TheFirstTwoWeeksWithaNewClientAreNotAboutTrainingHard

Marcin from Perun Strength has a structure for the first phase of any new client relationship, and it is worth describing precisely because it runs counter to what a lot of new PTs feel they should be doing. The first two weeks are intentionally unhurried. A lot of talking. Movement assessment at low intensity. Building trust and gathering information before anything demanding is attempted.

What the first sessions are actually for

Before you know how someone moves, you do not know what you are programming for. A client who has chronic tension in their thoracic spine will not get the same thing from a back squat as one who moves freely. A client who has never trained before needs to build an understanding of basic movement patterns before any meaningful loading is appropriate. These are things you can only discover by watching someone move, asking questions, and creating an environment where they feel safe enough to tell you the truth about their history and limitations.

A PT who begins at high intensity on day one will discover these things too - but reactively, when something goes wrong, rather than proactively, when nothing has been compromised yet. Marcin describes the opening weeks as the foundation on which everything harder is then built safely and appropriately.

Why new PTs start too hard

The pressure to demonstrate value from the first session is real. A new PT wants a client to feel they got something for their money. High intensity is the most legible form of effort - measurable in muscle soreness the next day. The quieter work of movement assessment and relationship-building is harder to invoice. But the client who sees that their PT has genuinely invested in understanding how they move, what their history is, and what they actually need - that client has received something more valuable than a session that left them unable to walk downstairs. They have seen evidence that they are being coached, not just exercised.

The trust that develops before the hard work starts

By the time the training becomes genuinely demanding - which it will, because progression is the point - the client and PT have enough shared context to navigate it well. The PT knows what to watch for. The client trusts they are not going to be pushed into something they are not ready for. That trust is not just nice to have - it is the mechanism by which harder work is actually possible. Build it first.