COUNSELLING Fitness Ontario Leadership Program

Ministry of Tourism and Recreation

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Appraisal Process

PART I   Lifestyle Change - The Goal

Lifestyle: What Does It Mean?
Summary of Learning Points
Rapport: The How and Why of It

PART II   Helping Styles and Attitudes

Three Helping Styles

1. The Preacher
2. The Expert
3. The Counsellor/Consultant

The Art of Communicating: Skills and Strategies
Summary of Learning Points for Stage Two

PART III   The Fitness Appraisal Process

The Three - Stage Model: A Closer Look
Seven Steps: Keys to the Lifestyle Approach
III. Summary of Learning Points

PART IV  Problem Types

Four Problem Types: What Can You Do?

The Quitter
The Person Who Won't Talk
The "Expert"
The Participant with Recurring Needs

PART V  A Case Study

Judy
Counselling Judy: Applying the Skills

PART VI  Sample Tools of Lifestyle  Counselling

Lifestyle Questions
Lifestyle - Inventory Worksheets
Inventory of Lifestyle Needs and Activity Preferences

Part 1: Needs
Part 2: Activities
Part 3: Preferences

Self-Contract

Bibliography

Introduction

The major premise of this booklet is that from the point of view of the fitness counsellor, the desired outcome of each fitness appraisal is not a scientific measurement of an individual's physical fitness but a participant who will be healthier, more active, more physically fit, and more self-assured throughout life.

The purpose of the booklet is to give fitness appraisers the information they need to increase their chances of achieving this result. The booklet, therefore, includes resource materials and exercises designed to identify and sharpen the specific skills in communicating and problem-solving that are needed in any testing situation. We recommend that you perform the exercises as you read through it so that you may put the skills into practice immediately, and that you use the resources for counselling your clients.

Because the emphasis here is on practice, the theoretical framework from which these materials have been derived has been summarized in point form:

• The goal of the fitness appraisal is fitness and a healthier and lifestyle.

• Fitness and lifestyle habits do not change easily.

• Test results alone typically do not change behaviour

• The participant's own motivations provide the starting point for initiating lifestyle changes

• The chances for initiating changes in a participant's lifestyle are increased if the appraisal is positive, informative, and personally meaningful.

• The chances of the participants adherence to changes are increased if the test results are realistically linked to the participant's goals, expectations, and personal interests.

In addition to the above summary, the following three-stage model of the fitness-appraisal process shows the importance of interaction between appraisers and participants, and indicates how the testing situation can be used to promote long-term changes in lifestyle:

The balance of the booklet will be devoted to a fuller elaboration of the foregoing concepts and the counselling techniques they require.

Part I
Lifestyle Change - The Goal

Lifestyle: What Does It Mean?

The idea of lifestyle is general and definitions tend to be loose and holistic rather than descriptive. One serviceable definition is simply "the everyday business of living. "However, the fitness appraiser's concept has a sharper focus: it is the long-term well-being of participants. It therefore reaches beyond "exercise" to physical activity, nutrition, drug use, and stress management.

An appraiser's chances of having an impact on participants' well-being increase when the goal of the appraisal is clearly set as lifestyle change. With this focus the appraiser is ready for various possibilities and can respond effectively to different reactions on the part of the participant. For example, if the appraiser is able to convince a participant to give up smoking, the result may be a stepped-up pattern of physical activities.

Alternatively, if the appraiser is able to produce an increase in a participant's activity level, smoking of alcohol use may decrease significantly or be dropped altogether. From this result a number of other changes-perhaps to the client's social life or mental outlook-may very well be set in motion. The old adage that being prepared for every contingency is the key to success applies, but as you would expect from an old adage, it leaves the question of how to get prepared open.

Mastered collectively, the following points and accompanying exercise can be an important first step in improving your state of preparedness as a fitness counsellor:

Discover the Participants Motivations

Skillful probing for lifestyle habits can furnish insights into why a participant wants to be tested and what lifestyle changes are possible. It can also contribute a great deal to setting goals that are honest and realistic.

Appreciate the "Bigger Picture"

There are social and psychological dimensions to people's lives as well as physical dimensions, and the world they live in tends to make their motivations and habits complex. Changing patterns of physical activity will have repercussions, some of which may not have been anticipated. Helping participants plan for possible consequences reduces the barriers to success.

