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
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