Peak-Muscle.com  

Welcome to the Peak-Muscle.com forums.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. Come join us in on one of the best online fitness communities. We have 16,000 members that are likeminded towards a fitness, bodybuilding lifestyle. Registration is free and only takes but a few minutes. By joining our free community you will have access to communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to create threads to discuss and or create a fitness regimen. Or just bounce ideas off of some very knowledgeable members. So don't miss out. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

Register FAQ Members List Calendar Arcade Mark Forums Read
Go Back   Peak-Muscle.com > Bodybuilding and Fitness Discussion > Training
User Name
Password

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-15-2014, 10:43 AM   #1
liftsiron
Administrator
 
liftsiron's Avatar
 

Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Cimmeria
Posts: 18,385
liftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant future
Spotting A Bad Personal Trainer

Spotting A Bad Personal Trainer

Published on 08-14-2014 07:50 AM


by Christian Thibaudeau T-Nation

Here's what you need to know...

•  Many coaches have their clients do "CrossFit," Olympic lifts, and kettlebell training despite never having done these types of training themselves. It stands to reason that excluding certain methods could limit their marketability, but teaching stuff they know nothing about is even worse for their marketability.

•  When someone asks a trainer a question, the last thing he wants is to be made to feel dumb. The trainer might think he will dazzle the potential client with his knowledge, but all that will happen is that the potential client will think the trainer is a horse's rectum.

•  Anyone can smash someone in the gym. That's the easy way to earn a reputation. Getting them results through a combination of hard training and proper programming is another story.

•  If you're someone who makes a living getting people in shape, you should at least be able to get yourself in shape.

I come into contact with a ton of coaches or people who aspire to make a living as personal trainers. I often get asked what it is that separates a bad coach from a good or great coach. It's a touchy subject and some people might feel slighted by the examples I'm going to give here, so I'll start with doing a mea culpa and list the biggest mistakes I've made as a coach.


My 3 Biggest Screw-Ups
1. Being too eager to have people lift big weights. I'm a strength guy. I think getting stronger should be the foundation of every program. But in the past I've had people go up in weight too fast, using weights that they were not prepared to do. Similarly, I had them use training tools and methods that were too advanced for them. This often led to bad form, frustration, and sometimes injury.

I often see this exhibited by coaches working with athletes, especially those working in a team sport setting. A strength coach often feels the need to justify his program to the sport coach(es), but since very few sport coaches are strength training experts, they don't necessarily understand what strength training can do for their athletes.

The strength coach is often forced to use strength gains (usually increases in the athlete's maxes) to show that his program is effective. Thus, many of these strength coaches focus on getting the numbers up at all cost, even if that means allowing bad form.

2. Bypassing my own beliefs and training philosophies to get more clients. When I first got started as a trainer I used a ton of intensity techniques and plenty of isolation work in my programs just so clients would get a great pump and be sore and thus feel good about what they were doing. I'd include things that I never did in my own training and that I didn't really believe in. Now I force myself to be true to my beliefs and I don't try to be somebody else. I'm good at what I know and do and that's what I focus on.

Too many trainers fall prey to the latest trends. I can't tell you how many coaches have their clients do "CrossFit," Olympic lifts, and kettlebell training despite never having done these types of training themselves. Granted, the personal training market is highly competitive. It stands to reason that excluding certain methods could limit your marketability. However, teaching stuff you know nothing about is even worse for your marketability. People aren't dumb, and the internet will allow them to quickly figure out that you're a fraud and you'll then lose all credibility.

3. Not making time for my own training. At one point I took on so many clients that I barely had time to train. When I finally had time to lift I had zero motivation. It killed my passion for training and made me a worse coach. Passion is what differentiates an average personal trainer and a great coach. Never lose it. Furthermore, your body is your business card, so if your own training suffers you lose a lot of marketability.


