I hate personal trainers

[nisser]

1. Many are ****ing fat and in no shape to give advice

2. They frequently instruct with incredibly bad form

3. Make small-talk with their clients during exercises. If your client can talk to you about his cat during the set, he's doing it wrong (and you should correct him) and you're being a douchebag by encouraging it.


It ****ing pisses me off. It wastes the clients' money and in many cases it puts them in direct physical harm. WHC is ****ing notorious for it. And it isn't isolated; it seems widespread in many gyms/cities.

[Mr Ontario]

Had a bad experience did you ;)

[cog]

It seems the WHC female trainers are in far better shape then the men.

[Forever]

Now if you want to lengthen and tone that muscle you don't want to use more than 10lb db's. Challenging yourself will only result in injury.

[wrx20psi]

no need to generalize, they don't all suck like that.

Unless you're in a chain like ''Energie Cardio'' of course...lol

[Big D]

i say 95% personal trainers that work at good life are absolutely useless. no disrespect to the ones that actually know how to exercise and train properly

[nisser]

Had a bad experience did you ;)

bitch please!! :)

[Zylo]

I think a lot of people who go to personal trainers are "first timers" in the gym and not as hardcore as most of the members here on CB...

They chat to develope a positive relationship and friendship with the clients so they are happy to come in. The first step is just getting them to enjoy working out and spending time in the gym without being intimidated and put through a Sergeant Slaughter type routine right out of the gates...

It's personal training at popular clubs, what do you expect?

If you want to get serious and are already in good shape, it might be a good idea to check out a sports specific training facility. They cost a bit more money but they'll whip your ass and beat you down no matter how tough you think you are.

You don't see Pro athletes with personal trainers at goodlife.... You get what you pay for and if you're past the beginner level or don't like what the average personal trainer at an average health club offers, you should probably be looking at the other options. There are many out there for all levels.

It's like walking into Canadian Tire as an NHL hockey player and complaining that they don't have any good equipment. Well no shit? You're at Canadian Tire?

lol. Just saying!

I think they serve their purpose and I see them helping people out that need it.

:)

[plumtart]

They are mostly:
* greedy with money, want renewal with their contract with you way before end of it and if you dont pay further, they will act naughty such as refusing to meet you or give you black face or give lousy job. in a recent case, the trainer threatened me to buy another US$5000 worth of 'sessions' even if i had US$6000 worth of sessions unused, if i dont give in, he (or they) will play games to sabotage my training (eg, book you in and attend another client, being late, send you on the treadmill and ignore you, change people to attend you so nobody follows up your situation properly, high pressure sales)
* have no empathy or ethics in your financial well being
* think too highly of themselves and arrogant
* unable to write their own technical terms out, think they are knowledgable and skills but unable to pass a written test themselves
* fake friendship, share no genuine interest in others for the long term. only have interest in taking large sums of money for little effort or time spent
* teach very limited amounts of true skills and knowledge so you will never become independent
* a big thick book of lies and deceit - tell you they will go on sail go to bbq go to clubbing with you etc to get money from you, and nothing really materialise. they are professionals in dating games with no integrity.

[rated_rko]

hey now im actually considering getting my certificate to earn some extra cash but yeah i totally agree when im training and see what they do...****ing stupid im gonna be the only good one out there

[TT Eric]

Hahaha! It's crazy how things have changed with years.

We have a trainer at the small gym I'm training at, he's has no muscles (maybe he had in the past ??) and a big belly. All I see he is training old women. Only staying like a bored post waiting for the old lady to finish her reps sited on the balloon. Tons of people around him that don't know how to train.

Since I used to be a trainer myself for 3 years full time, when I see someone training wrong, it's very hard for me to say nothing, I want to help, even if it's not my business. Like the last week I saw a guy doing bench press dumbbell half way, you know when the arm stop a 90 degree and the dumbbells are something like 10'' over the chest, I asked him if he had shoulder problems to do that, he said : the trainer said it's as good as the full motion! Wow. So now there is a bunch of guy with toothpick arms doings 80lbs dumbbell press all proud of themselves.

