As personal trainers, we’re often taught how to write a great program, adjust macros, or cue a perfect squat. But when it comes to lasting change—especially with behaviour and lifestyle—many coaches fall short. That’s not because they don’t care. It’s because they don’t know how to guide their clients through meaningful self-reflection and behaviour change.

Enter the Specific, Impact, Change or Continue framework—a structured conversation sequence grounded in principles of motivational interviewing and behavior change psychology. It helps your client move from awareness to action, through coaching, not lecturing.

Let’s walk through each stage and how you can apply it.

1. 🔍 Specific: “What Actually Happened?”

This is about fact-finding without judgment. You’re not analysing, advising, or correcting yet—just helping your client reflect.

Example:

“You mentioned having 12 beers on Friday. Can you tell me more about that?”

Clients can’t change what they don’t acknowledge. This step builds self-awareness without defensiveness.

2. 💥 Impact: “What Difference Did It Make?”

Here’s where you help clients see cause and effect. Link their behaviour to real outcomes.

Questions like:

• “How did the drinks affect your sleep or training?”

• “Did your food choices change after?”

Clients start connecting dots between their choices and their results. This builds internal motivation—not imposed guilt.

3. 🔄 Change: “What Could Be Different?”

Shift from insight to intention. Help clients explore new behaviours aligned with their goals.

Example:

“Based on this, what would you do differently next time?”

This is the turning point from reflection to personal ownership. Your job is to support, not prescribe.

4. 🧠 Analysing: “Why Did It Happen?”

Now you dig into the psychology—triggers, emotional states, routines.

Ask:

• “What led you to reach for a drink?”

• “Were you stressed, tired, or celebrating?”

This stage reveals patterns—so clients can plan better responses.

5. ⚖️ Evaluating: “What If You Did Change?”

Now help clients compare potential futures.

Prompt:

“What would change if you avoided drinking on Fridays?”

This gets them to weigh pros and cons. You’re guiding them to see how change aligns with their identity and long-term vision.

6. 🛠️ Creating: “What’s the New Plan?”

Time to build solutions and systems.

Ask:

“What strategies can we put in place next time?”

Help clients co-design habits, boundaries, or support structures to succeed moving forward. That’s real coaching.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t just a coaching script—it’s a mindset shift. Instead of fixing clients, guide them to understand, evaluate, and design their own solutions. That’s how you build empowered, long-term change.

If you’re not using this kind of structure, your coaching conversations might be more accidental than intentional.