Why 50% of Personal Trainers Suck -PART 1 - Page 2

**maverick** · 10-Jul-06, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firehawk

No, you can't prove it, but it's obviously BS. The guy is a great salesman, but that's about it. Debate is good, but beginners read this crap and they get misled.

I'm sure this guy woulda hooked me if I was just starting. I mean, you were worried about people getting poor advice from PT's, but you boast the fact that you trained 37 people at once. Seems more like it comes down to dollars and cents more than looking out for your clients. I'm trying not to jump down your throat here, but like Firehawk said, a lot of your stuff just doesn't jive.

And since when does having strong legs mean you have a strong squat but weak deadlift?! In the past, my deadlift was limited by my lack of leg strength. I'm picturing 1/4 squats too. Sorry.

As far as promoting the website, yeah, I get that impression too. When you state things as "the right way", it makes you seem controversial, like you know something nobody else does. This hooks people and makes them think the quickest road to fitness is through you. As far as I've seen though, any trainer worth his salt knows there are no absolutes. Unless of course you cater to a VERY specific type of client, but with 37 a week, I doubt it.

On a completely unbiased side-note, I visited your site and left it immediately. It feels too much like walking into an infomercial. The chick in the bathing suit promoting fat loss and the Flex-esque "Build Wing Span Lats" article are a big turn off. Again, its stuff like this that makes me believe you are out for beginners and new members. From your testimonials, it looks like you focus on making fat people average. To that end, it looks like you are a great motivator and can really give these people what they need in terms of ambition. But, in all fairness, these people are not focusing on whether or not they are sacrificing muscle mass, how fast their big 3 are progressing, or many others details that are of importance to the intermediate and up lifter. I'm sure they got more muscle and got stronger, but with the proper motivation (which I give you full credit for), I think pretty much any basic program (training and diet) could have helped them achieve these goals.

**Firehawk** · 10-Jul-06, 10:09 AM

I thought some of the articles written on that website were purely to impress other trainers or make it sound as if they knew what they were talking about, rather than breaking it down for the beginner. Just my opinion. The site sells i'm sure.

Blaze · 10-Jul-06, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by standAPART

Every advice I hear is washed down crap from T-Nation or a Cell Tech ad. My website is for learning...and it is 100% FREE, you and everyone else has a CHOICE if you want to visit it.

Thats another thing...pretty much everyone on here will tell anyone, especially the newbies(whom are more likely to buy these supplements of such nature) that things like cell tech, and so forth, are worthless and completely useless. Unless your in the drugs and supplement section, then we pretty much push natural building around here (Building meaning, strength and body building). So I don't know where you get these ideas.

**midgetcop** · 10-Jul-06, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaze

Thats another thing...pretty much everyone on here will tell anyone, especially the newbies(whom are more likely to buy these supplements of such nature) that things like cell tech, and so forth, are worthless and completely useless. Unless your in the drugs and supplement section, then we pretty much push natural building around here (Building meaning, strength and body building). So I don't know where you get these ideas.

He hasn't been around long enough to know the type of people we are and advice we give. He naturally assumed that we all know crap, and that we were simply waiting for his superior knowledge.

Jay H · 10-Jul-06, 12:11 PM

Whether this guy's full of BS or not, he's right about one thing, in my opinion: most PTs suck. Their purpose is not to help people--it's to make money for themselves and their gym by selling training sessions. And they do this through the hard sell and the "your-body-fat-is-way-too-high" line.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen some poor sucker letting a PT do the caliper test on him/her when joining up. Then the PT will report a grossly exaggerated bf% (around 30% for even the boniest of females), and hook the client into buying expensive sessions. And those sessions? Give me a break. The trainers stand around looking sublimely bored while their clients skate through the lamest, lowest-intensity exercises you can imagine.

It's no wonder people quit going to the gym, if this is their first experience of it.

**maverick** · 10-Jul-06, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay H

Whether this guy's full of BS or not, he's right about one thing, in my opinion: most PTs suck. Their purpose is not to help people--it's to make money for themselves and their gym by selling training sessions. And they do this through the hard sell and the "your-body-fat-is-way-too-high" line.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen some poor sucker letting a PT do the caliper test on him/her when joining up. Then the PT will report a grossly exaggerated bf% (around 30% for even the boniest of females), and hook the client into buying expensive sessions. And those sessions? Give me a break. The trainers stand around looking sublimely bored while their clients skate through the lamest, lowest-intensity exercises you can imagine.

It's no wonder people quit going to the gym, if this is their first experience of it.

