Anyone else get annoyed by other personal trainers?

[Get_Swole]

I get so sick of seeing these idiots know absolutely nothing about bodybuilding or diet even when you actually talk to some of them. Went in a gym today to get some prices on a membership. This scrawny idiot walks up to me and says hey man you get your first 3 sessions free from me if you join this week. I looked at his 145 ilb dripping wet body and kinda snickered. Im out of shape right now but this guy didnt even look like he worked out. Anyone else get annoyed by this. At my last gym there was a trainer working with bands with a guy he said he was getting the guys rotator cuff strengthened so he would be less susceptible to injury. I said thats cool can you name all 4 of the rotator cuff muscles. He said they arent separate muscles its just one cuff. I laughed at him looked at the guy he was training with a frown like get the hell out of here. Kinda a dick move but these guys are idiots. Spend 8 hours studying a book and you can have your ace cert and have your self on a fast track to injurying someone. /rant

 

[jtunderdog]

I use to work out at a place that had a personal trainer who was "certified" because he was an abercrombie and fitch model. I will admit he was well built but had no freaking clue on what he was doing. I won't rip him because he was always friendly but I know what you mean. They usually annoy the crap out of me. I look out of shape because of my thyroid issues and because Im bulking but I assure you I know more than that guy did. LOL

 

[jshoty]

I good friend of mine was a personal trainer at the gym i still visit to this day, and his days were spent eating krispy kremes, and smoking cowboy killers.

 

[dorian123]

man don't even get me started-it's like comedy hour at my gym
the personal trainers are too busy talking on their cell phones instead of paying attention to their cleints...

having people standing on a bose ball doing side lateral raises and in the middle of the shaky set they just walk off to answer their phone

what the hell is the purpose of doing a set on one of those stupid things anyway...oh wait it's to work the functional muscle groups...uh, ok so which one of my muscle groups are non functional?

 

[dreww]

i never understood the whole ball thing either. how does making an exercise a balancing act make it better? just makes injury more likely.

 

[tilla52]

I completely understand what most of you are saying. However I am a trainer at a big corporate gym but not the type to approach people and give them free workouts, especially if they look they know what they are doing. The whole idea with the Bosu and Stability balls is geared more towards functional training (not muscle groups, that guy is an idiot). Training that will improve people in their everyday life. A mom carrying a kid in one arm and groceries in the other. Most of the training sessions are short so working more than one muscle group at one time is beneficial. But you can't just throw someone on a Bosu ball, you have to progress to that.

 

[Crazymank]

I have a major problem with "trainers" I dont really respect someone in that role, unless they're stronger or better built than me. Generally, this isnt the case with them. I usually see them doing a lot of stupid shit with people, like the balls... wtf??? Ok, core is important, but just get those bastards on a treadmill and you've done 90% of your job.

another thing i want to mention here is most newer gyms wont let you compete with there trainers. Meaning, if they catch you being paid to teach someone how to lift- you could loose your membership. They get a kick back from the trainers.

 

[saturn1]

I learned the best way to deal with other trainers, especially the ones that studied creatine so well, is to let them talk and agree.........After that wearing earbuds and faking phone calls everytime they come talk.......Only to be listening to some MP3's from the phone instead.

When it comes to how a trainer looks ....Well I dont go by that because the most knowledgeable person I ever met is briliant and loves to teach but he looks like any regular guy because getting big isnt his own personal ambition...........Kinda reminds me of dan duchaine who was respected and not a mass monster by any means.

 

[NAIR]

^^^Yeah just look at the pros who are trained by very normal looking guys.

I really hate the assholes at the big gyms like 24, LA, etc. but the trainers at the Gold's here are actually not too bad. The guys are cool and the girls are sexy. These trainers all work privately though, they just have agreements with Gold's. Anyways, not bothered by them here.

I'm working on my Ace cert myself. I hope to train really fat and insecure women who need a good swift kick in the ass. I won't pertend like I have a degree in exercise science though. Just a temp college gig.

 

[dorian123]

i never understood the whole ball thing either. how does making an exercise a balancing act make it better? just makes injury more likely.

yeah exactly

take it to the extreme. I love this analogy because everytime I bring it up, people say, "that's fucking stupid what the hell"
but it's the truth

you want a person to perform "resistance excercises against gravity-i.e. weight lifting" and keep their balance at the same time? WHY?

well then let's just set up a tight rope 6 inches from the ground and have people perform heavy deadlifts while trying to maintain their balance on this tight rope-sounds stupid???

well then where do you draw the line? at the tight rope-at the bose ball?
you tell me, when does it become functional and when does it become stupid?

HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP
THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW...

 

[tilla52]

It's called progressing a client. A good trainer will know when a client is ready to perform those kind of exercises. Not everyone wants to lift "like bodybuilders." They just want to improve the things they do in everday life. I use traditional and functional exercises with my clients depending on their goals, abilities..etc.

 

[The Dude]

I have to agree with with most here. Sprinters sprint, basketball players play basketball, same as baseball and soccer etc. Powerlifters lift weights. Bodybuilders build muscle and pose. The bosu ball and even bands are pretty dumb. Is my muscle not functional?? Muscles grow and shrink. That's it. You can work on coordination, but I still don't see where the Bosu balls and rubber bands come in. I've never been on a bosu ball in my life and never used a rubber band and I'll bet no one with any amount of bosu ball experience is going to do daily tasks better than I would.