I say things have changed because today you have to pay for a trainer to show you the stuff and often people are too proud (or too cheap to pay), they 'know' how to train, so it's terrible to see them mixing different exercises/muscles jumping to one and another without logic, bad form on most exercises... + most trainers have arms like matches, so anyone with a minimum of logic can see there is no point in asking to someone with no results for himself.

So basically at my gym most people don't know how to train and have no one to help them.

I have been a trainer from 88 to 91 and in that time, the trainer was free with membership, when you were a member you had access to the trainer, evaluation and follow-up. It was pretty easy for everyone, me I was on the floor and I was helping everyone that needed help, if someone had a bad form I was intervening, those with potential I was pushing them to reach it, more weight and/or more reps for the lazy, pushing people to make the extra mile.

I was training with the guys, in fact I was paid to train, I was working 40-50hrs a week, 6 days a week, so I was training on my working hours and this was keeping the guys motivated to see that I was doing what I was preaching and even more.

This was creating such an ambiance! Everybody was talking to everybody, it was camaraderie, everyone spotting everyone and pushing each one and another.

When I started back training in 2003 for about a year before I popped 2 more hernias, I was shock to see that compared to what I was in 15 years ago, gyms today are 'cold' and without personality. People training wrong and nobody to tell them, cause you have to pay to have a trainer and if you don't pay you can train wrong for years (and even if you pay you might end-up training wrong too).

Even if a trainer time was free, you had to own the respect! I remember once, I had an accident and lost 30lbs, basically I was unable to eat for about 2 weeks, barely drinking, so when I was back at work, there was a bunch of guys that didn't knew me, so they were training all wrong but had potential, one of those guy was like Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV, very strong but without Dolph's muscles. And I told this guys they would have more results if they were doing this or that... and one of them told me ''I would listen to you if you were big, you are not so we don't listen'' --- slap in the face. hahaha Luckily for me I was able to put back on those 30lbs very fast.

If I had to be owner of a gym, trainers would be included with membership as it was before, guys that train and are motivated. They should be able to speak by their actions and their results in their own life. Even the ex-champion bodybuilder with lots of experience should show that he's taking care of himself and not wear a fat belly. IMO

Eric

[razorsedge]

^^^^

Great post Eric....you nailed it.

[Shaun73]

a lot of trainers dont know jack these days. They just pretend like they do. I had a trainer kick me off the double cable pulleys to do ****ing wide grip pulldowns. Her excuse was less enertia because of the double pulley. Yes less inertia ok but ur doing a ****ing wide grip pulldown for christ sake the diff is minimal

[dainbramaged]

I would agree with everything you say but with a lot of reservation on the "friendship" aspect. While your/a personal trainer could possibly become a friend, since you're now sharing a similar interest, I wouldn't make the assumption that they're required to. Yes, you may spend a lot of time together, getting to know one another, and sharing anecdotes about your lives but keep in mind they are professionals (I use the word loosely for many). While you do share a lot of personal information with your trainer, as anyone would in a close knit situation where there's a lot of time/silence to fill, they are WORKING while doing it. This is their job/career, not so much their personal time. You don't expect to become "pals" with your doctor, mechanic, or grocer do you? In many business situations you may have individuals who genuinely care about you and many who don't but who have to feign (fake) it. They may not be bad people but it may be that they've dealt with dozens/scores/hundreds of clients and to them, it's a job. While you may want to have a solid relationship with a trainer, they may like you but may not necessarily want to have anything further than that. I've known some trainers who are technically proficient, excellent at their job, and NOT outgoing yet I've also known trainers who have dynamic personalities, can come across as your best friend, don't know spit about training. That's why you shop around for a trainer. Just don't put unrealistic expectations on them, they're there to train you not be your therapist or bff. If it happens, cool, but if it doesn't then realize that's not what you hired them for.

