Accountability is key when it comes to sustaining a healthy lifestyle and training regime. Tim Almond, Director of Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33), explains the need for accountability to ensure your personal training is a success.

“When people talk to me about their health and fitness goals, the biggest problem is motivation. Accountability is the next step after motivation. I’m hearing people struggle to hold themselves accountable and push through the motivation barrier to sustain momentum.

One of the biggest reasons people struggle with motivation? They’re working with personal trainers who don’t take to the time to incorporate education and building sustainable skills into their training program. It’s a common problem on the Perth personal training scene, and at Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33) we just don’t buy it.”

Accountability is a two-way street. Yes, you need to be accountable for your wellbeing, but your trainer first needs to equip you with the tools and education to confidently take control of your fitness plan. If not, you’re guaranteed to give up on your goals, stop asking questions, and slowly drift away from the gym.

At Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33), we’ve flipped things on their head, starting with our own trainers. Before receiving a single client, they must prove they’re committed to the journey by paying for (and completing) the same six-month training program they’ll go on to facilitate.

Accountability Training

We are teachers, first and foremost. Training is largely about relationship building, and because of this we’ve embedded ‘accountability training’ into the Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33) training protocol.

A portion of your strength and cardiovascular training with us will comprise of accountability training. This allows trainers and clients to build trust, develop a relationship and collaborate on a long-term, holistic fitness plan – no one wants to hear our trainers blast off for an hour for the sake of it!

Once client-trainer trust has been established, it’s the PT’s responsibility to impart their knowledge onto their client so they can learn and evolve as their body changes and strength increases. The process takes time, and a little commitment upfront, which is why our programs spam six months – accountability requires consistency to become fully internalised. Once that happens, results soon stock up and you’ll realise personal training isn’t a long-term solution, merely a stepping stone.

With our trainers doing their jobs right, our clients are invested in so much more than a strength training working. They return to Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33) because our trainers aren’t complacent, like they are at so many other gyms; we hold ourselves accountable, and we ask you to do the same.

How We Develop Accountability

There’s no secret formula to developing personal accountability for your health. You simply start by turning up, and you keep turning up until you’re empowered to so without a personal training appointment.

We support your fitness journey in a multitude of ways, so by the time your workouts are habitual you aren’t even consciously aware of the accountability factor, just safe in the knowledge you’re committed and feeling stronger all the time.

• Personal training programs

When booking in for a strength training program or cardiovascular fitness plan, you’re making a conscious decision to pursue your health goals, becoming emotionally, physically and financially committed. After 4-6 weeks of consistent training you’ll start to become accountable for your own progress and soon after it’ll be habitual.

• Community accountability

We don’t have a client base of thousands, like certain chain gyms. Clients get used to seeing familiar faces in their time slots, and our trainers know everyone by name, developing a real sense of community. No matter your individual goals, everyone is here for the same reason; health living. Our community supports each other, making it a group responsibility to get the most out of each session.

• Results

When we first meet clients, we like to say “if we told you what was possible in 12 months, you’d think we were absolute dreamers! You won’t believe what the human body is physically capable of, at any age or shape.”

It’s human nature to get stuck into a motivational feedback loop once we start seeing results, feeling stronger and seeing our bodies move in ways that hadn’t previously been possible. This allows us to unlock even more of our potential and benefit further from our fitness plan.

• Open gym sessions

At Adaptive Strength (formerly Box33), we offer open gym classes; come in and pick a workout from the board and we’ll personally program it for you. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work on accountability; you can choose the easy way, or opt for a program that pushes you one step closer to your goals.

Asking clients to choose their own program puts the power in their hands. Who doesn’t want to prove to themselves – and they’re trainer – that they’re ready and dedicated? We also set monthly challenges, and if we believe you could use a gentle push, we’ll call you out to complete these.

• Classes

There’s no charge for group glasses of open gym; we offer them for free throughout the week so you can move your body under the supervision of our trainers. Our trainers are there to direct and support the class, allowing you to build those sustainable skills. But don’t expect an easy work out – they’re built to be tough, providing you with a challenge or two before your next session.

Success Stories

We could rattle off dozens of client stories from those who’ve come in with no understanding of how to properly move their body; personal training is the first stepping stone for all those people. Months, and often years later, they’ve smashed through their initial fitness goals and still continue to hold themselves accountable for every session.

They turned up initially with a target in mind, continued until that target was achieved and then set new targets, and so the sustainable cycle continues.

We don’t care about dragging you through the door for the sake of it. That’s your decision. For us, our trainers, it’s about getting you back in the gym – where you want to be – and getting you results. Yes, it takes time, but once you’ve built accountability you’ll only ever need loose supervision and a gentle nudge every now and then. The rest is up to you.