"Sell" the Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle

If participants are to change their lives they must have the promise of a reward. The benefits of increased physical activity must be made more appealing than the benefits attached to their existing habits. They must see that in spite of trade-offs and sacrifices, something desirable will be gained.

Assess the Participant's Willingness to Change

Some people never seem to change, yet others never seem to stop changing. Looking for these aspects of personality in the course of interviewing and exchanging ideas can reveal which of the two groups a participant leans toward. Making this assessment early can prevent missteps in the course of counselling and designing a program.

Decide Where to Start

An important reason why focusing on lifestyle enhances the chances for success is that the methods it calls into play tend to produce actionable information from the participant. For example, having looked at lifestyle and personality patterns, you may find that convincing a client to be more active would be the hardest place to start. Perhaps changing some other lifestyle habit - one that is currently meaningful to the client - will lead to changes in physical activity in the future. The best place to start is with the client's most urgent lifestyle concern.

For example, if you discover that the client is worried about fatigue, several starting points are possible:

• sleeping habits,
• exercise,
• nutrition, or
• stress management.

Think of some participants you have tested recently. What were their lifestyle concerns and where did they want to start? Using the questions and resources in Part Six of this booklet to guide you, fill in the following chart:
Lifestyle Concern	Possible Starting Points
1.____________________   ____________________   ____________________	_______________________________ _______________________________
2.____________________   ____________________   ____________________	_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________
3.____________________   ____________________   ____________________	______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

Summary of Learning Points

• Lifestyle is the everyday business of living.

• There are social and psychological dimensions to participants' lives, not just the physical dimension.

• Participants must know the benefits and rewards of changing their lifestyle before they will commit themselves to action.

• Adopting a lifestyle focus helps you to

• discover motivations
• appreciate the bigger picture
• sell the benefits
• assess the chances for change
• decide where to start changing behaviour

Rapport: The How and Why of It

If participants are to change their way of living, they must first examine their existing lifestyle and identify areas where change is needed. They are unlikely to do this with an appraiser who makes them feel uncomfortable.

It is important to establish rapport with a client from the outset. To be effective in helping anyone, from the first moment of contact the appraiser must call upon very real skills. He or she must know how to be open: that is, receptive and responsive.

Although this sounds simple to achieve, it can actually be quite difficult - especially when you are faced with people who have characteristics that you find distasteful. A further difficulty is that you must become aware of the impact your own characteristics have on participants. Will they find you judgmental in your attitude toward them, or accepting?

Will they find you energetic and enthusiastic or quiet and seemingly passive?

Participants who feel accepted and believe in our desire to help them are more likely to benefit from your appraisal. Yet, overzealous appraisers have often caused more harm than good. Although enthusiasm and dedication are admirable qualities, if they are not judiciously presented some people may find them intimidating. It is not uncommon to overhear someone say defensively, "Oh, that fitness nut turns me off!"

PART II
Helping Styles and Attitudes

Three Helping Styles

Your personal attitudes toward others and your beliefs about fitness form the basis of the helping style that you have developed naturally. However, by learning to use a number of different helping styles you will be able to respond more appropriately to different people in different situations.

Generally speaking, fitness appraisers adopt one of these helping styles:

• A Preacher

  "Thou shalt jog."

• An Expert

"Research shows that jogging at a heart rate of 70 to 85% of your maximum, 3 to 5 times per week for 20 to 30 minutes continuously will increase your aerobic capacity."

• A Counsellor /Consultant

"I have knowledge about fitness, you know what activities you want to do, and now we have your test results, so let's talk."

Each style is effective in certain situations and ineffective in others. An appraiser should be able to use the most appropriate style for particular participants and particular needs. Knowing which style to use in a given situation depends upon knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each style.

Let' s look at them now:

1. The Preacher

2. The Expert

III. The Counsellor/Consultant

The Art of Communicating: Skills and Strategies

Often, people equate the skill of communicating with the skill of talking. In fact, there are many skills involved.

The most important ones for an appraiser are the following:

• listening
• explaining
• questioning
• getting and giving feedback

Each one of them is worth looking at separately.

Listening

Listening is perhaps the most essential of the communication skills. It conveys to participants the appraiser's genuine interest in what they are saying.