[TT Eric]

Funny thing yesterday, when I was training I noticed the dude beside me, he was doing some rowing machine with a clear improper form, mainly just working his arms and having being a trainer, I often have the reflex to help those people training wrongly by telling them how to do the exercise correctly. Luckily this guy was training with music in the ears and since it's not my place/job to do that, I told myself STFU and continued to train like most of the time I do... just to recognize this guy later with his usual clothes... he's one of the personal trainers there... WTF!

2 weeks ago I got my membership in a GL, before I was training in a real small place with barely no equipment, so I changed for a place with more stuff and GL was the only place, along with a YMCA, that I could walk from my home to train there. So here I am in a place with over 2000 'check-in' per day and I'm shocked to see how things haven't improved, in fact they I think it devolved in the last 20-25 years. More people then ever train wrong. It amaze me to see people doing all sorts of crazy things with dumbbells, trainers push away their customer from the compound movements and when they do, they do it wrong ; aka newbies on the squat with 115lbs and going no more then 45 degree with their legs. There is only 2 bench press in the room and they are available all the time, 2 Leg press, rarely someone on them. I see tons of people doing kick back almost standing upright and arms not even reaching 45 degrees. People with dumbbells making weird thing like if they were training to open a door. Pretty impressive, I think there is like 60 trainers there, but nobody knows how to train, vs the gym where I was working we were 5-6 trainers with 2000 members and people knew how to train, we weren't letting anyone doing stupid things and were coaching them to have results. More knowledge available but people know less then before.

Eric

[JacktheThriller]

I think a lot of the problem is in the education of trainers and the owners of these gyms. The education of the majority of trainers seems to be a either a weekend certification or a college/university education that is inadequate for practical situations. The weekend certification seems to imply that once you pass a course you are qualified to be a trainer, but where is the shadowing/intern/volunteer process or real life experience. It seems like in the past the people who were the trainers were the people that were always at the gym busting their ass to get in shape. This real world experience is the difference for a lot of these trainers. Same situation for the college/university educated. There is no requirement for them to be active people just able to do some homework. I know people in Human Kinetics that don't train and look like shit and it baffles me and they have dreams of personal training whole teams. Most of there knowledge is not practical it is done in lab setting under ideal conditions. Ex. science shows that going past 45 degrees squat generates no more muscle activation, well maybe not in the muscles measured and what about the tendons of practically of using full ROM that wasnt part of the study.

And these new gym are about membership they don't care if you come and probably dont want you to come so they can reasonably restrict hours of operation, cleaning supplies etc etc. It is in their financial interest for you to become frustrated and not come to the gym anymore and you pack on another 20 and reapply for membership next year maybe even buy some personal training from some loser who cant get himself in shape. Frankly these kinds of gyms don't offer the kind of benefits or money to attract a good trainer, anyone with talent will work privately for 3-4 times more money in less hours.

[TT Eric]

Again yesterday, I saw a trainer doing bench press, lowering the bar 10 inch over the chest and up. And another one coaching a member on the leg press 45, 4 plates, barely moving the weight ankles not even near knee levels yelling louder then Ronnie Coleman do when he was preparing for Olympia with the trainer pushing the weight for him. So I decided to tell the manager about how bad trainers train them self and their clients, shes seemed very pissed, she told me that they are extremely selective and they only hire the top qualified people, blablabla... so I apologized as I didn't want to attack the reputation of the place or else.

So even though there is more trainer (there is 20 full time trainer) then ever, people train more wrong then ever.

Eric

[JacktheThriller]

i love that Eric, the manager got pissed at you for complaining lol not even to go check on the trainer or try to appease the customer lol jesus

[freaky abs]

Like everything else in life, there are good personal trainers and there are bad personal trainers. If you are going to pick a personal trainer, find one with a good physique. If they had success training themselves, they will have success training you. Guys with an awesome physique will get results for you. For example a trainer like Charles Glass is way better than a trainer from Goodlife Gyms. So they are good trainers out there, if you are smart enough to make the right choice.

[mouth]

The only argument I'd have to that is, "knowing" and "doing" aren't always the same thing.

Just because someone has a good physique doesn't mean they're a good trainer and vise versa.