The Biggest Screw-Ups Other Coaches Make
1. Writing programs to show how much they know instead of focusing on the client's needs. This is by far the most common mistake I see. Trainers will use a myriad of complex training methods in one program just to show that they're special. The goal is getting results, not designing something that looks cool. You are designing a program to get your clients stronger, more muscular, leaner, or better conditioned, not for personal validation.

Seriously, 5/3/1 and Beyond 5/3/1 by Wendler are amazingly simple and even bland, but they've produced more results that all the cool looking programs combined. More strength and muscle has been built with properly performed basics than by "cool" methods. There's a place for advanced methods, of course, like when you hit a plateau that requires a specific solution, but a whole program shouldn't be based around these so-called advanced methods.

2. Being arrogant and belittling the big guys in the gym. This is common among trainers who practice their profession in a crowded commercial gym and it comes mostly from trainers who make mistake number 1! These trainers act like they know more than everybody in the gym, but I tell you, the big/strong guys in the gym laugh at them. Like it or not, deserved or not, the big strong guys in the gym have a lot of credibility among other members. If they take note of a trainer's arrogance and make fun of him, that trainer's credibility will take a huge hit.

Guys don't get results by accident. If you gained a lot of strength and a lot of size, then you're doing something right. You might not know exactly what or why it works but it does. And discrediting those who get results because they don't know as much about training theory as you do is dumb. I personally have no ego. I don't care if I learn something from an average Joe who just began training or from the world's greatest authority. All I care about is learning new stuff about training.

3. Talking like a science book. I see this all the time. Someone walks up to a trainer and asks a specific question. The trainer then sees this as an opportunity to show off and starts rambling off an explanation that would confuse your average Ph.D.

When someone asks you a question, the last thing he wants is to be made to feel dumb. The trainer might think it makes him look smart and he will dazzle the potential client with his knowledge, but all that will happen is that the potential client will think the trainer is a horse's rectum. Always use the simplest and shortest possible explanation possible. If the person wants to know more he or she will ask.

4. Smashing people in the gym. The goal of a trainer is to get results for the client, making him stronger, more muscular, leaner, or in better condition. It is not the goal to cripple him, drain him of all his life substance, or make him sore for three weeks.

A lot of coaches know that people instinctively think that the more they suffer the more they progress, but instead of correcting that they use it to build a reputation that might earn them a lot of clients. I'll be the first one to say that hard work, effort, and dedication is the root of success. You must of course train very hard to get results, no doubt about that, but there's a difference between hard work that will stimulate progress and stupid crap that just runs you down.

Anyone can kill someone in the gym. That's the easy way to earn a reputation. Getting them results through a combination of hard training and proper programming is another story.

5. Looking like crap. Listen, we aren't all genetically designed to be Mr. Olympia, play in the NFL, or bench press 700 pounds. Oftentimes guys who become great coaches are at the bottom of the genetic food chain and developed a passion for training because they had to compete with people who were more genetically blessed.

The best coaches are those who made a lot of progress but had to struggle every step of the way to get there. They're great coaches because even when progress was so slow that it would have made most people give up, they kept plugging away. That's passion. And they likely faced every possible roadblock the average gym rat might face but still found a way around them.

So while I don't expect a coach to look like a pro bodybuilder or be as strong as a top powerlifter, I do think that being out of shape and not standing out physically in some way is just wrong. There's no excuse for that. If you're an expert on training – someone who makes a living getting people in shape – you should at least be able to get yourself in shape.

6. Stupidly refusing to share knowledge. The day you stop learning new things about training is the day you lose your passion. Every coach worth his salt should hunger to gain new knowledge of human performance, growing muscle, or gaining strength. So yeah, not opening yourself to new opportunities to learn is a huge mistake, but refusing to share the knowledge you have is probably an even bigger one.

When you teach someone something, it helps you understand the subject to a greater degree. Plus, teaching will always reignite your passion, and passion is your biggest tool as a coach. Finally, when you help someone, that person will generally want to repay your generosity by sharing knowledge with you and helping you. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you never know who will be in a position to help you in the future.