Here are some general guidelines for being a good listener:

• Give the participant "equal air time."

Appraisers who do most of the talking can't be doing much listening. Each participant should get at least fifty percent of the air time.

• Don't argue.

Appraisers who get into arguments with participants are more interested in being right than they are in understanding what is being said to them. Arguments produce defensiveness, which is the opposite of the objective you are trying to accomplish.

• Avoid internal dialogue.

Internal dialogue includes judging the speaker, preparing counter arguments, and daydreaming during a discussion. It is important to be as fully relaxed and attentive to the participant as possible.

• Paraphrase at intervals.

Paraphrasing is a particularly important strategy for effective listening - one that helps appraiser and participant understand each other (and often themselves). It conveys attentiveness, but more important, it gives the participant the chance to "hear back" what he or she said to you in other words. This leads to clarification for both parties and helps you know how to go about changing the participant's behaviour. A paraphrase often begins, "It sounds to me like..." or "You're feeling ... because..." Using these introductions will likely seem a little artificial to you at first.

However, with practice and as you come to appreciate their value, they will soon become easy and natural. On the other end they are interpreted as, "I am really trying to understand what you are saying and how you are feeling. If I don't have it right, tell me so."

• Look at the participant and nod.

This is a simple device and one that many of us do naturally with our friends. To the other party it means, "I'm interested, so keep going."

• Use bridges.

Utterances such as "uh huh," "I see," "Really?" and "Yes" are all part of building a bridge between speaker and listener. They are interpreted as, "You're reaching me. Keep it up.

• Pause for a response.

Pauses mean, "It's your turn to talk. Tell me what you think, and I won't interrupt you."

• Invite clarification.

Questions like "Can you tell me more about that?" and "How is it a problem for you?" signal the listener that you are trying to understand as fully as you can.

Questioning

Skillful questions invite discussion, not retorts. They encourage the other person to explore personal thoughts and feelings, not come up with the right answers. Because they are open-ended, they elicit information that is genuinely useful to an appraiser.

Closed questions are those that call for yes/no answers. They too are useful, but only when seeking agreement or making a verbal contract.

Open questions start with what, when, why, how, where, and which.

• What kinds of activities are you interested in?

• Which parts of the test seemed hardest to you?

• Why?

• When did you decide to come for an appraisal?

• How did you feel about group sports when you were younger?

By contrast, closed questions start with is, do, can, will, shall, and are.

• Is this too hard for you to do?

• Do you like tennis?

• Will you take up swimming?

• Are you interested in an exercise program?

• Can you ski?

Explaining

The most important point to remember about explaining is not to use technical jargon or language that's too formal. Choose "common" words rather than unusual or long ones. Be descriptive and factual, and use any aids that will help make difficult points clear. Books, diagrams, charts, lists, and so on, can all be useful so long as they are aimed at a general rather than a specialist audience.

Getting and Giving Feedback

To be sure that your message is getting through, ask for feedback at intervals throughout the session. Give feedback by paraphrasing, by being attentive, and by telling people what they are doing right. Without feedback, the relationship between appraiser and participant tends to be guarded and superficial.

Summary of Learning Points

• It is important for appraisers to be aware of the impression they make on participants.

• An appraiser's personal biases, attitudes, and preferences show through.

• There are three helping styles:

• Preacher
• Expert
• Counsellor/Consultant

• The counsellor/consultant style is effective in most but not all situations.

• Knowing when to use a particular style and how to combine elements from all three to meet participants' needs increases an appraiser's effectiveness.

• Helping styles depend upon the use of specific, effective communication skills:

• listening,
• questioning,
• explaining and getting
  and giving feedback.

PART III
The Fitness Appraisal Process

The Three - Stage Model: A Closer Look

A three-stage model of the fitness-appraisal process was outlined in the Introduction.

A further breakdown reveals the actual steps involved:

A step-by-step approach highlights the need for an appraiser to be able to shift back and forth between the roles of expert and counsellor. Conducting the test and interpreting the results naturally require using the expert style. Throughout the other parts of the process interpersonal skills are needed and therefore the counsellor style is called for. With practice, shifting back and forth will become automatic.

