to build a hybrid model of coaching. In that season, we needed to up our game and coach more than just a class if we wanted to survive as a business. We needed to focus on the coaching relationship, creating buy-in from our clients, and delivering results in areas that we weren’t able to in a 1-hour class.
What came from that was something we hoped for but didn’t expect. Our clients, you, bought in like never before. You let us build stronger relationships with you and coach you outside of class with more frequent check-ins, accessory programs, a better accountability system, revamped nutrition coaching, and we even had a lifestyle coaching case study. We brought back clinics, special events, and education pieces. The data showed the more touch points we had, whether it be from check-ins or additional services, yielded better performance metrics. More than that, clients were happier and less stressed. Wild. Our reviews became less about the facility and overwhelmingly about how people felt, the relationships they built, and the growth they saw in themselves.
The problem is figuring out a way to repeat that success for everyone, but here’s the thing… You are all different. After years of looking at our data and pursuing more education and mentorship, I’ve concluded the common element to the success of our clients was our approach. It all stemmed from asking better questions and finding the minimum effective dose for our client’s problems. Sounds simple, but it’s fairly complex, like you!
All of our clients will get personalized coaching from their Primary Coach. Your coach will investigate your effectiveness in core behaviors that directly impact your performance and then prescribe the minimum effective dose, the most direct and simple solution, to improve your low-performing area. We’ll do this by meeting on a more regular basis, every 30-45 days, and tracking everything we can (within reason). Below are the areas we’ll be focusing on and some info on how they affect your performance.
● Fitness/Training
○ This is the program we write as a gym, and your coach is going to personalize it for you in our new app “True Coach.” Everyone at our gym has a Primary Coach who can completely customize your daily workouts based on your performance, goals, and needs.
● Nutrition
○ Culturally, this is tough for most people to grasp; meal prepping, eating simple or boring meals, and tracking. But the main idea is helping to change the relationship we have with food. Food is fuel.
● Sleep
○ We’ll look at things like sleep etiquette. Are you tracking your sleep? What variables are impacting your sleep? Maybe it’s work? Kids? Personally, coaching on my sleep has been a game-changer.
● Stress
○ It’s not likely that you’ll see much improvement in your physical health with consistently high stress. Do you track your stress? Do you know how to track it? Learning how to effectively train through stress is vital to longevity.
● Community
○ We aren’t meant to do life alone. This tends to be a factor that impacts other areas in various ways. We can track this area too!
We are committing to delivering the most effective way to approach your health. You might notice I’m not calling us a CrossFit gym often but a Coaching Program. Why? We aren’t turning our back on CrossFit; we just aren’t putting ourselves in the box of Thrusters and Burpees to solve our clients’ problems. We are still an affiliate and will continue to be. We believe in the efficacy of CrossFit and always will, but we are a Coaching Program. We are not a gym. We aren’t a box. We are a team of professional coaches who coach the whole client.
You’ve experienced this change slowly for the last few years. But now, we are in it. You are part of the next chapter of 3Q Fitness.
Welcome to the new wave of coaching. Welcome to the new 3Q Fitness.
Best,
Justin Estes