Accountability coaching on your fitness goals from a dedicated online personal trainer

Having accountability on your intention to change can be the difference between gaining enough positive momentum to make it happen and failing to make habits stick or achieve the goals that are important for your life.

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable."
Molière
online PT scott laidler client check-in

Studies show that accountability gets results

If you’re wondering what difference accountability coaching could make for you and your ability to see results, some evidence on the power of accountability was found in a a study by the Association for Talent Development. The researchers found that individuals have the following probabilities of completing a goal by taking these actions:

Having an idea or goal, the likelihood of completing it:
10%
Consciously deciding to achieve a goal:
25%
Deciding when to do it:
40%
Planning how to do it:
50%
Committing to someone that you will do it:
65%
Having a specific accountability appointment with someone you’ve committed to:
95%

Hatfield, Steve, et al. “The C-Suite’s Role in Well-Being.” Deloitte Insights, Deloitte, 22 June 2022

How does accountability coaching work?

A comprensive accountability system

I’ll help you set goals in various aspects of life using your health & fitness practice as a vehicle for personal development 

Yearly Theme

First we theme your year based on the major change you want to see. Then we set the goals in the various aspects of your life that will bring that change about

Quarterly Review

Every quarter will have it's own goals, sub-goals and strategy. We'll set actionable tasks and track the progress you're making toward them

Monthly Re-alignment

Every month we'll schedule an accountability call to ensure that your actions are in line with your goals

Health & Fitness Led

To ensure you have the energy to see your strategy through, it's important that we optimise your health & fitness efforts for wide ranging benefits.

Why I built this service

We don't know ourselves as well as we think we do

Collectively, us humans just don’t seem to know ourselves all that well. Which often leads us to make inaccurate predictions as to how we’ll act in a particular situation. What we’ll commit to, and how we’ll feel at certain times faced with certain challenges.

Working as an online personal trainer has given me some interesting insights. Over the years, I have adapted my fitness my fitness coaching service over time. I used to deliver a selection of short 30-day workout programs, 6-12 week workout programs or allow for my clients to sign up to work with me for periods of up to 6 months, which works out to 24 weeks.

In your view, of those who signed up for 30 days, 8 weeks or 6 months who do you think was the most motivated with the highest level of compliance?

You probably guessed 6 months right? Logically it stands to reason that those who make the longest commitment, are just that – more committed. Actually no, that’s not how it played out.

What would have been your second choice? 30-days? They would be looking for a hardcore 30-days of focus right? Well, It didn’t play out like that either.

The highest levels of compliance and best results have always been achieved over 6-12 weeks. Which on the surface I find counter-intuitive.

Surely those that commit upfront to 6 months would do best? or those who know they only have to stay on point for 30 days would clear a path for action and thrive? Well, what actually happened was that for the most part those who committed to the longest period upfront had the lowest resolution idea of what it was actually going to take to stay consistent with exercise, and how well-equipped they were to form new and lasting lifestyle habits. This meant they would often fall by the wayside or begin to struggle within the first two weeks, they just weren’t ready to make the change and the low-resolution understanding of the interconnectedness of fitness, eating well, managing stress and making a commitment to changing lifestyle and behaviour. Leading them to overestimate what they were capable of at that time.

Interestingly, the 30-day customers often saw the program as a way of over-correcting a bad lifestyle. Almost always with an impending extrinsically motivated deadline. Like a holiday, wedding or photoshoot just over the horizon. Which made lasting habits very hard to form.

The sweet spot has always been the 6-10-week mark, and that’s backed up by science too. Because it takes approximately 66 days to form a habit. If I can hold you accountable for a full 8 weeks as I offer on my online personal training program, then you keep it going another 10 days after the program then the evidence says that habit is yours.

And I mean really yours, to keep. That’s the kind of consistency that gets results and builds self-esteem. This is the point at which you are fully in control of your health & fitness.

All of this led me to create the accountability coaching element to build on the success of my online personal training service, offering a springboard for the successful achievement of goals way beyond the realm of health & fitness.

Accountability drives results

Accountability coaching is the solution

Incorporating comprehensive accountability coaching into my online personal training package exponentially increases your chances of staying consistent and achieving your fitness goals. At the core of the successful transformations and results you may have seen from my clients, lies not just the precision of a tailor-made workout plan or the meticulous nature of a nutritionist’s meal plan, but the human connection and personalised support that accountability coaching provides. Think of it as the bridge between intention and action, ensuring that you not only set meaningful, realistic goals but also stay committed to them amidst life’s inevitable fluctuations.

