Question (on I guess self reflection?)

[MattJ.D.]

Someone may have asked this before, but I was reading the bodyweight/muscle standards thread and came across this line from your last post

If you're unhappy with your body composition or strength, figure out the reason why what you've been doing hasn't worked and change it. Then work harder than you think you need to for longer than you think you should have to, continually reassessing your outcomes and adjusting your variables as needed.

...

When you come across a potential client, who is in this situation, unhappy with their body composition, is there a progression of questions that you ask to be able to determine what their problem is exactly?

I am asking because from a self reflection stand point, if someone really wants to better themselves, asking the right questions, as well as being brutally honest is needed.

I am afraid I am asking the wrong questions

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Yea there are a few general pathways I go down depending on what someone reports their goal is. If I'm getting the vibe that body composition is what motivates a person and their current body composition is not what they hoped it would be- I ask them "What have you tried", "Why do you think it didn't work?", "What would you do differently?", and "What are the biggest obstacles to your success?". A lot of this stuff is probably self awareness in that people who email or call me start to realize obvious flaws in their approach. Then with a little guidance, accountability, and tweaks based on evidence people tend to improve readily.

Occasionally there will be holes in people's logic and questions like "Why do you believe doing X will help you get Y?" and then providing rationale for a different approach tends to work well. In short, empowering a person to help themselves is probably the biggest thing I do.

[Dahavol]

I can definitely attest to this. Probably the best part of Jordan's coaching wasn't his earth shattering super secret program for gainzZz. Rather it was his ability to get me past the mental blocks and other bullcrap and get me consistent in my training and nutrition long enough for some of the basic lessons to really sink in. Learning through doing rather than reading is powerful stuff indeed.