Working out when tired: a client story

Working out when tired is a skill. I learned that from a client who’s a nurse. His schedule shifts every week, so we aim for twice a week and sometimes land on once. He works long 12-hour shifts, and some days he shows up with nothing in the tank. Here’s what happened on one of those days, and what I did about it.

Our first session was a little chaotic. He opened the Zoom call in his kitchen, drinking coffee, not in exercise clothes, and ready to hang out and chat. It took a good 15 minutes before we were in his home gym with the camera set up, the mats down, and the weights ready, so I could start assessing his skill level. These days he shows up ready to work. Sometimes he’s hydrated, sometimes not, but he’s always willing to put in the effort.

Then came our last session. He joined the call lying horizontally on the couch, clearly not in the mood. He told me it had been a really hard week, that he was tired, that he didn’t know if he’d had any water, and that he hadn’t eaten all day. He’d also been staying at a friend’s house, so he had no exercise gear with him at all.

This is why I text clients when they’re running five minutes late. It gives them a chance to choose whether they want to work out when we get on the call, with no pressure.

Here's what I didn't do. If you’ve seen trainers in movies and on TV, you know the stereotype: “Drop and give me 20!” Or running someone around the room, or getting on them aggressively to “motivate” them. That’s not my approach at all.

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Here's what I did. First, I got him up off the couch. We started with the world’s greatest stretch. It’s the greatest stretch in the world, and that is not hyperbole, though I’m giggling to myself as I write this. Then we did cobra to down the dog, another very straightforward move. From there, we built a workout that got him moving and got his blood flowing without stressing him out. We joked around, and he started trying harder and harder things.

And then he stopped. After a set of pop squats, he said, “I just want to say thank you for not attacking me when we got on the call, and for easing into the work. I was really nervous you were going to freak out and do that stereotypical trainer punishment thing.”

I told him: your life is really hard, your schedule is all over the place, and you showed up clearly not ready for a big workout. But you did show up to move. I’d much rather see you doing good movement, getting your heart rate up, and activating all the tissue in your body than have some kind of power trip over how you should be more ready or take training more seriously.

What I believe about working out when tired. Clients don’t hire me because they love working out or because they’re great at motivating themselves on hard days. They hire me because they want to get the work done and need a little push to get into it. That push doesn’t have to be aggressive.

I’m just not an aggressive person. I’m encouraging, and I’m very silly. You’d have to deeply offend me to see any aggression out of me. I’m from the East Coast originally, so I know how to bring the heat when the time is right, but this wasn’t the time.

I get it, because I’m not at my best every day either. I’m no stranger to this. I’ve been dealing with a lot of health issues over the last three years, and on days when I have a workout planned, I don’t always have big lifts, huge moves, or loads of energy in me. But I do know I have to show up for myself. Even if I can’t get through the full workout as written, doing a version of it, and knowing I activated and challenged the tissue I planned to work, is always better than sitting down and doing nothing.

It’s also a skill. Learning the difference between “I’m tired and I’d rather skip” and “my body really needs a break” takes practice. Sometimes listening to your body means doing a gentler version. Sometimes it means actually taking the rest. Either way, you’re paying attention to yourself, and that’s part of the work. It’s the same thing I do with my clients, and it’s the same thing I do for me.

What this means for you. If you’ve avoided personal training because you’re worried about being yelled at, or because you’re afraid you’ll show up on a bad day and get punished for it, that’s not how I work. Some days you’ll show up with energy, and some days you’ll show up exhausted. Both days count, and I’ll meet you where you are.

I’m really grateful for clients like this. He puts a ton of work into his personal life and just needs a little help getting moving, learning new skills, and getting stronger and better. He’s also pretty funny, which helps a lot. A client doesn’t need to be funny, but it doesn’t hurt.

If you want a coach who’ll meet you where you are, text me at 413-426-3501 or visit rickyskibacoaching.com. I coach over Zoom from anywhere, and in person in SW Portland and Ashcreek.

If you want a plan built around your actual week, book a free consultation and we can talk through a useful first step.

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