This offers a unique blend of motivation, guidance, and support, tailored to meet you where you are, fostering a sense of responsibility towards one’s goals. In the process, any doubts or concerns about fitness methodology are demystified and there is always a layer of support on hand as you push the boundaries of your comfort zone. Perhaps most crucially, you’ll never again fall away from a fitness program unnoticed, completely neutralising any chance of falling into a stop/start relationship with fitness. So whether you are returning to exercise after a long time away or feel that you need help getting your mojo back, dedicated accountability may be the answer.

Get accountability on your big life goals & projects

Having the help of an accountability coach on your life goals can make the difference between making them a reality and allowing them to slip away.

 

I've helped my clients achieve:

  • Starting a business
  • Self-education through reading
  • Making the move to self-employment
  • Recovering from break up & divorce
  • Getting clarity on career moves
  • Improving their relationship
  • Learning new skills
  • Reconnecting with nature

My clients have also tracked:

  • An evening reading practice
  • Daily journaling and self-reflection
  • 90-minute deep creative work blocks
  • Language learning classes
  • Daily walks in nature
  • Short meditation practice
  • Digital detoxes
  • Rewarding small wins
  • Water intake
  • Getting sun exposure
  • Giving gratitude

Track Habits beyond working out & healthy eating

Of course, the main focus of a health & fitness program will be the workouts and ensuring you eat well. But it’s also an invitation to establish habits that will bolster your daily routine. 

 

"The accountability aspect was a game changer, it felt like someone was always there to push me"
Feedback from internal survey
"The regular check-ins were crucial for me"
Feedback from internal survey
"This helped me go from sporadic to consistent"
Feedback from internal survey
"I think what made the difference was knowing someone was checking on my progress"
Feedback from internal survey
Will you need accountability forever?

The interplay between self-efficacy & accountability

One of the ultimate ironies in life is that seeking help is actually an indication of self-efficacy. It’s an indication that you recognise where external feedback, expertise or support would help you make progress and close ground on your goals.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll need help forever. Perhaps you just need enough support to allow you to establish your cruising altitude. Once you have that, you have all the momentum you need to keep things going on your own. Let’s explore the dynamic between self-efficacy and external accountability.

1. A need for change: The inner drive

We all intuitively know when something needs to change. Recognising that often bridging the gap between where we are now and where we would like to be is going to require the expertise or support of someone else. Having the humility to accept this is the beginning of progress.

2. Accountability: The external check

Establishing new healthy behaviours and productive ways of thinking with a busy schedule is difficult. Sometimes having someone whose sole role in our life is to support our intention to improve is a game-changer.

3. Self-efficacy through accountability

Working to establish new habits with the benefit of oversight and someone to notice and help correct a loss of momentum provides a conducive sandbox to build new positive behaviours and ways of thinking that will spill over into every aspect of life.

4. Autonomy: Self-sustained direction

Before long your supported behaviour begins to take root and become a natural expression of who you have become. This means guard rails and external accountability can gradually be removed. You no longer need the external check, you’re at a level of autonomy you may never have reached without it.

References
  1. McAuley, E., Jerome, G. J., Elavsky, S., Marquez, D. X., & Ramsey, S. N. (2003). Predicting long-term maintenance of physical activity in older adults. Preventive Medicine, 37(2), 110–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0091-7435(03)00089-6
  2. Jakicic, J. M., Wing, R. R., Butler, B. A., & Robertson, R. J. (1995). Prescribing exercise in multiple short bouts versus one continuous bout: effects on adherence, cardiorespiritory fitness, and weight loss in overweight women. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 19(12), 893–901.
  3. Kiviniemi, M. T., Voss-Humke, A. M., & Seifert, A. L. (2007). How do I feel about the behaviour? The interplay of affective associations with behaviours and cognitive beliefs as influences on physical activity behaviour. Health Psychology, 26(2), 152–158. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.26.2.152
  4. Sforzo, G. A., Kaye, M. P., Todorova, I., Harenberg, S., Costello, K., Cobus-Kuo, L., Faber, A., Frates, E., & Moore, M. (2018). Compendium of the Health and Wellness Coaching Literature. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 155982761770856. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617708562

Learn how we choose our studies & references

This means that often investing accountability coaching is actually the most linear route toward total self-efficacy. Rather than what on the surface appears as the opposite of it. This is a crucial distinction, as this way you’ll know from the beginning that the goal of the program is to leave you fully equipped to carry your training forward on your own. Fully equipped with established habits and a positive, solution-oriented mindset.

Custom-built, self led

360° Accountability Coaching

£349

Per month until cancelled

You will receive onboarding materials within 24 hours of purchase

Get a personalized workout plan in minutes.

Let’s get rid of what’s bothering you the most about your body once and for all. Whatever it is, after 12+ years of bespoke fitness coaching I simply know what works. I promise.