In defense of kefu, i think his posts make a lot of sense if you are dealing with overweight trainees. An overweight beginner will not be able to do a chin up or dip, may be able to do a couple push ups or body weight squats, but not much else.
You could alter the bodyweight exercises to make them easier for an overweight trainee, i.e. wall push ups, vertical pull ups(or even diagonal), but you still are limiting their training arsenal.
At the same time, not all that hire personal trainers are overweight. The people that hire trainers come in many shapes and sizes. Many will have no problem working with bodyweight exercises.
I think we can all somewhat agree that bodyweight exercises can be great and should be fit into a workout program every now and then. I also think that we can agree that training is, or at least should be, very individualized.
That being said, some trainees would do good to start with bodyweight movements, others with free weights, others yet might find machines the best way to start.
I’ve got to agree with Malone here. I’m not a personal trainer, but I’ve been around long enough to know that everyone is a different case and should be handled as such. What works great for me may not work for the next guy and vice versa. It is narrow-minded, and quite frankly stupid, to apply the same training methodology to every person. Any trainer who does this is doing their clients an injustice. Why not just write a book with your routine and hand it out to each client and then charge them for your moral support. Bottom line, weights work for some, bodyweight exercises work for others and a combo of the two may work for yet others. Assess and advise each accordingly.
[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
Bottom line, weights work for some, bodyweight exercises work for others and a combo of the two may work for yet others. Assess and advise each accordingly.
DB [/quote]
Exactly.
Isn’t that why they’re called “personal” trainers? To develop a plan to train you “personally”. They are not average person trainers or typical beginner trainers. If a trainer uses some cookie-cutter aproach for everybody he is doing a total disservice to his client.
However, many trainers have a standard initial testing to test the new clients strength, flexibility, and coordination. These tests are usually the same or very similar for each client. That is ok if used to identify weaknesses and develop a “personal” plan.
You wrote: “Again, I disagree with your last statement. Anyone who can’t join a gym should only focus on cardio? Do you actually participate in bodybuilding?”
I’m happy to say I’ve never participated in bodybuilding. I do, however, do weight training three times a week.
[quote]kefu wrote:
You wrote: “Again, I disagree with your last statement. Anyone who can’t join a gym should only focus on cardio? Do you actually participate in bodybuilding?”
I’m happy to say I’ve never participated in bodybuilding. I do, however, do weight training three times a week.[/quote]
That’s great. I know tons of middle-aged weekend warriors who attempt to do the same. Do they look much different from year to year and are there actually legitimate visible changes in their physiques? Not usually. Specifically, bodybuilding usually involves working towards increasing the size and strength of your muscles to fit an ideal image. If no visible progress is the basis of your goals in the weight room, what is the point? I personally could sit at home and entertain game after game of Madden on PS2 and look average. This original post was in the context of personal trainers helping people reach physical goals. If you can’t relate to that, why respond? Because you do “weight training three times a week”?
In my book, bodybuilding is an aesthetic thing, ergo its name. Weight training is what athletes (strength or otherwise) do to improve performance. What my training has done is add six inches to my vertical jump, knocked about a second off my 200m time, I can kick the ball in the sport I play about 25 per cent further. I weight-train three days a week because I have one, if not two, matches a week and do sport-specific training on the alternate days. I take one day a week off so don’t patronise me with your “middle-aged weekend warrior” BS.
The original post specifically referred to “clients, out of shape untrained with weights”. In all my posts, I have been referring to these “out of shape” people. You on the other hand have been talking about fit young people - like both myself and yourself - that decided to start doing weight training on a decent fitness base.
[quote]kefu wrote:
In my book, bodybuilding is an aesthetic thing, ergo its name. Weight training is what athletes (strength or otherwise) do to improve performance. What my training has done is add six inches to my vertical jump, knocked about a second off my 200m time, I can kick the ball in the sport I play about 25 per cent further. I weight-train three days a week because I have one, if not two, matches a week and do sport-specific training on the alternate days. I take one day a week off so don’t patronise me with your “middle-aged weekend warrior” BS.
The original post specifically referred to “clients, out of shape untrained with weights”. In all my posts, I have been referring to these “out of shape” people. You on the other hand have been talking about fit young people - like both myself and yourself - that decided to start doing weight training on a decent fitness base.[/quote]
The average untrained person seeking a personal trainer is not doing so in order to be a better “athlete” (even though I have trained football players in the past who were looking to add size for the game). They are untrained for a reason, because they are usually NOT athletes and as such, are usually looking to lose body fat and/or gain muscle mass. That includes many beginners who are young/old, skinny/obese. Either way, the goal that is common with all is physique changes, not usually a second off their 200m time. Your advice to have all who can’t get access to a gym start a running program and avoid any body weight exercises clearly showed that you were on a different tangent as far as what most here were referring to. I am ever so happy that you can kick a ball 25% further, however, that does not relate to the majority of people going to a gym and seeking a personal trainer. I would go as far as to say that the majority of people in gyms across America have physique goals in mind when they hit the gym and very few are doing it for ONLY sports specific reasons with no specific attention given to fat loss or muscle gain.