Friday, June 10, 2011

Frustrated by Trainers

I get really frustrated watching bad personal trainers give their clients dangerous exercises. But I
guess that's no different than any industry. The medical profession has incompetent doctors, the
police force has corrupt cops, and the fitness industry has bad trainers. But I feel like the fitness
industry has more than its fair share of stupidity. Oh well, another day, another attempt to improve
the skills of trainers everywhere.

What bothered me today was this old-school trainer who sat around while he had his clients do
bodybuilding style workouts that not even Ronnie Coleman would need. First, he had a 45 year old
guy do stiff leg deadlifts with a rounded back on an elevated platform - and this at 6am when his
back was at greatest risk of injury.

He also had his client finish with 3 more hamstring exercises. Seriously? The client was a 45 year old
skinny guy. What's the point? The client will barely be able to walk all weekend.

For another one of his clients, he had the guy come in and go straight to bench pressing with weight
on the bar. No warmup. Nothing. Again, not what a 45 year old guy should be doing.

Now it was obvious that this trainer was doing this part-time. He had raggedy old clothes on, and
just sat there for the entire session, with the exception of demonstrating a rep for each new exercise.

It was pathetic. The guy should stick to his day job.

On a better note, I just featured one of the Certified Turbulence Trainers over on my other blog,
showing how good training can help change the world. I have a lot of respect for trainers like Mike
Whitfield who continue to educate themselves on a daily basis. Unlike Mr. Old-School bodybuilder.

Check out the 7 powerful words of wisdom we can learn from Mike and John Romaniello here:

=> http://www.ttfatloss.com/success-stories/words-of-wisdom/

I'm really lucky to know so many men and women of integrity and skill in the fitness industry, and to
be able to spend time with these amazing people. I'll be doing that today on a bit of an interesting
road trip. Summary to follow next week.

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tip:
‎"The only thing that really matters in life is your relationships to other people." Dr. George Vaillant,
member of the "Grant Study" that has been studying happiness and well-being in men for over 70
years.

And today's Independence Tip:
Do not force your product onto the world…instead, provide a simple solution for the problems that
keep your prospects up at night.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS, CTT
www.TurbulenceTrainingCertification.com

1 comment:

Fat Burning Cardio said...

So true Craig! The problem with a lot of trainers is that they don't know any better. (sad but I think its true) and for others they simply have clients do what the clients think they should be doing so they get paid. In the end for a lot of industries its just about sales.

- Thomas