Seven Steps: Keys to the Lifestyle Approach

Now, let's look at some concrete strategies that can be put to work during each of the seven steps in the appraisal process.

Step 1: Put the participant at ease

Why is this step important? Because participants approach a fitness appraisal with feelings about what is going to happen to them. Feelings may range all the way from excitement about the challenge involved through mild concern to acute anxiety.

These emotions are quite natural and the appraiser should be careful not to judge anyone negatively because of them. Often, the intensity of these feelings is lessened simply by having the participant identify them. If you take the time to make participants feel comfortable, their experience of the appraisal will be positive and thus more meaningful.

Because participants often feel somewhat vulnerable when their physical condition (or lack of it) is under scrutiny, it is important to get them to trust you. When you develop trust you minimize any defensiveness, allowing participants to be more honest about their goals than they might otherwise be. This trust depends on making personal contact with participants. The more friendly, relaxed, and honest the appraiser, the greater the participants' trust.

The following dialogue is an example of how to put someone at ease:

Tips

Build in a few minutes at the beginning of the test to allow for dialogue.

• To help participants relax,

• show them around the office.
• explain the test procedure and how the equipment is used.
• ask them how they feel.
• acknowledge their feelings by showing that you accept them as natural.
• answer questions beforehand.

• During the interview and test,

• position yourself so that a desk or other obstacle doesn't separate the two of you.
• face the participant.
• maintain good eye contact (without staring).
• smile.
• be relaxed and informal.

Step 2: Establish the participant's fitness goals

People take fitness tests for a variety of reasons. Obviously, they want some information about their level of fitness, but this objective is often linked to significant events in their lives. Many people want to become physically fit

• to become slimmer and more attractive;
• to cope with the distress of rejection, separation, or divorce; and
• to reduce stress from the workplace or from losing a job.

The more fitness appraisers discover about their clients' goals, the more helpful they will be. When lifestyle goals are made the major focus of the appraisal rather than the participant's level of fitness, the test results can be interpreted and activities selected more appropriately.

For example, imagine that a young woman has come in for a test because she is concerned about her weight. The test results show that her percent body fat is about average, but her aerobic capacity is below average. Linking aerobics and weight control would be far better than linking aerobics and cardiorespiratory endurance. In other words, when interpreting her results, the tester would highlight the percent-body-fat and aerobic aspects of the test, and explain them in terms of weight control. With this link firmly established, this participant will be more willing to take on activities to improve her aerobic fitness than might otherwise be the case.

The more closely you can link test results to participants' goals, the more likely participants will be to hear your recommendations and act on them.

Tips

• Find out why participants want to be tested.
• Find out what their lifestyle goals are.
• Get to know more about their lifestyle by talking to them about work, family, and hobbies.

Summary of Learning Points for Stage One

• Acknowledge feelings.
• Build trust.
• Find out participants' goals.
• Show that you regard participants as unique individuals, not subjects for testing.

Step 3: Conducting the test

The testing period can be a useful time for gathering and exchanging information. Participants often want to know what each particular test measures and what kinds of activities are related to their performance of it. Questions such as these can tell you quite a bit about the person and give you an opportunity to establish a trusting relationship. As well, participants often make revealing comments as they go through the test.

These comments can be used as leads later, during the action-planning step:

(Participant's comments during the test)

• I hate doing situps.
  They're boring.

• No matter how much
  I heard you say
  I diet, I don't seem to
  lose weight.

(Appraiser's response during action-planning)

• When you said that
  situps are boring,
  I got the feeling that
  you don't like doing
  routine things. Is that right?

• Have you ever thought of
  taking up an activity like
  jazz fitness?

• I heard you say earlier that
  dieting doesn't seem to work
  for you. Did you know that
  good nutrition combined with
  exercise is the most effective
  known way of controlling weight? 

(Participant's comments during the test)

• I liked the step test.
  My legs feel really strong.

(Appraiser's response during action-planning)

• Your heart and lungs could
  use some more activity.
  You said that you liked the fact
  that your legs feel strong.
  Would cycling or jogging appeal
  to you?

It is important to remember that as an appraiser you are gathering information from the moment the participant walks through the door.

Step 4: Interpreting the results

It is essential for appraisers to explain results in a way that participants understand. You need to make the interpretation of results clear by speaking to each participant's need, level of interest, and understanding.

