The short answer
In December, clients don't stop training out of laziness: they stop because their routine breaks (travel, parties, family visiting) and nobody agreed on what to do during those weeks. Those who reach Christmas with a three-step plan, with a short workout for the chaotic days and a message at the right time, come back in January. Those who agreed on nothing hear "I'll take a break and start again in February", and February almost never comes.
The protocol below covers the three critical weeks, from mid-December to the first Sunday of January. None of it requires demanding attendance: the goal is to keep the habit, not the training load.
Week 1: agree on it before they ask
In the first week of December, ask each client three things: when they're traveling, which days they'll have fixed commitments and how many workouts a week they think they can do until January 6. Write down the answer. The client who said "two workouts" and did two kept the deal; the one who was never asked and did zero feels guilty and disappears.
- A smaller, explicit goal: reduce the agreed frequency, not the monthly fee. Two workouts a week in December is a plan, not a defeat.
- Return date: book the first January session before the client travels. A booked session is far more likely to happen than "call me when I'm back".
- People who travel: put together a short 25 to 30-minute workout that can be done in a hotel room or at the family's house, with bodyweight and at most a resistance band.
Week 2: the bad-day workout
On party days the client won't do the full workout, and that's fine. Give them a minimum version for those days: five exercises, two or three sets, no equipment, that fit into 20 minutes. In Trainer Connect you create it as a second workout for the same client, and they choose which one to open that day, without asking you to change anything.
A rule that works: the minimum workout counts as a workout done. If the client feels only the full workout counts, the first day it doesn't work out they give up on the whole week.
Week 3: win them back before they vanish
The week between Christmas and New Year's is when clients disappear. Don't wait for two weeks of no-shows to talk to them. In Statistics, the Engagement section shows who stopped training and for how many days; from there you use Message everyone and choose a ready-made text, like the we-miss-you one, replacing [nome] with each person's first name. A short message, no guilt, with the date of the first January session.
An example that fits in two lines: "Hi, [name]! Just stopping by to wish you happy holidays. I've already saved your Monday session on the 4th at 7 a.m. Let me know if anything comes up".
If the conversation is more personal, the WhatsApp button next to each client in the list already opens the chat with the win-back text written. For a step-by-step on what to say to people who have vanished completely, see Clients who skip sessions: how to win them back.
What not to do
- Demanding attendance in December. Clients who feel watched cancel in January.
- Sending the full workout to people who travel. They don't do it, feel guilty and disappear.
- Waiting until January to reach out. The first conversation after a month of silence already starts with an embarrassed client.
- Changing the monthly fee without notice. If you're keeping it, keep it; if you're adjusting it for the holidays, agree on it beforehand.
A post to publish now
In Content → Materials → Ready-made posts there's the holiday template, with your name, your color and your photo. Post it in the second week of December with your opening hours and the minimum workout: clients see you're still around, and so do people looking for a trainer for January.
Summary to paste into your calendar
- Week one: ask about travel, commitments and realistic frequency.
- Week two: hand over the 20-minute minimum workout.
- Week three: send a we-miss-you message to anyone who stopped, with the date of the first January session.