I know that for the most part people here don’t really like personal trainers. What if there was a personal trainer who had a better knowledge of training, periodization, technique, and diet? I am just curious becuase I am going to get NSCA certified next semester sometime and I immerse myself in training knowledge.
be prepared to unlearn
You won’t get a chance to use it. Those are some ignorant masses out there, who’d rather be on a chocolate diet if Oprah said so. Those intelligent enough to apreciate periodization, are usually smart enough to do it on their own.
The personal Trainer business has become a BIG FAT joke.
That’s what hapens when you manage a Health Club and hire 25 trainers , at least 5 of which are known to have never worked out before in their lives.
Sales skills does NOT equal Training skills people! Let’s get to learning!
Ya, I think that the reason personal trainers “suck” is because people don’t really want to put in the time and subsequent $$$ it would take for a good personal trainer to really teach someone about difficult compound movements, training methods, periodization, diet, etc. etc.
90% of people just want the quick fix. Which incidently is no fix at all…
What deisel23 says is true. If you are working at Bally’s, Crunch, NYSC. Not the case if you are working at Equinox, or Corporate fitness. Corporate fitness a lot of weekend athletes, also at Equinox you do use a lot of the skills you learn from NSCA or ACSM.
Bally = cheap trainers/ sells/ cheaper membership
Equinox/LA sports clubs= $$$$$ trainers,more educated.
Coporate trainer= Educated trainers because big coporate indursty hire w/ education.
Not saying that Bally’s doesn’t have good trainers but its more driven on sales then knoweldge.
Equinox’s personal training business is also driven on sales but they also focus a lot of attention on Education they have a whole EFIT program that all trainers must go to no matter what your education level/degree you have.
In heath,
Silas
Go for it! I trained for one year with
a great personal trainer and do not regret it. Learned plenty that I now apply to my workouts. My wife is a personal trainer. She is also a competitive natural body builder, so she walks the talk. Always studying and applying various training techniques to her clients (reads T-mag). No cookie cutter approach to training All are customized for the client. Also heavy education on diet which is part of her training program. She is booked solid and has to turn away business!
“Those intelligent enough to apreciate periodization, are usually smart enough to do it on their own.”
Very well said D. Very well said…
My job is training Personal Trainers for a company in the UK (but based in Cyprus) and whilst every effort is made to get every body up to a very high level, we always get people who will never be anything but “gym monkeys” who will be good for nothing but polishing gym equipment and answering the phone!
It is THE most frustrating thing in the world, BUT, maybe 10% are receptive and inteligent enough to actually use thier qualification as a springboard onto bigger and better things - like this site for example! Not all personal trainers are crap, and not all courses are crap - we can’t generalise - it all depends on what the individual does with thier spring board…a triple pike or a belly flop!
Dynosar,
Go for it. As a gym owner and a personal trainer I understand a lot of the frustrations many of you have with personal trainers in general. No, having a certification does not by itself make you a good trainer, but as an owner, it does show that someone was willing to take the initiative to put some effort in to advance his or her career. Dyno, if you are posting on this site, you have access to some great training information. Just remember that you must never stop learning. The more people you work with, the more you will realize that everyone is a little bit different and you have to adjust the training to fit the individual. However, since we do like to be able to do a few things (like eat, live indoors, and keep the gym open) some sales and marketing experience is a must. Feel free to post any questions you may have. I will help as much as I can.
Strength Through Sacrifice,
TMAZ
Hey thanks guys I really appreciate the responses. I am just going to get certified as a trainer, and when I graduate I am going for my CSCS. Ultimatley, however, I will be a Physical Therapist when I am done with school. Thanks again.