By Coach Jaime Espalin, Founder of one of the Strongest Tulsa Gyms
This is a phrase that one of our clients, Drew, says regularly. It is more than a call out to those who quit on themselves, it is a call to change the way we operate daily. My pastor says “How you do anything is how you do everything.” This speaks volumes to me as a coach and leader. Over the years I have seen so many people come and go with the programs I worked in. Some of which were due to pregnancy, moving, and injury/illness. These are legitimate reasons to quit a commitment, I will not be referring to those in the next few sentences. The people I am referring to are those who quit not only on themselves but others around them. I will classify them into 3 categories for organizational purposes, the Microquitter, Mesoquitter, and Macroquitter.
The Microquitter
This is the person who has created a habit of quitting on themselves during the training session just when the muscles begin to burn or when the conditioning becomes uncomfortable. They will walk around the gym, grab water, and/or hide in the bathroom to avoid the work being done. They will talk to somebody in-between sets to get longer than normal rest periods when lifting. They are also the types who will get on their phone or even be as extreme as to leave a session early because they have an “appointment” to be at. I understand if there are real appointments one must attend, but some are fabricated. The Microquitter is the easiest to help with the quit quitting mindset for a coach as they just require a little more personalized attention/communication to help get past that threshold.
The Mesoquitter
These are a little more difficult than the Microquitter to help in the big picture. These are the people who will work hard in the gym, and demonstrate consistent attendance. The shift takes place when there is a small hurt that occurs in the body or a minor life event that totally derails this person from their patterns of consistency. Sally’s knee hurts and she hasn’t attended the gym in 4 days, so she is checked on and has not only talked herself out of working around the knee in the gym but has also backtracked in her nutrition and does not want to go to the gym again until her knee is 100%.
So Sally begins running, which exacerbates her knee hurt and turns it into an actual injury keeping her out of the gym for weeks to months now. A majority of times, clients are unsure of how to communicate to their coach what is hurting and/or how to make it better. This scenario is exaggerated but happens a lot more than we want to admit. There is a lot of work required to help clients gain the mindset that a great coach/trainer can work around the small hurt that started the snowball in the first place. Some minor life events can also be exacerbated into bigger things that make a victim out of the person who is experiencing it. The culture at Fenix facilitates a no victims mindset and helps people learn how to overcome events.
The Macroquitter
This person is one of the most difficult to help, but it is possible with sharp coaches/trainers who are either naturally empathetic or have sharpened the ability to read a person. Micro-quitters are the people who maintain the appearance that they have everything going their way and then suddenly they quit on something major in their lives. This could be a job, marriage, friendship, or other major and life-altering part of their lives. These tend to be the people who have mastered the art of suppressing their feelings, who also communicate to others that “it’s alright” or “I’m fine.” These are the people who we as coaches and leaders must intentionally be ready to help. The coach who is truly invested in his clients at one of the top Tulsa gyms has greatest potential to help or coach this person back into a better place mentally and physically.
