Personal Trainers - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly!!
I have been a PT for 20 years and I know my stuff.
I know how to read people, how hard to push them and when to ease up (rarely!).
My clients get results and they work hard for me.
They don't just get their time with me in sessions but are taken care of outside of sessions as well.
They get homework (extra training), they get nutrition plans and email access to me whenever they need it and basically any other support I can think to throw in to the mix.
Now this might sound like a sales pitch but hang in there because I am building up to my point - it is just taking a while to get up to the top of my soap box!
It peeves me no end to watch bad PT sessions AND know that the client often doesn't know any better!
AND I know that gyms are charging the same amount for some of these trainers who are churned out of school in 6 weeks as I charge when there is no comparison. Most of these trainers have NO IDEA what they are doing!
3 recent examples are:
1: I watched my friend being trained by a trainer at the gym (free session for joining up) and it was painful for me to watch! She didn't sweat, he had no clue that working on someones push-up technique for 20 minutes in a 40 minute session was a tad too much!! He was bossing her around and didn't know her personality type at all, told her she was making excuses for not training in between her first and second session not listening to her very valid reasons. I could go on but seriously it was woeful and this was his opportunity to sell PT!!
2: A new client who has said numerous times "I have had PT before but it was nothing like this" ie: she never cracked a sweat!!
3: A new client who has a series of injuries and the PT kept giving her inappropriate exercises making the problem worse.
In the gym I go to I watch the trainers and I RARELY see anyone crack a sweat and they seem to not know what cardio is!!
Drives me nuts, it seems they confuse PT with gym instruction.
Another pet hate is overweight PT's.
What the hell??
If you can't be motivated to get yourself in shape what hope do you have for your clients AND the clients still take them on because they feel guilty if they don't!!
So...how do you know if you have a good trainer?
1: They actually care about you and want your goals to be achieved as much as you do.
2: They care OUTSIDE of your sessions not just by the clock.
3: They look like they walk their talk (now I know not everyone is in perfect shape 100% of the time but you need to be within a kg or two and have a good reason not to be!).
4: They listen to your injury / illness problems and work around them.
5: They have had at least 2-3 years in the industry.
5: Your session should go like this:
a: You arrive feeling a little queasy in the tummy because you know it is going to be HARD.
b: You get started thinking "this is ok, I can do this"
c: At some point you want to cry for you mummy but your trainer gets you through it.
d: You finish and grin your head off because you did more than you thought you ever could and you feel proud of yourself and you are thanking god it is finished.
e: Your trainer chats to you about your homework and your nutrition and checks everything is going along ok.
f: You bounce around for the rest of the day feeling bullet proof and no injuries have been exacerbated.
g: Rinse and repeat.
Some highlights of my training career have been watching people burst into tears because they ran their first 5k or got under 70kg or fit back into their pre-baby jeans.
You either care about people or you don't and if you don't and you are a trainer you are in the wrong job.
If your trainer can barely remember your name you have the wrong trainer.
I have to teach my bootcamp in 30 minutes so I'm fired up - look out ladies!!
Ok, I'm done - that is all :)
As always comments much appreciated.
I know how to read people, how hard to push them and when to ease up (rarely!).
My clients get results and they work hard for me.
They don't just get their time with me in sessions but are taken care of outside of sessions as well.
They get homework (extra training), they get nutrition plans and email access to me whenever they need it and basically any other support I can think to throw in to the mix.
Now this might sound like a sales pitch but hang in there because I am building up to my point - it is just taking a while to get up to the top of my soap box!
It peeves me no end to watch bad PT sessions AND know that the client often doesn't know any better!
AND I know that gyms are charging the same amount for some of these trainers who are churned out of school in 6 weeks as I charge when there is no comparison. Most of these trainers have NO IDEA what they are doing!
3 recent examples are:
1: I watched my friend being trained by a trainer at the gym (free session for joining up) and it was painful for me to watch! She didn't sweat, he had no clue that working on someones push-up technique for 20 minutes in a 40 minute session was a tad too much!! He was bossing her around and didn't know her personality type at all, told her she was making excuses for not training in between her first and second session not listening to her very valid reasons. I could go on but seriously it was woeful and this was his opportunity to sell PT!!
2: A new client who has said numerous times "I have had PT before but it was nothing like this" ie: she never cracked a sweat!!
3: A new client who has a series of injuries and the PT kept giving her inappropriate exercises making the problem worse.
In the gym I go to I watch the trainers and I RARELY see anyone crack a sweat and they seem to not know what cardio is!!
Drives me nuts, it seems they confuse PT with gym instruction.
Another pet hate is overweight PT's.
What the hell??
If you can't be motivated to get yourself in shape what hope do you have for your clients AND the clients still take them on because they feel guilty if they don't!!
So...how do you know if you have a good trainer?
1: They actually care about you and want your goals to be achieved as much as you do.
2: They care OUTSIDE of your sessions not just by the clock.
3: They look like they walk their talk (now I know not everyone is in perfect shape 100% of the time but you need to be within a kg or two and have a good reason not to be!).
4: They listen to your injury / illness problems and work around them.
5: They have had at least 2-3 years in the industry.
5: Your session should go like this:
a: You arrive feeling a little queasy in the tummy because you know it is going to be HARD.
b: You get started thinking "this is ok, I can do this"
c: At some point you want to cry for you mummy but your trainer gets you through it.
d: You finish and grin your head off because you did more than you thought you ever could and you feel proud of yourself and you are thanking god it is finished.
e: Your trainer chats to you about your homework and your nutrition and checks everything is going along ok.
f: You bounce around for the rest of the day feeling bullet proof and no injuries have been exacerbated.
g: Rinse and repeat.
Some highlights of my training career have been watching people burst into tears because they ran their first 5k or got under 70kg or fit back into their pre-baby jeans.
You either care about people or you don't and if you don't and you are a trainer you are in the wrong job.
If your trainer can barely remember your name you have the wrong trainer.
I have to teach my bootcamp in 30 minutes so I'm fired up - look out ladies!!
Ok, I'm done - that is all :)
As always comments much appreciated.
Comments
Completely agree. After a few duds (once I had to ask whether the Pt could talk less and should I do more pushups as she wasn't counting or instructing just talking!!) I have a great Pt who does everything you say and more. I must show her your blog! Also I too can't stand overweight pts- I want someone who practices what they preach! Thnx for the article x