I’m sure it doesn’t apply to personal trainers that frequent this site, but I saw something today at the gym that really got me. A trainer is working with 2 people who obviously have never been in a gym. No problem, props to them for making an effort.
The trainer, however was a different story. First he sets them up to do curls in the squat rack. Later they find 3 benches, one for each of them the other for their water bottles and start doing seated curls (each using a bench and resting at the same time). The final move was doing dumbbell raises next to each other 12 inches from the dumbbell rack, effectively blocking access to 15 ft of the rack. How can we expect anyone to show some gym manners if the freakin’ trainers (teachers) don’t show new people?
I feel embarrassed to say I was a personal trainer.
It’s like being a mechanic, wearing the overalls ready to do a hard day’s work and you see every other mechanic scratching their nuts while struggling to take an engine cover off. And charging you an arm and a leg for their work.
Most personal trainers (and it is most) are skinny disgusting looking weeds who are ripping people out of their hard earned dough. It’s their arrogance, that ‘know it all’ attitude, that keeps them earning money.
They know nothing. They present their opinion as if it were real ‘facts’. What’s the go anyway, a two month course, a course over the internet, a few assignments on matching up some origin and insertion points on the human body and then they are an expert on your health?
It’s a complete joke. The majority are just ‘life coaches’ to make the desperate and lonely feel good about themselves. They are a shoulder to cry on. ‘I’ll rub your shoulders and give you a massage to give you your money’s worth’. They are personal motivators.
They wouldn’t know a weight if it hit them on the head.
[quote]john2009 wrote:
The final move was doing dumbbell raises next to each other 12 inches from the dumbbell rack, effectively blocking access to 15 ft of the rack.[/quote]
Thats a major pet peeve of mine. How the fuck can someone be so self absorbed and completely block an area of the dumbbell rack like that. Its completely asinine. The worst is when you ask them to move, politely, and they take that as an inconvenience. Asshats!
A buddy and I were doing squats a week or so ago. He’s a newbie so we went to two different racks. He wanted to get some water so I told him to put his towel on the bar so nobody took it. Well as soon as he left two people came up and were about to take the rack. My friend was walking back and he told them he was using it. I asked them what they were going to do…“curls.” I laughed and said “In a squat rack?” So, they went into the power rack and did them…with two 5’s on either side of the bar…!
I feel you john. I’m amazed at how poor the gym etiquette is among trainers. You think they would know better considering they work there. I feel sorry for the clients though, because these bad habits are being passed on to them and a few months later when the client has ditched the trainer you’re going to see him taking up two benches with about 10 dumbbells surrounding his feet (which of course he won’t put back when he is done) standing 2 inches from the dumbbell rack while supersetting on 6 different stations and refusing to let anybody else work in.
Yes, you would THINK a trainer should have some concept of gym etiquette. I had to wait over a half hour last week for a trainer to finish training his client on dumbbell kickbacks. Why he had to drag a bench all the way across the room to his place blocking BOTH squat racks is a mystery to me. At least they weren’t curling in them.
What’s worse is that if it were anyone else I’d tell them to move over. But I feel bad about interrupting a client who’s paying for their time.
Hell, I’m fortunate then! At Oz (formerly 24 Hour), the douche bags there apparently have no idea that their gym contains free weights.
If I needed a machine or a station at the cable stacks, I’d be screwed. Unfortunately, if you need a swiss ball to stretch on (or whatever else blows your hair back), every Goddamn trainer has one…where they are using them for the sake of using them. But that’s what they’re uneducated clients have seen to be the ‘thing’ on the Today Show, so the trainers are like any other business person…they give their customer what they want.
This is great if they’re buying a washer, but not when it comes to buying health advice and training.
As stated earlier,‘I am ashamed to have been a personal trainer,’ I too feel this way. It’s a shameful, vane and greed-ridden profession that has absolutely no credibility in any other field of health.
I can’t tell you how many assbags that I’ve met along the way that were the most self-absorbed, manipulative, greedy, over-paid, arrogant yet insecure son’s of bitches that would sell their mother’s ashes just so that their bank account was always going up.
HOWEVER, there are a select few that are amazingly talented professionals that actually give two shits about their INDIVIDUAL clients. They are truly artistic about program design and have an amazing social capability that I personally could never develop (I’m a dick). I liken this to any other art:
while there are those few that shock and continually amaze us, the majority are just hacks that are there for all of the wrong reasons…music comes to mind here.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
OP, I am wondering what gym this was.
I see the trainers at the Gold’s I go teach similar poor etiquette and it really burns me up. It’s like a class on poor gym etiquette.
[/quote]
You got that right. Last night at the Gold’s I go to, I was doing an active recovery circuit training session. I had my little basecamp set up away from everyone, including two of those really thin mats for yoga. Had to get two to make things more comfortable while doing side bridges and t-pushups.
Anyway, one trainer walked through my outer defense system (water jug, gym bag, notebook,) and tries to bogart one of the mats. I tell her I’m using them. “BOTH of them?” in a sarcastic tone. “Yeah”. She then leads away her Cardiosaurus to the aerobic studio which is a whopping 5 feet out of the way and also has about eleventy thousand of these stupid mats.
She does have nice hooters though, so I guess that evens things out.
I started to get agitated just reading this, despite the fact that recently - in the light of the ‘new years resolution mob’ - i have been hiding in my garage to train (also coming back from injury so my garage has enough for me).
I dont know what it’s like in, well, anywhere other than scotland, but here, the kick back crews get intimidated by men who are serious about training…
So when this happens to me, I make extra grunting noises, emphasise the “speak to me and you will be crushed” stare and make sure after every set that you throw the weights down i.e. make as much noise as possible.
In my very commercial gym, this can occasionally work like a fire alarm. The odd complaint about you may follow, so don’t go over board. One guy got banned from my gym, a legend in his own right, he was huge, and screamed at the top of his lungs on every rep as if every rep was the last one he would ever perform.
[quote]KPj wrote:
So when this happens to me, I make extra grunting noises, emphasise the “speak to me and you will be crushed” stare and make sure after every set that you throw the weights down i.e. make as much noise as possible.
In my very commercial gym, this can occasionally work like a fire alarm. The odd complaint about you may follow, so don’t go over board. One guy got banned from my gym, a legend in his own right, he was huge, and screamed at the top of his lungs on every rep as if every rep was the last one he would ever perform.[/quote]
Just lift and dont worry about other people. If you are hitting it hard enough and minding your own business, people will notice this and leave you alone. No need to yell or sound like an “alpha male” by throwing weights around.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
OP, I am wondering what gym this was.
I see the trainers at the Gold’s I go teach similar poor etiquette and it really burns me up. It’s like a class on poor gym etiquette.
[/quote]
Not a Golds. It’s an independent facility formed by an association of several employers in my area. Actually is one of the best gyms I’ve been in, clean, equipment is well taken care of, free weight area is well equipped (even has a deadlift platform)and reasonable rates. They also have basketball courts and a pool. We pay $59/month for a family membership.
[quote]Kruiser wrote:
Yes, you would THINK a trainer should have some concept of gym etiquette. I had to wait over a half hour last week for a trainer to finish training his client on dumbbell kickbacks. Why he had to drag a bench all the way across the room to his place blocking BOTH squat racks is a mystery to me. At least they weren’t curling in them.
What’s worse is that if it were anyone else I’d tell them to move over. But I feel bad about interrupting a client who’s paying for their time.[/quote]
I would have asked them to move. You’re also paying for your gym time through membership fees.