Personal Trainers Pretty much Suck on Average?

[bigdho]

I said it once Ill say it agian...............If its a trainer working for the man ( a fitness center) then everything is based around selling more training not getting results for the client. Trust me Ive been to all the mojor conventions for gym owners where we get together and talk about how to make more money and every time PTing is a mojor topic.........why............because if done right you can sell the average joe over and over agian. Bottom line pting is a profit center for clubs not a service to the members. If you want aa trainer find one that is independant from any club that whay he isnt sales driven but more results driven.

 

[bignate73]

i have to laugh, because I havent heard one person who actually trains people criticize other trainers. its always, "i could do it better"... well step up to the plate then!

until you walk a mile in another man's shoes....

 

[Scotsman]

My favorite is when they start a 300lb guy and a 110lb girl on the same program and same weights. Even though both of them have very different goals they are getting trained exactly the same.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[Synpax]

They mostly suck, and the reason why is the same reason you the people at the fast food drive through also suck, and the janitors suck, and receptionists suck.

It's because you need a modicrum of ambition to be good at anything, and people with ambition who work hard, study hard, and improve themselves typically do not get stuck with jobs that pay poorly - ala trainers at your local gym.

If I or many of the people on this board were going to try and be personal trainers, we would fail miserably because most people wouldn't appreciate us enough to pay us enough for what we are worth.

That's why you are much better off doing your homework and sharing/gaining knowledge here and being your own personal trainer rather than getting some dork with an ACE cert he got through two evening class at the Learning Annex(TM).

 

[LeanMeanHockeyMachine]

When I first started to train I've worked with a few different PT's.

The first guy I worked with seemed to have a solid understanding of training, and a lot of ambition. He could never put it together though, he never had a plan for me, he just sorta came in and made me do whatever he was in the mood for. He was also fond of these dumb exercises that I hated and knew that carried no benefit, but he insisted on them. He also had a few problems outside of work, some days when we were supposed to train together, he wouldn't show up, no phone call, nothing. Overall I was very disatisfied with him, and wasn't the least bit sad when the gym fired him.

The second guy I worked with is Anthony Williams, a five time Canadian Bodybuilding Champion, who actually owns the gym I worked out at. I only did three sessions with him (he charged a lot), but I learned a lot and become more focused and intense with my training. I enjoyed working with him, he was an inspiration. When I wanted to quit he'd get right in my face and demand another rep, he pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I loved every minute of it.

The latest guy I worked with is also very good. He'd come to the gym with a plan, and he did his homework. His workouts were solid and challanging, I was sucking wind in 45 minutes. He also educated me on nutrition and other training related subjects. Great guy, I'll probably work with him again in January.

So I've had 2 good PT's and 1 bad PT, that doesn't seem too bad.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I guarantee Bignate that I could STEP UP to the plate and do a FAR better job than any personal trainer at any gym I've ever met or seen do, but, and this is a big BUT, it wouldn't be worth it for me to go out and take one of these guys jobs because like BIGDHO said, I probably wouldn't get hired because I'd get the clients immediate RESULTS and I'm not some cocky salesman. Also, members would either be very happy with the progress they make and stick around and their wouldn't be a high turnover rate of new clietns coming in for me which would probably get me fired, or they'd get pissed at me cuz I actually made them work hard enough to get results.

Either way you look at it, the majority of PT's at gyms are indeed lamo because of the business side of it and because they are lame enough to put people through non result producing wack routines even if they know it sucks.

I respect good PT's. Guys that make a living off of it and have their OWN PT business and get their clients results.

And btw, it seems like everytime I go to the gym people ask for advice on something or another and I offer it freely and I know it will work. Just yesterday a guy was starting to lift weights and he wanted to do squats, but wasn't sure how to, so I showed him what I would consider to be the finer points of good squat technique in a power rack. I went about my back workout and as I finished up a set of dumbell rows I happened to witness perfect squat technique from the same guy I just instructed. So I know I could do it ALOT better than any PT I've encountered that worked for a gym. I walked by to get a drink and told him his technique was very good and he said thanks and I could tell he was gonna keep it up. Sometimes you just "know". That was for free and better than any PT in that gym will ever do.

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

well personally I have gone through 3 private trainers- the first guy was great untill we got into a fight & couldnt train together (ie dont get personaly involved w/your PT), the second one was a dingbat chick (never again!), the third one competited in bodybuilding inthe 70s & still trains the pros (3 of his guys are competing in the Olympia this yr).

so not all are bad, but men are better than women and older guys that competed are the best

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I agree, not all are bad. Of course your typical gym PT is not a former competitor that trained in the 70's and is training 3 guys that are competing in the Mr. Olympia or a 5 time canadian bodybuilding champion.

All of these guys probably charged for their services rather than got payed some lame salary from a gym. Am I right?

That's a totally different story from what I'm talking about.

I respect guys that charge for their services and have skills, not the scrawny lamos trying to pass as PT's you see in most average gyms.

Big difference.

I have met "some" VERY knowledgeable Pt's that were either physically impressive looking or BIG and strong. I respect guys like that. From what I can tell, they are not the norm. I'd say I've met 4 guys that were good PT's out of the literally dozens I've seen or come in contact with.

 

[bignate73]

i have to laugh because many of you think results are the final outcome of training. you believe that YOU will get it for them, and i see this constantly with newbie trainers. then they get frustrated...because they cant do it for them. the majority of the talk is about the skill each of you has, and thats great, and the knowledge you could impart, and thats great too. Most trainers go through burnout just before it dawns on them that they cant do the work, the client has to. going back to the talk of commercial big business gyms, they sell on the want, but 9 out of 10 clients dont have the drive to go for the results. they come for the regularity, accountability, appointment factor (because they wont go without one), social setting, venting, psychological relief, etc.

im glad each of you has had victories helping people with form, or program design, but day in day out, you wont see a complete group of clients with high work ethic. if you did, chances are they wouldnt be training with trainers. at least the general trainers that you see day to day. specialized trainers are another story and people seek them out for refinement and then leave after the purpose is served. we are talking 2 different breeds here.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

All of your points are good and valid bignate.

I think I'll quit contributing to this thread I started because it's old and crusty right now.

In fact, I'm brushing flakes of this crap off me right now.

My thread went from entertaining to stupid.

It's mostly my fault.

I hereby leave this thread never to return for all of time.