Training the Type-A

I'm a Type-A personality to the hilt: everything seems urgent, I keep a faster pace than many people, I am highly competitive with myself and others, and the price of my over achievement is stress.  Luckily, I'm learning to deal with my daily stressors through regular exercise.  Sadly, however, I have noticed that my personality has extended to my gym/exercise life, and it often makes me stressed about my workout schedule.  I guess if it's not one thing, it's another, because I am who I am wherever I am.

So, being the typical Type-A, I think I understand what my Type-A client wants from a trainer:

1.) Punctuality - if he/she made the effort to be on time, then they fully expect me to be ready and waiting for them.  My own trainer is a fantastic example of this.  I am always satisfied to show up and get started right away, or I know that if I'm a tad early there's time for chit-chat.

2.) Keeping a quick pace - as soon as my client is done with an exercise, I instruct him/her to take a quick rest (I tailor rest timeframes to their needs), during which I explain what's next.  Also, if he/she says, "What's next?", I have an answer right away.  I don't keep them guessing. 

3.) Assessing for the future - Before we begin, I ask how he/she felt last time, whether they were sore or not, and then as we wrap up I ask if this session seemed to meet expectations.  I often have a notebook of exercises already written out, so that it's in writing for them to check their progress and also see where they're heading (are they going up or staying at the same weight, reps or sets).

I think I'm pretty good at the above practices, and I know my own trainer is good at this.  That's how I've been able to stay on track for so long.  Now, I just have to figure out how to be a little bit more laid back with my Type-B or Type-C clients.  More on that as I learn...