To give you an idea about personal training…
[quote]schultzie wrote:
If i ever become a PT, first thing i would do is get their medical history, interms of heart problems and stuff thats important to know before you push them, physcial pain and shit.
[/quote]This is required of all clients prior to beginning training, as it reduces negligence lawsuits.[quote]
then we would talk about the basic movements of the human body
then we would talk about diet
[/quote]Many gyms include a movement analysis in their initial fitness assessment prior to beginning personal training. Not all gyms do this, not do many personal trainers, but more people are starting to include some form of this. However, many gyms restrict dietary advice to clients unless you are a certified nutritionist, and even then they typically have a nutritionist on staff so the clients can spend even more money by talking with them instead of the trainers. It’s dumb, but that’s reality.[quote]
then i would teach them to press, pull, squat, and dead with no weight to get the mobility and flexibility
[/quote]Many people won’t be able to or won’t want to deadlift, squat, or bench press with a barbell, especially since the majority of clients are overweight, middle-aged females. Besides, it will take 4-8 weeks to gain general strength and coordination from isolation and machine work before they can even attempt compound movements, at least in extremely sedentary individuals. There are still a lot of clients that are already physically active, in which case this step takes about a week. Think of it more as an ongoing process rather than a distinct phase.[quote]
then after that shit is established we would work a program specific to their goals (ie fat loss = complexes, weight gain = 5x3/5x5 something like that)
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Most clients will begin with you as previously sedentary, meaning you won’t be doing anything below ten reps for quite some time as their body won’t be able to handle it. Even for those who are already physically active, they likely won’t be used to lifting below ten reps, maybe eight if you’re lucky. It will take a training phase in itself just to condition them to lift weights in the five and three rep range. A lot of clients won’t like lifting heavy all the time, though surprisingly a lot do. It’s nice, but it still takes time to work up to that level, and most clients being middle-aged won’t be able to handle intense lifting programs for long periods of time.
I’m not trying to turn you off of personal training, or say that it sucks. I’m just saying that most of what you listed above is done in the first couple weeks and the majority of training is more providing motivation and simple programming for your clients. Only a small percentage of your clients will need anything beyond a beginner or intermediate level.