[steve_d]

Sometimes I am thankful that the personal trainers at most gyms I frequent don't know much about training...If they did, all of a sudden I'd have no where to do my bench, squats, and deadlifts :)

[JacktheThriller]

The only argument I'd have to that is, "knowing" and "doing" aren't always the same thing.

Just because someone has a good physique doesn't mean they're a good trainer and vise versa.

Someone who knows must be able to demonstrate their knowledge in their owns bodies first. This inspires confidence in your own work and in others belief in your practices. My buddy works a goodlife PT and he can see dramatic correlations between number of long term clients and level of fitness of the trainer.

[mouth]

Someone who knows must be able to demonstrate their knowledge in their owns bodies first. This inspires confidence in your own work and in others belief in your practices. My buddy works a goodlife PT and he can see dramatic correlations between number of long term clients and level of fitness of the trainer.

i agree in part. yes, a pt can inspire confidence in his/her clients by having a great physique. but, i think you can still be a good trainer/coach without putting all the work into yourself. you can still know all your stuff....you're just lazy and eat too much mcdonalds. ;) i'm not saying you'll get a lot of clients - i'm just saying you can have the knowledge even if you don't put all the work into your own body.

[dainbramaged]

^ only thing is, you're a walking billboard advertising what you know. Of course, you're right though, that a PT can be knowledgeable without looking the part but people (potential clients) would have to wonder if you have any kind of work ethic. "Do as I say, not as I do" kind of thing.

Of course, there's the other position, where you may have a PT who looks the part due to his/her "supplementation" but barely knows enough to get by. Then people think he/she MUST know what they're doing because of how they look. That the physique they've got is achievable based on what the PT knows.

Essentially, a client's gotta do their homework, LOL. And a PT who's got it all will hopefully get a solid rep due to word of mouth!

[freaky abs]

A personal trainer got to practice what they preach. You cannot be fat and out of shape and expect to get clients. If you cannot train yourself, the clients are not going to have faith in you to train them. For example I do not want to go to a dentist with rotten teeth. If you are a personal chef, you better cook good food at your dinner parties. Because if you burn the food, clients are not going hire you as their personal chef. You have to practice what you preach, if you want to be a successful personal trainer.
i agree in part. yes, a pt can inspire confidence in his/her clients by having a great physique. but, i think you can still be a good trainer/coach without putting all the work into yourself. you can still know all your stuff....you're just lazy and eat too much mcdonalds. ;) i'm not saying you'll get a lot of clients - i'm just saying you can have the knowledge even if you don't put all the work into your own body.

[JacktheThriller]

;) i'm not saying you'll get a lot of clients - i'm just saying you can have the knowledge even if you don't put all the work into your own body.

what is the point of having the knowledge if you are not sharing it with many clients and refuse to apply to yourself?

[freaky abs]

That is right. Knowledge alone does not mean anything if you cannot apply to yourself. It is like someone saying I have never driven a car, but I have the knowledge to teach you how to drive a car. Yea right.
what is the point of having the knowledge if you are not sharing it with many clients and refuse to apply to yourself?

[mouth]

^ only thing is, you're a walking billboard advertising what you know. Of course, you're right though, that a PT can be knowledgeable without looking the part but people (potential clients) would have to wonder if you have any kind of work ethic. "Do as I say, not as I do" kind of thing.

Of course, there's the other position, where you may have a PT who looks the part due to his/her "supplementation" but barely knows enough to get by. Then people think he/she MUST know what they're doing because of how they look. That the physique they've got is achievable based on what the PT knows.

Essentially, a client's gotta do their homework, LOL. And a PT who's got it all will hopefully get a solid rep due to word of mouth!

That's exactly what I was trying to say. haha...thanks for saying it better than I could!


what is the point of having the knowledge if you are not sharing it with many clients and refuse to apply to yourself?

Because he's/she's lazy and likes McDonalds.

[Kaly11]

I completed BSC in university and also got certified nationally through CSEP....so it will has to do with where these trainers work...and where they got their education.