 

[tilla52]

There aren't functional muscles, it's functional training. As for the bands, powerlifters and professional athletes use bands along with chains to improve explosion and power. "Functional training involves movements that are specific — in terms of mechanics, coordination and/or energetics — to one’s activities of daily living (ADLs)." http://www.nsca.com/HotTopic/download/Functional Training modified[1].pdf

 

[Chris-Winfield]

As long as they actually know what their talking about , nutrition and training wise...

not all up in somebodys face , touch the entire time when spotting. etc.

I really dont mind.. I dont go by looks unless their horribly out of shape and i know they are training.

Personally on average I lean more towards cant standing personal trainings.. They need to up the standards.

Too many trainers focus more on just making their clients active and doing stuff. Then explaining , teaching , giving reasons.. and accessing whats actually the problem , the goals.. etc to get things on track.

most of the personal trainers dont know what their talking about. Me I just learn what I need for my goals , I dont need to have alot of knowledge just the basics and some advanced knowledge on some stuff.

I helped one of my friends lost 6 inches on her waist in 2 weeks , she already worked out. I just spent about 20 minutes discussing some minor tweaks in diet , and training.. took emphasis off of the little things she was focusing on and more towards the important...

her diet was good , but wrong macronutrient ratios and makeups for her goals for the times of the days she was eating.. and along with her training schedule. Shes worked out at a gym before and gotten no results from personal trainers at her gym.

Just small diet changes , schedule changes , and training changes. overall she spends less time keeping track , training , and even thinking about stuff health and fitness related with better results.

I discussed everything over Instant messenger and 2 weeks later before and after pictures of 6 inches off of her waist. She said 6 inches , all i saw were the pictures not proof of measurements.

but the standards for personal trainers are low par.

 

[Chris-Winfield]

the only real use I find the for balancing balls and etc.

are for elite athletes wanting to improve performance like say on a basketball court or football field...

imagine training on a huge inflatable football field.. Yes injury chances go up for ankles , etc.. because unstable footing.. Well So it sort of makes it a pretty bad training tool.. Unless you seriously provide protection for the areas of injury that could occur.

Now if you train sometimes on an inflatable field , you juke , break a tackle.. lateral movement... accelerating.. accelerating off of a lateral movement..

your going to have to strengthen your basic skills of how you play the game.. which will carry over to on the field play. Also besides basics it will improve your ability to be more agile on the field or court.

say you break a tackle , sometimes you see people lose their balance even after a broke tackle n fall or take a while to catch balance to regain speed.. The quicker you can improve this , or counter it completely... the better.

I see a use for settings like that , also might even be a fun ass sport to watch lol as inflatable field , but the balls... ur not really working on anything just standing balance , no movement , you might have to correct balance issues.. but its not really all that functional..

just raises injury proneness with no real net gain. or useful gain.. normal training above that kind of training is more benefitial.

now for elite athlete looking to improve on agility and balance... static balance etc like balls .. I say throw them out , and train with inflatable or weird surfaces.

A bigass pool of water and cornstarch , trains foot agility because you have to keep moving to keep from sinking.. and it wants to act sort of watery/rubbery on impact.. cardio/conditioning tool , along with agility.

Just if done safely and drill oriented it can be benefitial... also for fun , moral issues..

 

[hector]

congradulations you still look like shit but your balance look good.lol, yeah almost all 24 hour fitness pts are tools. do more harm than good.

 

[Chris-Winfield]

I personally dont like gyms that have personal trainers , metabolic testing people...

Etc built in... I like the gym basic , and if you need help and can afford it , get it somewhere else , or have them meet u there.

BUT NOT BUILT IN.. because in order to have those people on retainer they need to be paid.. To pay them it goes into your gym fee..

Which is why the only gym I get to workout where im at , is going to cost me 75 a month Because of all the excessive but useless shit for me.. at the gym.

Its ridiculous , student discount 50-55 I cant remember but one of those. But im not a student.... and that only counts for highschool students anyways.

 

[The Dude]

There aren't functional muscles, it's functional training. As for the bands, powerlifters and professional athletes use bands along with chains to improve explosion and power. "Functional training involves movements that are specific — in terms of mechanics, coordination and/or energetics — to one’s activities of daily living (ADLs)." http://www.nsca.com/HotTopic/download/Functional Training modified[1].pdf

I'm not sure if you are referring to my post or not, but in case you were, perhaps you misread my statement. I posted a rhetorical question "Are my muscles not functional?" As far as Pro powerlifters and pro Athletes... irrelevent. They also use chalk and smelling salts. The term "functional training" in and of itself isn't possible. For there to be functional training there must be "non functional training". Is what I'm doing non functional?? There has to be something hot for there to be something cold. Trainers like to use this type of "language" to uneducated beginners to give themselves a sense of legitamacy. Could there be application specific training for athletes??? Of course.... there is... in all sports, but we aren't alking about that or those trainers. We are talking about the guys and girls that tie up equipment doing dumb isolation movements on a Bosu Ball with a 50-60lb overweight middle aged fat chick and then approach us and offer advice when they have no clue what they are talking about. You want to help stay at home mom make chores easier and her husband happier??!! Get her ass on the treadmill and doing some deadlifts and squats. You want to make her sweeping duties easier?? Slide a 10lb plate on the broom for a while.

 

[tilla52]

YES...There is non-functional training, which is, the other training styles. I use and combine all types of training when I train people. There are plenty of clients at my gym that can easily workout by themselves and have for a while who are in great shape. But still approach us asking for variety, something different. People don't want to do squats and deadlifts all day, thats boring for them. Your average middle aged overweight girl doesn't get excited about working out like we do. Combining this type of training with other keeps things interesting for clients. I've seen the idoit trainers who approach everyone trying to confuse someone so they sound smarter. It is a training style. Research it.

 

[tilla52]

Oh and my bad G...completely hijacked your thread.