Tips

• Don't use fitness jargon. Keep your language
  simple and don't be too clinical. A statement
  like "Your VO2 max is in the 25th percentile" is
  less likely to be understood than, "The efficiency
  of your heart and lungs is below average."
  

• Don't be judgmental in your comments. Avoid
  statements like "You only did twelve situps" or
  "Your results aren't very good" or "Been
  watching too much TV., eh?"

• Be descriptive and factual. "You did twelve
  situps. According to Canadian Standards for
  your age group, your score is below average."

• Ask for feedback: "Did I answer your question
  about flexibility clearly?" "Is what I just said
  about spot reducing clear to you?" "Do you
  have any other questions?"

• Use charts, tables, diagrams, booklets, and
  props to make test results more understandable.
  Booklets such as The Standardized Test of
  Fitness Assessment Report from Fitness
  Canada, are helpful.

• Ask for reactions to the results. By doing so you
  give participants an opportunity to clarify their
  goals and you gain insight into their probable
  commitment to action plans. Ask, "What is your
  reaction to the test results? Were there any
  surprises?" "What struck you as being the most
  important result?"

Step 5: Discussing the participants' activity preferences

This step is often overlooked in fitness appraisals. It is not enough to prescribe exercises based on test results. If participants are not
interested in pursuing particular activities, they won't stick to them for very long.

There are several ways to obtain information about participants' interests and preferences. One method is to use a checklist of sport and recreation activities.

Another is to ask open-ended questions such as the following:

• What kinds of sports and recreational activities do you like to do?
• What do you like to do on your own? in groups?
• What activity have you always wished you could do?
• What activities did you enjoy when you were younger?
• Do you do - or would you like to do-particular activities with your family or friends?

For practice, make up questions and try answering them yourself or have a friend answer them to check their open-endedness and utility. If you get (or give) any yes/no responses, your questions are not exploratory and need to be refined.

Summary of Learning Points for Stage Two

• Use the test period to exchange information.
• Listen to spontaneous comments and use them for leads to action-planning.
• Use language participants understand.
• Ask for feedback to check understanding.
• Don't be judgmental.
• Be descriptive.
• Use informational aids and props.
• Find out participants' activity preferences.

Step 6: Matching activity preferences with test results

At this point, the appraiser and the participant have the following data:

• the participant's goals
• the participant's activity preferences
• the test results

In cases such as the following it will be easy to match these elements:

When matching elements is not easy, appraisers need to impart their knowledge about fitness in a helpful way, allowing participants to make their own decisions.

Tips

• Direct attention back to the participant's goals.
  Are they realistic? Should they be changed in
  any way in view of the test results? Is there a
  strong enough commitment to achieve them?

• Inform the participant of the benefits and
  limitations of preferred activities. Remember to
  keep your explanations simple and free of jargon.

• Assume that your role is to help participants to
  make informed choices. If after explaining the
  limited value of bowling for energy and weight
  control the participant still chooses bowling,
  then you have done all that you can do.

• Don't preach. Support people's interests and
  help them find ways of being successful in what
  they set out to do, but remember that any
  increase in activity is a positive step and may
  lead to more change later on.

• Avoid playing the "Why don't you/"Yes,
  but" game.

If participants think of you as their expert rather than their counsellor, they can trap you into a dialogue such as the following:

The result is often frustration for you and no action on the part of the participant.

Ask open-ended questions, such as the following:

• It sounds to me like you want to be more active.
  What kinds of things do you like to do?

• I really like hiking and canoeing.

Step 7: Designing a program

This last step is effective when carried out in a specific, concrete way.

The following worksheet is an example of a concrete format that simplifies the planning process:

A less structured approach would be to simply help a participant identify the action steps needed to achieve the stated goal. For example, if the goal is to play squash three times a week, have the participant think ahead to signing up for lessons, and perhaps entering competitions.

Contingency Plans

In designing a program, the action steps can prove to be further barriers to a participant's becoming active unless contingencies that might stand in the way of implementing them are discussed in detail. When participants can identify these contingencies and plan for them, their chances for success are greatly increased.