This is the real point here. I've seen the worst of those sessions. The complete indifference of some 20 year old kid who is daydreaming about what he's doing later, ignoring his client. And they all hand out this stupid cookie-cutter workout for everyone. Its painful to watch, I can't believe people pay money for it. But then again, paying money is the motivation for some people. They are too lazy to get themselves motivated, so money leaving their pocket is the on;y way to get things going.

**Firehawk** · 10-Jul-06, 03:01 PM

On the flip-side, you have trainers who would love to have their clients make progress, but then the clients want a miracle performed. They may go through the motions with no intensity, and when they get home, stuff themselves with 6000 calories full of crap.

I'm sure it gets frustrating and desensitizing. I believe that the trainers should definitely take each person individually, but it must be hard. This could have trainers that had good intentions when they set out, to quickly give up. Bad on the trainer's part. Then of course, you got the ones that don't know jack from the start lol.

**maverick** · 10-Jul-06, 03:27 PM

I could imagine I would get jaded very quickly if I was a PT. Putting your full effort into someone, only to have them throw it all away. Not only are they giving up on themselves, but they would make you look bad as well. That's why I gave credit to standapart for his testimonials. If you can instill true motivation into your clients without lying to them about miracles, then you have most of what you need to be a good PT.

I'll stick to being picky about my "clients". My new wife looked more gorgeous than usual on our honeymoon, a co-worker of mine is literally 50% (or more) stronger on all his major lifts since about 4 months ago, and my biggest achievement was my mother. She wanted to lose a lot of weight for my wedding and she set a very aggressive goal. We went through her diet, beginning to end, what foods, when, how much, etc... And she stuck to a rigorous (much more than I would have liked, I thought she did too much cardio) cardio schedule. I'm proud to say that in less than 6 months she lost just under 50 pounds and looks fantastic! On top of that she feels healthier and USED to have chronic migraines. Since fixing her diet (which was unbelievably bad, she never ate), she has had only 2 this year, as opposed to 2 in a week like she used to. I have good "clients", I couldn't deal with the herd of people looking for a Messiah.

luke.w · 10-Jul-06, 03:45 PM

nice to hear about how you've helped your mother, maverick!

**Firehawk** · 10-Jul-06, 04:21 PM

Yeah i got my sister to drop some weight. I put her on a diet plan and she is already a workout freak, and dropped 10 lbs in 5 weeks. I don't know for sure, but I think she was 122 and dropped to 112...she was like "Oh my God i'll never doubt you again" lol.

**maverick** · 10-Jul-06, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firehawk

Yeah i got my sister to drop some weight. I put her on a diet plan and she is already a workout freak, and dropped 10 lbs in 5 weeks. I don't know for sure, but I think she was 122 and dropped to 112...she was like "Oh my God i'll never doubt you again" lol.

I know what you mean. My mother looked at me like I had 3 heads when I told her she'd be eating at least 5 times a day. "How am I going to lose weight eating so often?!" I gave her the metabolism schpiel and told her to trust me. Now she knows.

DBZ Status · 11-Jul-06, 02:50 AM

i know that most PT's sucked i agree but when i was new and didn't know jack crap i really could have used a good personal trainer to show me what to do. I'm not talkin about one of those lazy ones. I would be a lot bigger today if i knew what i was doing right when i started.

**MostMuscle** · 11-Jul-06, 10:01 PM

*Normally, I just lurk around but I had to write something on this one...

While PTs get a bad rap and yes, some of it is deserved in many cases, I fail to see the point of posting an "article" about how bad trainers are in general. Complaining about everything from how much money they make to their choice of exercises seems just petty.

While I am sure the author is a great trainer and motivator, reading this sort of article is a total turn off.....like the others said, "Something does not jive right". If someone can charge $100 per hour for training and do good business...more power to him/her. Personal Training is a unique personal service that not everyone can afford (I wish I could have my own PT for sure!), not a part some sort of all-in-one membership deal.

Who is the article geared towards? Any potential clients would be turned off and any potential future trainers would also. I agree the PT field can be improved in many aspects, bashing each other is not a productive way to go about.

Comparing lifting numbers in the gym much less over the internet is also not an effective measuring tool for PT knowledge or skill. The fact that the author would entertain this also "does not jive right".

**Firehawk** · 11-Jul-06, 10:03 PM

I think if the PT is knowledgable and experienced in training, they would have pretty good numbers to go along with it. Just my opinion.

abarlament · 11-Jul-06, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firehawk

I think if the PT is knowledgable and experienced in training, they would have pretty good numbers to go along with it. Just my opinion.

Nah. I think that's a fallacy. Being able to bench 400lbs doesn't mean you necessarily CAN teach someone else to do it. But if you have the knowledge to get someone to 400, who cares if you can yourself.