How Experienced is my Trainer?
Posted on November 6, 2013
Here are some ways to know just how much experience your trainer really has.
Almost anyone who has had multiple personal trainers or has experienced several group fitness instructors has had a run in with at least one ‘not so great’ fitness professional. Personal training is a science and an art. It requires knowledge, passion and most importantly the ability to listen and adjust. The following list is not the beginning and end of ‘bad’ personal training but it is a guideline you should at least consider if you’re not satisfied with your current fitness professional.
1. You start with biceps curls or triceps extensions
Personal training 101 – if you are not injured and have no significant movement problems always start your sessions with large muscle groups and exercises that require several joints.
2. You talk more than you exercise
There is nothing wrong with chatting during a session but if you’re taking long breaks to trade stories with your trainer you’re not getting the most out of your session.
3. Your trainer never or rarely corrects your form
For us it takes a long time to get people lifting properly without cues and even after that most exercises still need at least some tweaking. We’ve also noticed that the more talking that happens during a session the worse a client’s form usually is.
4. Your trainer says things like ‘this exercise is great because it increases your endorphins’ or ‘this exercise will really tone your abs’
Specific exercises don’t do anything except train the muscles you have to use during a movement, everything else is a byproduct of exercise and a healthy lifestyle as a whole. What they’re actually saying is ‘I don’t have any smart things to say for this exercise so I’m going to say this’ what they should actually say is ‘all exercise in general to some extent should help you feel better’ endorphins can’t differentiate between a bench press and a squat. Losing weight has much more to do with abdominal definition than any specific core exercise. Ask any body builder, figure competitor or fitness model what they do leading up to a competition or shoot to increase their tone and the basic answer is almost always ‘starve’ themselves.
5. You can’t walk the next day
Some stiffness and soreness is almost always normal and unless you specifically say to your trainer ‘I don’t want to be able to walk tomorrow’ then your trainer should be able to see how you’re doing and adjust the session appropriately on the fly. Exercise should never impede regular daily activities of your life.
