Biohacking is so popular that there’s an entire subreddit devoted to it these days. What is it, and how can you utilise it as a fitness professional to help your clients achieve their goals? In the noisy fitness landscape, trainers are always looking for ways to stand out from the crowd, so is the rise of biohacking your key to client engagement?
The Rise of Biohacking in Fitness
Biohacking refers to combining information gleaned from various fields, such as nutrition and cellular biology, with individualised physiological measurements to optimise human performance. It uses the latest tools to customise exercise routines, meal plans, and even stress and sleep management. Staying updated on these advances empowers fitness professionals to maximise benefits to clients.
Made popular through the likes of Joe Rogan & Tim Ferriss, the search for ‘optimising’ one’s health and unlocking longevity has become a global trend that has seen an astronomical rise in wellness modalities and tech gadgets. Here’s a snapshot of how fitness professionals can ride this wave and incorporate biohacking tools into their offerings to boost client engagement.
Helping your clients get maximum use out of their wearable technology
Wearables like the Apple Watch offer apps that do everything from monitoring the length and overall quality of your sleep to tracking the calories burned during various activities. They also encourage you to take regular mindfulness breaks.
However, like most technological innovations, they come with few instructions, if any. A handy QR code may point to further information online, but many customers overlook or don’t understand it. This lack of guidance opens up a huge opportunity for fitness professionals. Coaching clients on how to use these tools effectively showcases your value while helping them get more from their purchases.
For example:
- Guide clients through setting up daily movement, exercise and standing goals based on their unique fitness profile and desired outcomes.
- Track food intake or participation in various stress-relieving activities, not in a judgmental way, but to establish a baseline and observe potential areas for improvement.
- Examine factors that influence overall fitness, such as sleep. While you may not have diagnostic credentials, you can alert clients to patterns they should discuss with their doctors.
Incorporating body composition scans and blood testing with fitness clients
Body composition scanning is nothing new. However, technological advances make today’s scans far more accurate and useful than ever.
For example, some advanced body fat assessments are so accurate that they can detect the amount of brown adipose tissue from your total lipid profile. Unlike regular fat, which stores calories to insulate the body, brown adipose tissue burns them while delivering nutrients to various tissues. Preliminary studies suggest it plays a crucial role in metabolism.
Bone density scanning is another assessment fitness professionals can consider. Broken bones can set a training schedule back by months, and knowing an individual’s relative risk can help trainers devise programs to strengthen tissue while avoiding activities that may present an undue injury risk.
Finally, blood tests measure various health biomarkers. While fitness pros may not perform the blood draw, they can discuss results with their clients and use them as a means to track progress. They’re also valuable sources of encouragement. Clients who exercise and eat right are going to get better results from their doctor, making them feel good about what they do in the gym.
Many doctors in Australia are reluctant to order blood tests unless a patient is displaying symptoms to warrant further exploration. Using a service such as Express Pathology, you can create your own unique panel of blood tests or choose from a number of popular screening panels without needing a referral from a GP. Their private medical officer can interpret your client’s blood test results and provide feedback. Having tangible results beyond the scales can be a huge motivator for clients when they see improvements in important biomarkers while working with you.
Nutrition planning beyond macros and calories
Although not all fitness professionals obtain nutritional training, those who do can use their skills to suggest custom meal plans to optimise their clients’ results. The key here is to think beyond the traditional “calories in / calories out” style of nutrition advice.
For example, many athletes use creatine to fuel athletic performance and may experience fluid retention during the first few weeks. A diet high in potassium-rich foods such as bamboo, which also contains tyrosine for metabolism and thiamine for muscle function, may ease this initial discomfort.
Focused nutrition can also assist with minor health problems that impede fitness progress. For example, someone with frequent stomach aches might frequently skip workouts. Trainers with a background in nutrition might suggest increasing their intake of probiotic- and prebiotic-rich foods to rebuild their intestinal microbiome, with the goal of decreasing symptoms and improving overall life quality — all while reducing no-shows.
This approach requires a deep understanding of your client’s history and objectives – far beyond simply losing fat or gaining muscle. Hormone issues, mental health and potential food intolerances all need to be considered.
Really dialling in your nutrition advice (or partnering with someone who can bring that level of expertise) can make your clients feel seen and result in a far more personalised approach and a better customer experience as well as optimum results.
Data tracking for improved adherence and better understanding
Data tracking provides concrete insights into trends and behaviours. Here, too, trainers can use technology to improve program adherence — and modify it to make it more effective.
For example, a client claims to adhere to their fitness and nutrition programs, but their biomarkers decline. Obviously, they should discuss their lab results with their doctors. However, trainers can also gently ask if something is preventing them from adhering to their current plan and work with them to change it.
The problem sometimes turns out to be little more than the siren song of McDonald’s after another long, stressful workday. If so, coaches can help clients brainstorm alternative ways to ease stress when they notice that “forget it” feeling reaching a fever pitch. They can become more holistic guides, identifying the emotional and mental factors that often affect physical health and empowering their clients to find workarounds that work for them.
A holistic approach to fitness
More people are finally recognising the intricate connection between the human mind, body and soul and how it affects their overall health profile. After all, if people were robots and staying fit was little more than a matter of performing activities and applying oil at the right time, everyone would be in perfect shape. Human life is far more complex.
Fitness professionals can use this approach through improved interviewing techniques, asking questions that encourage their clients to examine the multiple influences on their health. They have a unique advantage in that they can do so while in the midst of other activities, such as during a workout session. This makes such enquiries far less threatening and more a part of friendly conversation than a deep mental evaluation.
For example, someone who mentions a sick family member is clearly experiencing a stressful, emotional time that may affect their fitness. Trainers can help by offering validation and empathy, suggesting bite-sized workouts clients can do while caring for their loved ones or by providing simple meal hacks for getting adequate nutrition when there’s little time to cook.
Prescribed recovery sessions are also a great way to address both the mental and physical needs of your client. Rather than a simple ‘rest day’, prescribing an active recovery day that involves an early morning walk, contrast therapy or a breathwork session can offer immense value to your client and serve as a reward for their efforts on workout days.
Embracing biohacking as fitness professionals
Biohacking entails using the latest science and technology to guide your clients in maximising their results and at the rate of change in technology, this means the health and fitness space is continually evolving. Trainers and coaches can not only accelerate client results, but keep members motivated and engaged by staying on top of this popular trend.
About the author:
Oscar Collins is the fitness editor at Modded, where he writes about fitness trends, nutrition, and similar topics.
Follow him on Twitter @TModded for frequent updates on his work.
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