Check-ups

No program is complete unless it includes a set time for checking up on the participant's measure of success. This can be an opportunity for you to suggest rewards for achieving any part of the goal perhaps new clothes or a night on the town. As well as reinforcement, it can also be an opportunity for you and the participant to take stock of further possibilities for a healthier lifestyle in the future.

Tips

Frequently, several tests are scheduled back-to-back, so that the time you can spend with any individual is limited to thirty or forty-five minutes. Because of the rush, you might tend to concentrate on getting through the test and writing the action plan as quickly as possible and not spend enough time on counselling and building up a relationship.

The tips below will help you to use your time efficiently without penalty to the participant.

Tips

• Begin establishing the relationship the moment the participant walks in or telephones for an appointment.

• Spend a few minutes chatting before starting the test. (This is a good time to find out why the person wants to be tested.)

• Never stop the counselling process. You can continue it between tests and even during some of the tests.

• Chat in the gym before and after the appraisal, or in the locker room or shower.

• Make contact before or after a fitness class or other activity.

• Have the participant complete an activity preference checklist before the test.

• Set up a second appointment to follow up on action plans.

Summary of Learning Points for Stage Three

• Match test results with activity preferences by finding the links.

• Remember that even a small increase in activity is a positive step.

• Be creative.

• Avoid the "Why don't you?"/"Yes, but" trap.

• Ask open-ended questions, not yes/no, closed questions.

• Make action plans specific, concrete, and clear.

• Plan for contingencies that might sabotage the goal and get firm commitments to meet them.

• Arrange a check-up time to measure progress, reinforce accomplishments, and take stock of the future.

• Use all of your time with participants to gather and give information, and to build your relationship.

III. Summary of Learning Points

During the fitness appraisal process:

• Put the participant at ease.

• Establish the participant's fitness goals.

• Conduct the test.

• Interpret the results.

• Find out the participant's activity preferences and interests.

• Match the activity preferences and the test results.

• Design a program (action plan).

• Use effective communication skills.

PART IV
Problem Types

Four Problem Types: What Can You Do?

Generally speaking, participants who are difficult to deal with fall into one of four groups. One group is made up of perennial quitters, another of people who won't talk, and a third of people who consider themselves experts. The fourth group is made up of individuals whose needs keep recurring, like a diner who keeps eating but always feels hungry. Following are some exercises and practical suggestions for dealing with each type.

The Quitter

In the course of discussions with this person, you discover a whole history of starting and quitting programs. The classic quitter thinks that nothing will really work and doesn't expect you to be able to help either.

Finding out that you have a quitter on your hands tempts you to end your efforts at once. You wanted to help the person become active again, but now you can't see how you can be successful when so many others have failed. Instead of ending your efforts, this discovery should spur your creativity and open a whole area of tactics that might bring about the change you're looking for.

Before going further, try to think of what these tactics might be and fill in your answer:

Because each quitter is different in some way, there can be no single magic solution. However, the following suggestions and tips will help you meet each situation positively.

Suggestions

Use your skills in listening and questioning to find out the person's real reason for wanting to quit. Perhaps there is a problem of cost or scheduling. Perhaps the activities selected were wrong for some reason; they might be boring, too hard, or painful.

Perhaps the participant's reason is simply the fear of failing - after all, if you don't try as hard as you can, you can't say you failed absolutely. On the other hand, the decision to quit may have something to do with you or some other person. Look at the occasion as a golden opportunity to do some real problem-solving, and remember that significant changes in attitude or behaviour take time and usually involve some kind of struggle.

Tips

• Work to establish realistic goals from the outset.

• Demonstrate - and verbalize - your commitment to helping the person develop a workable plan.

• Start with the need that the participant feels most urgently.

• Focus on what the participant wants to do rather than what she or he should do, no matter how inactive or unambitious it may seem.

• Identify as many alternative action plans to choose from as you can.

• Get the participant's commitment to the action plan and arrange for frequent check-ups to measure progress.
  

The Person Who Won't  Talk

Suggestions

People who won't talk usually feel insecure. Therefore, creating a relaxed environment is critical. Once again, attentive listening and skillful questioning are important factors in bridging the gap between you. As well, showing your personal interest and support will help, so long as you are honest and sincere: don't fall into the trap of trying to please too much. That will just cause the participant to try to please you and deflect energy from the real task, which is to open up. Another pitfall to beware of when dealing with this type is "Why don't you?/Yes but" dialogue. If you find yourself caught in it, you'll know that your role has been misinterpreted.

