Dumb personal trainers.

[blackrock]

What i have noticed in recent years is the tendency for trainers to always do what's "new and different" with clients no matter what their level of experience/fitness (and not necessarly what works best and is the safest).

Everything is done on one leg, or done sitting or lying on an excercise ball are typical examples.

The thing I have come to realize is not everyone is training to be huge or ripped. Some people are training for functionality, Some people to correct muscle imbalances, some people it is sport specific etc.

I will give you an example, If you ask a bodybuilder what is the best way to develop Glutes and almost everyone will say squats or stiff leg deadlifts, but if you as a Physical therapist that they will teach you lot of stuff most of us would consider weird or boring like glue bridges, clams, etc. I think it is not always about hypertrophy but correct activation and functionality too.

Now do I think every personal trainer is knowledgeable about this. I doubt it.

But there is a lot of training facilities (For Eg. Eric Cressey training academy) where the training is more for athletes not for "bodybuilding." They actually probably know and understand more about strength and conditioning than the average bodybuilder on this board. Just cause they don't do conventional lifts doesnt mean that they are dumb assess.

Just my opinion

 

[blackrock]

Do you think Nadal or Federers personal trainer (athletic trainer) is going to put him under a squat machine or make him deadlift etc. to strengthen his core. I am sure if we saw their work out it would be filled with things that look like "gimmicks" but serve a purpose for the specific athlete and for injury prevention.


Look at 5:40 onwards

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXGVU5KoRQ"]Rafael Nadal Training Program - Physical Preparation (Preparación física) of Rafa - YouTube[/ame]


Also look around the 7:18 mark. His trainer is making him do the exact samething somebody mentioned earlier about slamming the ball on the ground and catching it.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

Some fairly mediocre personal trainers make a decent living because they are good at listening to wealthy people talk about themselves for an hour several times a week.

This is an important skill actually

 

[mfcbastion]

There's a trainer at my gym who was once telling someone about how your abs are big striations, and the more you work your core, the more abs you will get...

 

[Sir Anabolic]

There's a trainer at my gym who was once telling someone about how your abs are big striations, and the more you work your core, the more abs you will get...

Fuck, so spot reduction is a myth?! All this time doing 1000's of crunches...

 

[amateurBB]

If specifically discussing corporate gym trainers its not surprising they don't know how to train folks properly. They need little to no certification, and turnover is so high in those positions that the corporate gym management doesn't care. In a certain unnamed large chain you can pay over $60 a session for a half hour, and the trainer sees about $8 of it.

The corporate gym trainer role lends itself to apathy and maximizing clients to put money in their pocket. Most folks getting trainers are likely averse to hard exercise and would quit if the trainer started truly pushing them. So in the interest of keeping clients they produce simple "functional" workouts for clients. Everyone wins, trainer keeps clients, and client "works out" and feels good for another week that they are active without actually getting better.

 

[SANDMAN1986]

they just give out training certificates to anyone, any trainer worth a fuck is highly unlikely to be found at a corporate gym

 

[HimRoid]

Some fairly mediocre personal trainers make a decent living because they are good at listening to wealthy people talk about themselves for an hour several times a week.

This is an important skill actually

Yep. Personal trainer/therapist/paid friend.

 

[IdahoRally]

My favorite are the trainers that have absolutely no physique at all, training people. Seriously, what would make you trust and pay good money to some one that obviously has no idea what the hell they are doing.

 

[chrisrome]

Nothing ticks me off more than jacked up trainers. Lead by example and practice what you preach is how i see it. How you gonna tell someone what to do when you look like a fat nasty and wouldn't do those exercises either. what a joke some of these trainers are. I guess they are hell sales people to convince people to let them train them i guess.

 

[Workhard10]

Agreed

 

[SwollAzzBeach]

I would never be coached, trained or take advice from anyone I wouldn't aspire to look like! These people are paying someone who is definitely Not physically fit to get them physically fit...I'll never understand.

 

[ThrottleTo]

Whoever hired em must be stupid. Someone with some sense, should have just told em ...... NO, laughed at em for applying, an said, you got to be kidding.

 

[Spartacus72BC]

Agreed

I see fat trainers making people do dumb things and it amazes me that people pay to get trained by them.