Shameless self-promoting
@duketheslaya @Frank_C @FlatsFarmer @liftangryordie500 @MarkKO @kleinhound @guineapig @wanna_be @strongmanbrett
Hey guys, I started a blog/daily article release as part of promoting my personal training business. Most articles are applied anatomy and basic exercise choices. I was hoping some (any?) of you might fancy a read. If possible, I’d be so stoked to get some feedback.
Cheers fam
The article linked is like a dang science class lecture lol. Lots of big words and stuff. I checked out some of the other articles, looks pretty good!
Who exactly are you trying to target? Newer lifters? Experienced? Anybody?
Haven’t really decided yet. I regularly post more “accessible” information on facebook and instagram, whereas the articles go a bit more in-depth into the subject. For example, the IG post to accompany that article simply listed no-equipment hamstring exercises.
I do wanna move in to work with athletes, but given the resources available to me right now I’m mostly training middle-aged gen-pop clients.
It’s well written. That’s good. Also properly referenced.
Plenty of fancy words and lots of detail about stuff. None of it really tells me what to do to make my hamstrings better. It just tells me about my hamstrings, and to be honest when I was reading articles about training what I wanted to know was how to train better.
So it reads more as a guide to what your hamstrings do. It doesn’t tell you how to do anything with them.
If your goal was just educating about anatomy, it’s an accessible and comprehensive piece.
My take, and this is just my take, is that as a personal trainer your job isn’t to tell anyone about how their body works in that much detail. It is to make people perform better, and that does not require much time teaching them about anatomical detail.
If you find that your niche as a PT is being more of an anatomical educator and that this attracts and retains clients then you’re on the right track.
Anecdotally, what I have observed is that PTs who are very into teaching the anatomy side don’t tend to produce results as much as those who use their detailed knowledge of anatomy to prescribe training approaches while keeping the anatomical teaching to a minimum.
This kind of article can have various impacts. One is to impress potential clients with your knowledge. Another is to frustrate them because it doesn’t provide much practical advice. A third is to create the appearance of a PT who wants to show off their knowledge. Yet another is to make yourself appear intent on using as much jargon as possible.
Have you asked Drew for his take?
Then I suspect this is the wrong approach. Athletes don’t give a fuck how much science you know, they want to know you can improve their performance. Same goes with the people hiring coaches and trainers for athletes. They will look at track record much more than fancy worded articles.
Thank for feedback, I really appreciate
I totally see what you mean. I guess the article was an adjunct to an IG post about hamstring exercises, but you’re right. I’ve got no reason not to talk about exercises for the hammies themselves.
Yeah I’ve heard this from a lot of people. I guess if I’m being honest part of the reason I wrote this is a pleasure project, but yeah, not many people care about anatomy.
Shit I never realised, I’ll definitely take this info on board.
I’m really glad you told me this. The main reason I started the blog was so that people actually would have actionable information to apply without me.
Yeah Drew read my first article. His advice to keep writing, and to target “the ten people who pay me the most money.” Which, now that I think about it, that article definitely is not doing.
Understood, thank you so much
I read it already. It’s better, but drop the anatomy speak. It just comes off like you’re showing off.
Speak as simply as you possibly can to get the required information across. Make cues as few and simple as possible. The best cues I’ve come across need zero explanation. The cue is self explanatory.
The pullup article was your best that I read. Simple, easy to understand, and above all easy to apply.
It’s great that you got started and began to put your work out there! Great job and best of luck going forward.
I like the shoulder article. Good pictures of the bones, easy to follow explanations and advice. The mini vids showing what your were writing about were perfect length to not interrupt the flow of reading it. Knees out article was cool too.
I agree with the other guys that the Hamstring one wasn’t giving us too much useful info but I think it shows you have the knowledge to write some better stuff in the future. Maybe something about training hams to keep your feet from flopping all over the place when you run, or why you should do Nordic hamstring curls with a slow negative. Or whatever.
Keep after it, keep writing. You’ll find your style. Keep talking to people in the gym and check out what people talk about here on TNation. You’ve been in school talking anatomy nerd, scholarly style. As you spend more time among the average lifting bros you’ll adjust to their vocabulary and understand what sort of info they can use and are interested in.
Also nice profile pic. You’re looking like a dude who lifts.
I haven’t read anything yet but Mark’s advice is gold.
People want results. As a trainer, your body and performance is your first piece of marketing. Next, and probably more important, is your clients’ bodies and results. People don’t care how or why; they just care that it works. Your long term clients might become interested in more specific information, but give this to them when they’re ready and in small doses.
The typical gym goer is at point A and they want to get to Z. They don’t care about steps B thru Y. They just want Z. It’s your job to know about B-Y and take them through those steps. They don’t have to know what step they’re on; they just need to know they’re getting closer to Z.
Keep writing and posting. Keep 90% of it simple and sprinkle in the advanced stuff for the other 10%. It’ll show that you know your stuff but won’t overwhelm people and turn them off.
Here’s an example of a possible exchange with a female client who wants to lose weight.
Trainer: We’re going to do squats today.
Client: Why? I don’t like squats.
Trainer: Your goal is to lose weight. Squats train multiple muscles at the same time. This will burn more calories now and later. As a bonus, building muscle in your legs will make them more defined and help with that toned look.
(The exchange could end there, but let’s assume it continues.)
Client: But I don’t like squats. They’re awkward and hard.
Trainer: Would you rather do hip thrusts, extensions, and leg curls? Doing squats is like doing all three of those in one movement. Three exercises or one. Your call.
(Okay, so I might be a bit snarky, but it’s still a valid example.)
A smart guy might make the mistake of explaining that squats are a foundational movement and that the client needs to build a strong foundation and so on. They don’t need to hear that. They just need to know why the movement will help them with their goals.
Producing content for the 10 people who pay you the most is brilliant advice.
I will definitely work on this, I really don’t want to come across as pretentious with the language I use.
Okay awesome I definitely understand what I should be going for, thank you!
Thanks man!
I do think I need to film more for my article, I’m really glad it’s effective
Definitely, I’ll start on that article now
Thank you man, this has been really helpful and encouraging
Always nice to hear, thanks mate 
Gotcha, I think I myself got really bogged down with the “why” so just expected others to be the same
I like this and I’ll stick to it. Maybe I signpost one article a week as being more “sciency” and keep the rest easier to digest?
Point taken. If I’m being honest I had a similar experience just talking to my girlfriend about training yesterday.
Thank you so much for taking the time, I appreciate it a lot
Lots of good advice from strong people here. Keep at it bro, you’ll get better along the way!
Monday 30th of December
ME Upper
Walked in and ROM was on point so straight into benching
Duffalo Bar Bench / Half-Kneel BU SA KB Press
Standing DB Press:
Seal Row / BFPA
C+J to Overhead Carry (drop-turn at 20m)
Hard. Will stay here for a while to “own the weight”
I gotta pop out now but re the article chuck in a layman TLDR or practical takeaways. Nerds get to nerd and the more pragmatic folk get the info.
Cheers man, that’s good advice. I’ve just started writing them in very layterms, but I miss the nerdiness
Friday 3rd of January
RE Upper
Mobility:
Hand-Elevated Ballistic Push-Up:
Push-Ups: 60s rest between sets
JM Press:
Slowed it down and moved grip in, finally felt good
Split-Stance CL SA DB Row / X BPA’s
SA Laterals against Wall / EZ Reverse Curls
Hey, I just had an idea that may be shit but may not be.
What about a monthly ‘muscle-nerd corner’ where you do a little review of what you wrote that month, but going into all the technical detail?