Tips

• Create a comfortable and open environment.

• Give the participant more than fifty percent of the air time.

• Use open-ended questions and indirect probes ("Tell me more about that...").

• Put the task of decision-making in the hands of the participant.

• Be encouraging and supportive in an honest way.

The "Expert"

People who seem to know all the answers - or want you to think that they do- may be covering feelings of insecurity or they may be among those overconfident souls who really believe that they are always right. Whatever the case, they often react with indifference, disagree with you, and confront you constantly. Handling an expert takes a great deal of professional poise.

Suggestions

Don't allow yourself to be drawn into a contest to see who is right or who knows more. Winning the contest will produce the same negative result as losing it. By listening with an uncritical ear and remaining objective you will be far more likely to move the participant toward change. Keep the focus on problem-solving and goal-setting, but don't push or you'll set the stage for unnecessary resistance.

Tips

• Follow open-ended questions with closed ones to undercut unnecessary negative comments.

• Keep the conversation light and look for the humour in the situation, but be careful. Laughing at the participant might not work!

• Put yourself in the participant's shoes and try to view the situation from that angle.

• Don't let the focus wander from the action plan.

• Let the participant make the decisions during action -planning.

The Participant with Recurring Needs

This type is easy to identify. People who are always around you and always ask questions usually ones that you have answered before-fall into this group. When dealing with this type, it is natural to start feeling annoyed and to wonder why you should bother answering yet one more time. When you already feel this way toward someone who subsequently shows up for a fitness appraisal, you need to call upon some special problem solving skills.

Suggestions

People who behave this way are really seeking your approval, and they want to be reassured of it over and over again. You may have to face the fact that a confrontation is in order, but before taking this step, you should reassess your role in the relationship. Have you done enough of the right things to encourage this participant? Have you discouraged the person unintentionally? Have you tried unambiguous and precise means of undercutting just the objectionable behaviour? Before challenging the person in a wholesale fashion, you must decide if making an issue of it is worth the time and energy.

Tips

• Create a relaxed but task-oriented environment.

• Set a time limit.

• Verbalize the objectives for your time together honestly and clearly.

• Be supportive but firm.

• Ask direct questions, so that the onus for providing answers is mainly on the participant and not on you.

• Summarize frequently to keep the discussion on track.

• Seek closure and completion in your discussion.

PART V
A Case Study

Judy

Judy's Background

Judy decided to start an exercise program again because she found that holding down a job as sales representative for a large pharmaceuticals firm and looking after her two children, aged eight and ten, makes her feel very fatigued. She was in a program seven years ago - an exercises-to-music class - but she quit and has since taken up smoking (a package a day) and has gained weight.

Counselling Judy: Applying the Skills

Judy has just arrived for her fitness appraisal. She is quite friendly and has already started the conversation. She says that she is looking forward to getting started on a program, yet she seems a little nervous.

Comments

Whether it shows or not, most people have some feelings about being tested. Speaking to them briefly before the test enables the appraiser to find out what these feelings are and creates a more personal atmosphere. Putting them at ease is then a much simpler task.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

Although everyone has a reason for wanting to be tested, not all are aware of what it is. If both the appraiser and the participant are not clear about this reason, goal-setting and the follow-up program will have less direction and less meaning.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

This portion of the test can distance the participant if it becomes too technical. Maintaining good eye contact, explaining the importance of each test component in lay terms, and commenting on the participant's performance in a friendly way are all important in keeping things light and pleasant. This period is also a good time for gathering more information about the participant's lifestyle.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

Some participants' results show that they are in good shape and that their goals are unrealistic. These people are looking for answers to problems that can't be solved through physical activity. However, Judy's test shows just the opposite: several areas need improving and her goals are achievable:

Though Judy is realistic about her goals, she still needs to be told that she can do something to achieve them. Being clear about that is excellent reinforcement for her continuing motivation.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

All participants are enthusiastic enough to want to know how they can improve their scores and achieve their goals. However, it is essential that their motivation remain high after leaving the fitness appraisal. Therefore, selecting activities that fit their lifestyle and interests is a critical step. Although they need guidance, they must choose the activities themselves. Using an inventory such as the one included in Part Six can make this task easier, especially for participants who claim to have no preferences. Usually, these people do know what they want to do but are unsure about whether their choices are acceptable.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

Having discovered a participant's interests, the appraiser should discuss these alternatives in relation to the test results. It is often tempting to downplay activity choices that will not bring about any significant improvement in fitness levels. However, the appraiser's role is to provide information, not make the decisions. Having given a participant the facts, the appraiser has done all that can' be done for the time being. When participants make their own choices, they are more likely to stick to them. Further change remains a possibility for the future.

