Opps, forgot to say that my bench weight does not include the weight of the bar, so more like 60kg, and max of 80kg for 2, which is actually close to my weight, oh.
you can check this thread http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=833216 the guy has long arms too
That was quite interesting, he made some descent gains. As soon as my back is healed (work injury, which has plagued me for about 6 months) I’m going to the gym and will bench more than my weight (i hope for about 100kg, 220lb?, bench after a few months).
Actually, as stupid as it sounds there is such an exercise called ‘the snatch clean’. It involves doing a snatch with your hands in a clean position…ie. a very close grip snatch.
[quote]mathboxers wrote:
…
Any advice on identifying good personal trainers? For example, since I want to improve my squat clean, is it wrong to ask a potential trainer to do a few reps? I thought about only looking for people who compete in amateur weightlifting, but I imagine that narrows down the selection a bit too drastically.[/quote]
I think narrowing the selection is exactly what is required.
[quote]NeoSpartan wrote:
geez I didn’t know commercial gym PT were actually THAT bad.
What kind of B.S Certification do they get???[/quote]
If you really think that a certification is what “makes” or “Breaks” a trainer /strength coach then your almost as bad off as the poor soul described in the thread.
[quote]scotty144 wrote:
Actually, as stupid as it sounds there is such an exercise called ‘the snatch clean’. It involves doing a snatch with your hands in a clean position…ie. a very close grip snatch.[/quote]
Really? I thought that was called a “clean grip snatch”. Could be wrong though.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
2lb Monkey wrote:
What I was saying is that there were people who would just go on the treadmill for the time I worked out. Ok if they want to do that, but I just see it as spending too much time doing something when they could use the gym more constructively.
To those that run, doing it outdoors would save them £40 a month, and they’d get a much better view (well, without the sight of women working out, lol). I love running outdoors. But to each their own.
I’d have to agree with you 2lb Monkey, that most gyms (and trainers) spend the majority of their money and time catering to the cardio only crowd or the completely clueless lifter/nautilus machine user crowd. In fact, I’ve actually heard other trainers specifically say that.
The reason for this is simple in my opinion. It’s that sadly, as W@LRUS pointed out, the majority of trainers out there don’t have a clue what they’re doing, nor are they themselves even remotely athletic or advanced from a training perspective. So, they lack the knowledge and/or experience to be able to help the more advanced lifters in the gym.
Now, there are certainly trainers who can and do work with more advanced trainees, but the majority of them don’t. You also need to realize that the vast majority of the industry has fallen to almost the same level as the exercise gimmick informercials that you see on t.v.
No longer are trainers teaching and prescribing time tested proven methods of exercise that have for decades, and still do, produced results in countless trainees/athletes. Instead, they’re all caught up in what’s the newest, fanciest methods of training.
Don’t get me wrong, there is some use for some of those methods, and there are individuals who can certainly benefit from them. But, they’re still just the icing on the cake. A good diet and a solid training program are still going to take someone the vast majority of the way towards their goals (if not all the way).
Really the only people who I can see truly benefiting from things like VO2max testing or blood lactate level testing are professional athletes who have already built great foundations of strength and muscle mass. For those guys such high tech methods actually might be able to help them make that 0.1% change which would take them above other highly trained athletes. But for the average person/newbie it’s a complete waste of time and completely overcomplicating the issue if you ask me.
What they don’t seem to realize is that results will always speak much louder than any scientific research conducted in a lab setting. If you can get people to make progress and see results, then you’re doing something right. If you can’t, then either they’re not putting in the effort that they need to be (which is also partly your fault if you’re training them), or your methods aren’t working.
As has been said on this forum countless times before, any even decent diet and exercise program will get results out of a newbie. That’s why most trainers like working with them, because they don’t really need to know what they’re doing to get them to make progress. More advanced trainees will require more advanced training techniques and a deeper understanding of training principles.
Plus, as I said earlier, not many big strong advanced guys are going to take advice from a smaller less developed trainer. Now, in some cases this is too bad because the trainer might actually have some tidbits of information that might help the more advanced guys. But, in most cases I can understand why this would occur. It’s like catholic preists giving marriage advice, when the priests have never been married themselves. Their intentions may be good, but they lack the experience to know if their advice really works.
Good training,
Sentoguy[/quote]
Sentoguy,
I don’t disagree with your points but I think it’s important to include the fact that everything you stated above is generally what people want. Sadly working out is a fad to most people and in a sales driven industry, all gyms and trainers must accommodate this.
From the trainers I’ve talked to most of their clients aren’t fun or challenging because most of them don’t take it seriously. Again I’m generalizing here but I think it holds true. On the flip side of the coin there will always be bad trainers and bad clients who are there for all the wrong reasons.
To the OP, just remember that all of the promotional packages and free training given out is with ‘new’ trainers who most of the time are stepping into a industry either too early or for the wrong reasons. I can say that because I’ve been there. If you want advanced level training pay the extra $10.00 and hour or whatever and get a guy who has experience.
Crusher
[quote]Crusher Jr. wrote:
Sentoguy,
I don’t disagree with your points but I think it’s important to include the fact that everything you stated above is generally what people want. Sadly working out is a fad to most people and in a sales driven industry, all gyms and trainers must accommodate this.
From the trainers I’ve talked to most of their clients aren’t fun or challenging because most of them don’t take it seriously. Again I’m generalizing here but I think it holds true. On the flip side of the coin there will always be bad trainers and bad clients who are there for all the wrong reasons.
To the OP, just remember that all of the promotional packages and free training given out is with ‘new’ trainers who most of the time are stepping into a industry either too early or for the wrong reasons. I can say that because I’ve been there. If you want advanced level training pay the extra $10.00 and hour or whatever and get a guy who has experience.
Crusher
[/quote]
Hi Crusher Jr.,
Yes, sadly you’re right that a lot of people out there want instant results, without having to do much work. And even more sadly, they are constantly being bombarded via infomercials, crappy newsstand mags, and yet even more sadly quite a few personal trainers out there.
This only serves to exacerbate the issue and mislead people into thinking that if they just use the newest piece of exercise equipment, or get relatively unuseful super high tech tests done like a VO2 max test, they’ll be able to get what they want in as short a time period as possible.
What’s really saddening to me personally as a trainer myself is that other trainers can look unsuspecting, ignorant, and trusting clients in the eyes and feed them these loads of garbage. Now, in some cases it may be that the trainer themselves sincerely believes what they are telling the client, and in that case you really can’t fault them.
But, a lot of trainers are, as you said, just in it for the money. Integrity has long since been brushed aside in leu of profit.
Then when the trainee doesn’t reach their goals they either quit, get told that they are “hard gainers”/simply lack the genetic potential to reach their goals, or worse yet they keep paying the trainer more and more money with the promise that if they stick to it long enough they’ll get what they want only to get fed more crap.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that even with the best methods that someone is going to be able to reach their long term goals quickly. What I’m saying is that, as the old saying goes “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
And while it’s true that hard work and dedication can make the most out of any training program. It’s also true that not all programs are created equal.
Ok, now I’m just on a rant. Must have been that first dinner I just ate. 
Good training,
Sentoguy