[cog]

If a young guy is looking to apply himself,certainly an experienced competitor would be a good selection.What about an early twenties trainer that goes on heavy drugs as soon as they turn 18?If they needed drugs as a teenager what is the evidence they have actually learned something besides how to inject and "what Ronnie did"?People are going to do what they want but hopefully the trainers steer the young guys in a direction that heavily emphasizes diet and understanding their body first.

[freaky abs]

I find to build your physique you need to know how to train and what to eat. Drugs alone is not going to build your physique. If drugs alone was the answer, then everyone using drugs will look like Ronnie Coleman. But they do not. I know some guys that use drugs and still cannot build their physique. Drugs alone is not going to do it. You have to know how to train properly with intense workouts and eat properly. So going to a trainer that has developed their physique is better than going to a trainer that cannot even train themselves. Some people talk the talk, but cannot walk the walk.
If a young guy is looking to apply himself,certainly an experienced competitor would be a good selection.What about an early twenties trainer that goes on heavy drugs as soon as they turn 18?If they needed drugs as a teenager what is the evidence they have actually learned something besides how to inject and "what Ronnie did"?People are going to do what they want but hopefully the trainers steer the young guys in a direction that heavily emphasizes diet and understanding their body first.

[cog]

I find to build your physique you need to know how to train and what to eat. Drugs alone is not going to build your physique. If drugs alone was the answer, then everyone using drugs will look like Ronnie Coleman. But they do not. I know some guys that use drugs and still cannot build their physique. Drugs alone is not going to do it. You have to know how to train properly with intense workouts and eat properly. So going to a trainer that has developed their physique is better than going to a trainer that cannot even train themselves. Some people talk the talk, but cannot walk the walk.

Read my post.If a "trainer" needs to go on drugs at 18 what is the evidence they know how to train?Some people might not gain at all with heavy drugs but the majority will,and certainly the vast majority that attain great physiques will HAVE used drugs.My fear if you missed it is that this kind of trainer will direct young guys into heavy drug use far too early.The natty section is pretty dead here btw.Young guys posting here about recovery problems is evidence enough.Or is HRT already a given by age 25 now?

[freaky abs]

The earlier dicussions was whether you should train with a personal trainer with a good physique or train with a trainer that does not workout, is fat, cannot build his physique but has knowledge about training. That was what I was commenting about. To reply to what you said - I know many guys with great physiques that do not use drugs. They know how to train and eat properly. As a matter of fact, some of them look way better than guys I know who are using drugs.
Read my post.If a "trainer" needs to go on drugs at 18 what is the evidence they know how to train?Some people might not gain at all with heavy drugs but the majority will,and certainly the vast majority that attain great physiques will HAVE used drugs.My fear if you missed it is that this kind of trainer will direct young guys into heavy drug use far too early.The natty section is pretty dead here btw.Young guys posting here about recovery problems is evidence enough.Or is HRT already a given by age 25 now?

[cog]

Agree about that.Once knew a trainer skinny as a rail with a huge attitude.The old Nautilus Club on 1st sw in Calgary for anybody that remembers it.

[natenator]

The earlier dicussions was whether you should train with a personal trainer with a good physique or train with a trainer that does not workout, is fat, cannot build his physique but has knowledge about training. That was what I was commenting about. To reply to what you said - I know many guys with great physiques that do not use drugs. They know how to train and eat properly. As a matter of fact, some of them look way better than guys I know who are using drugs.

A mechanic doesnt need to know how to design a car or how its built in order to fix it.

[freaky abs]

Building something and fixing something are two different things. In bodybuilding, you are building your body not fixing it. You fix something that is broken. If you want your body fixed, you go to a surgeon.
A mechanic doesnt need to know how to design a car or how its built in order to fix it.

[natenator]

Building something and fixing something are two different things. In bodybuilding, you are building your body not fixing it. You fix something that is broken. If you want your body fixed, you go to a surgeon.

As guessed, you completely missed the analogy.