Sample Dialogue

Comments

Although participants know what they need to do to improve their level of fitness and accomplish their goals, they need a concrete plan of action to follow. By discussing a starting date, participants are forced to anticipate all the possible barriers to getting a program underway. The discussion should include a definite day and time of day, but the emphasis should be placed on what will happen rather than when it will happen - a small but significant shift in attitude. In addition, established methods of reinforcing desirable behaviour should be used. These include follow-up appraisals to measure progress, self-contracts, progress charts, and treats. These strategies help maintain motivation over the long term.

Sample Dialogue

NOTES

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PART VI
Sample Tools of Lifestyle  Counselling

Lifestyle Questions

A lifestyle approach to fitness counselling requires using different types of questions for different jobs. Closed questions are those that seek yes/no answers. Although they are effective for getting a participant's agreement or commitment to a plan of action, their general utility in the counselling process is limited. The following questions are open-ended. They allow a participant to answer freely and more fully, and are therefore the most effective type for gathering information about lifestyle. The questions have been grouped according to the specific type of information being sought.

Types/level of current activities

1. Tell me, what do you do now to keep fit?

2.What about recreation - swimming, hiking and walking, table tennis, touch football, and so forth?

3. How would you describe the consistency of your participation in these things?

4. Some people are physically active in the work they do at home and at their jobs. What about you?

5. How would you describe your level of fitness now?

History and duration of activity

1 . How long have you been doing these activities?

2. How did you get started?

3. What's been your longest period of regular activity?

4. What stages did you go through to get to your current level of activity?

Pattern of activity

1 . What were your reasons for wanting to become active? What about now?

2. How frequently are you active?

3. Where do you go to do these activities?

4. Who do you like to be with when you're doing them? (Or who would you like to be with?)

5. How much a factor is the seasons in your choice of activity?

6. What impact does your choice of activities have on other aspects of your life?

7. What do you like or dislike about your choice of activities?

Support system (family life, social life)

1 . What does your spouse or mate think about your being (or becoming) active?

2. What about your children?

3. What do your friends think?

4.Taking up a new activity often means joining a club and meeting new people. How do you feel about that?

5. How do you see your friends and family helping you or co-operating with you?

Goals

1. What are your reactions to the test results? Any surprises?

2. What struck you as being the most important result?

3. What were you expecting to get from being tested?

4. When you leave here, what are you hoping will happen?

5. What do you need to have that happen?

Lifestyle - Inventory Worksheets

The task of translating a participant's problems into a goal and plan of action to which he or she will feel committed can appear to be overwhelming. When time is of the essence, it is natural to try to bypass the discussion and negotiation called for by the lifestyle counselling process and force a solution, appropriate or not. Using materials such as the following increases the efficiency of counselling time and helps ensure that the resulting action plan is the one the participant wants.

Guide participants through the process of completing each form step by step:

A. Inventory of Lifestyle Needs and Activity Preferences

B. Self-Contract

C. Lifestyle Information Questionnaire

Inventory of Lifestyle Needs and Activity Preferences

Your lifestyle is a matter of your personal needs, expectations, and tastes. This inventory has been designed to help you discover what makes you feel good about yourself and what physical activities can contribute to that feeling. Check the items that describe your leisure-time needs, and your activity experiences and preferences.

Part 1: Needs

If there are any other things that are important to you, write them below.

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Part 2: Activities

Part 3: Preferences

Write the three most important of the needs you checked off in Part 1. Beside each, write the particular activities from Part 2 that will help to meet that need. (For example, if your most urgent need is relaxation, you might choose walking in parks, camping, and golf as potentially the most fulfilling for you.)

SELF-CONTRACT

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