It's been my observation that some coaches/trainers are often hesitant to share knowledge. They think that if they teach someone what they know, they'll lose marketability. In reality, the more information you share, the more people will flock to you for additional information! I suspect potential clients instinctively think, "Wow, and this is the stuff he gives me for free; imagine what I'll get if I hire him!"

Be the guy who's eager to share his passion and who can't wait to learn new things.
__________________
ADMIN/OWNER@Peak-Muscle
liftsiron is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 12-25-2017, 05:38 PM   #2
Deacon
Vet
 
Deacon's Avatar
 

Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Belleview Psych Ward RM 213
Posts: 3,686
Deacon is just really niceDeacon is just really niceDeacon is just really niceDeacon is just really nice
this is so damn true
__________________
Originally Posted by Doink the clown;
"Every gym has the tard who never gets bigger,never shuts up,and never goes away!"


"If you say you are not afraid to die either your lying or your a Ghurka,"

"Amatures built the Ark - professionals built the Titanic."
Deacon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-26-2017, 05:51 AM   #3
liftsiron
Administrator
 
liftsiron's Avatar
 

Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Cimmeria
Posts: 18,385
liftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant futureliftsiron has a brilliant future
My pet peeve is a personal training who is either fat or skinny who doesn't look like they even work out.
__________________
ADMIN/OWNER@Peak-Muscle
liftsiron is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 12-26-2017, 07:59 AM   #4
Roughrydr
Moderator
 
Roughrydr's Avatar
 

Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 2,161
Roughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to all
I considered hiring one a couple of years ago. I posted about my experience with it. He did ask if I had any injuries, and I showed him my right leg what had been under my motorcycle while a flat bed semi ran over it back in '76. I shouldn't be walking much less have a leg. But the only permanent effects besides scars from compound fractures are some flexibility issues. Then I showed him my umbilical hernia. He said he'd never seen anything like that before. Warning bells went off immediately. Long story short, during my free, introductory session he managed to side line me for over a month with an injury doing squats, which I've done longer than he has been alive without any major issues.
I prefer training by myself anyway. It's hard to find people tgat can keep up with me weight wise and they always try to rush me. Im old and it takes a couple of minutes between sets.
Also I've managed to build an impressive physique with what I'm doing and continue to see small improvements every year. If it ain't broke, and you're very old, dontvtry to fix it.
Roughrydr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2017, 02:49 AM   #5
Dawgpound_Hank
Guest
 

Posts: n/a
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roughrydr View Post
I considered hiring one a couple of years ago. I posted about my experience with it. He did ask if I had any injuries, and I showed him my right leg what had been under my motorcycle while a flat bed semi ran over it back in '76. I shouldn't be walking much less have a leg. But the only permanent effects besides scars from compound fractures are some flexibility issues. Then I showed him my umbilical hernia. He said he'd never seen anything like that before. Warning bells went off immediately. Long story short, during my free, introductory session he managed to side line me for over a month with an injury doing squats, which I've done longer than he has been alive without any major issues.
I prefer training by myself anyway. It's hard to find people tgat can keep up with me weight wise and they always try to rush me. Im old and it takes a couple of minutes between sets.
Also I've managed to build an impressive physique with what I'm doing and continue to see small improvements every year. If it ain't broke, and you're very old, dontvtry to fix it.
You need to hook up with that one trainer that told you your squat depth was too shallow awhile back.

I would have loved to witness that - some scrawny millenial giving YOU tips on squatting with 600 lbs haha!
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2017, 09:43 AM   #6
Roughrydr
Moderator
 
Roughrydr's Avatar
 

Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 2,161
Roughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to allRoughrydr is a name known to all
He didn't like it because my ass didn't hit the floor. But I saw in the mirror. I was below parralel. My butt was below my knees a good ways. Buyt my right ankle and right knee only go so far any way. He's a good kid. We've becomes buds since then. He's hooked me up with some chicks that liked me, and I've hooked him up a few times with shy chicks that liked him.
Roughrydr is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:58 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.