[freaky abs]

No I did not. But if I am going to go to a mechanic, I will go to one that knows how to fix his own car. If he cannot fix his own car, how is he going to fix mine? If he can fix his own car, he can fix mine. I want to use a personal trainer that has a good physique. If they can train themselves, they can train me. I do not want to train with a trainer that is skinny or fat and cannot train themselves, but claim they have the knowledge to train me. You have to prove yourself.
As guessed, you completely missed the analogy.

[Praetorian]

The best trainers are athletes or were athletes with average genetics but who have gone a long way ie top national or pro. Why would you want this person instead of Ronnie Coleman or Dorian Yates as your trainer? Quite simply those with outstanding genetics never had to learn to do everything correctly in order to progress...their genetics allow them to make serious mistakes and yet still improve. The athlete who has average genetics but has taken his body to its potential understands every nuance of diet, training, cycle etc. and can replicate that with anyone....the athlete with fantastic genetics cannot because what worked for them will NOT work for those with less then stellar genetics. Also being an athlete and knowing what it takes to get to the top makes a massive difference. The reason for this is you CANNOT teach someone how to squat 600lbs if you have never done it before yourself...why because with the variable namely weight being increased causes many things to change and thus need correcting and you will have no idea what or how. Teaching someone to squat with 135lbs is easy...600lbs not so much. If you have been there yourself you will understand what is necessary for others to get there...if you've never been there you'll have no idea.

If you wanted to learn to be an F1 race car driver who would you want teaching you...Micheal Schumacher or some guy who just finished reading F1 race car driving for Dummies and has never driven anything but a Honda Civic with a big muffler?



P

[TT Eric]

100% agreed! My ex training partner was genetically gifted, I mean he just had to step up in the weight room and he was growing, but he was not really into knowing, learning, searching everything... everything was going well for him. He had no particular way of training and was not really pushing it. I guess he liked to train and was seeing the results and he was satisfied with that.

On my side, I was a hard gainer, I was always trying to know, learn and improve to reach my maximum potential, as progress was little step after little step... I was doing the extra mile in the gym and the books to get every once of tiny results I could make. Simply put : being so hard to make progress, I was not going to let any possible results slipping through my fingers. Not saying I'm a great trainer or anything like that, I was learning and I'm still learning, but I was the one extremely motivated to learn and progress. Too bad I had to do this mostly on my own and did not have a good trainer like Prae to teach me.

On a side note, when this guy began to train with me (we trained together for about 2-3 years) he began to do the same training I was doing, his progress went through the roof, I mean it was unbelievable how fast he was getting the results vs me doing the exact same training. So the big guy grew 2x faster because of the less big guy.

Eric

[cog]

So where would Poliquin fit in here?Lots of knowledge,knows how to fix or design,can somebody tell me if he has ever squatted 600?

[JacktheThriller]

So where would Poliquin fit in here?Lots of knowledge,knows how to fix or design,can somebody tell me if he has ever squatted 600?

What is the difference if he has or not? Are we taking the opinion that strong can learn nothing from people less strong.He has a Masters in sport science and he has trained Olympic medalists in 12 different sports. I think he has a bit of practical knowledge.

I think he is like 50 years old now and has probably squatted lots of weight in his prime.

[cog]

What is the difference if he has or not? Are we taking the opinion that strong can learn nothing from people less strong.He has a Masters in sport science and he has trained Olympic medalists in 12 different sports. I think he has a bit of practical knowledge.

I think he is like 50 years old now and has probably squatted lots of weight in his prime.

I agree.Maybe he only squatted 405.He knows a lot obviously but would he be the best selection for a large hardcore bb?

[JacktheThriller]

ben pakulski works with him i dont know to what regard though

[freaky abs]

This is Poliquin training Ben.
http://www.flexonline.com/training/ben-pakulski-training-charles-poliquin-part-3

[warlock]

I have been working in this business for 10 years and there are 4 qualities that will define the longevity and success of a trainer:
Looks
Knowledge
Personality
Professionalism

Unfortunately the industry is populated with hobbits not professionals.

[dainbramaged]

^ Right on the money. And with over a decade plus of experience in the industry as well, if a potential trainer is lacking in even one of those areas, it'll come back to bite you.