Top 10 Signs of a Bad Trainer

1. Selling or Suggesting Supplements

Selling or suggesting the use of supplements is the biggest and most glaring issue I have with trainers and I know that I will probably get a bunch of angry personal trainers taking issues with this but I don’t care. If a trainer, live or on a video, suggests the use of or even worse tries to sell you supplements, walk away. First, when it comes to fitness and health gains, supplements are not necessary. Secondly, unless you have come across a trainer who is also a doctor they can not legally or ethically give supplement “prescriptions” or suggestions. The only reason supplements are promoted at all is because of money. Supplements are a multi-billion dollar business and most of the hype and “benefits” of supplementation come from the mouth of the people who make and sell them.

2. Body Shaming to Motivate 

There are many ways to motivate a client to exercise but the most mentally detrimental way to motivate is by shaming someone into action. Body shaming especially breeds all kinds of disordered thinking, feelings of guilt, and inadequacy. If a trainer uses these type of tactics to motivate they are not looking out for your best interests for long term health. If a trainer belittles your physical appearance to try to get you to exercise or to adhere to a specific diet then drop them and look for a trainer that motivates you by making you think more positively and constructively about yourself, your body and your physical ability.

3. Only Promoting One Training Style

There are hundreds of exercise training styles out there from Olympic Weightlifting, Plyometrics, Agility, Mass Building, and Toning, to Cardiovascular, HIIT, Yoga, Pilates and Flexibility (just to name a few). All of these styles have pros and cons but there is no shortage of trainers that will argue to the death that their preferred style of training is better than all the rest. It is a narrow-minded and short-sighted trainer that thinks that everyone should train the same way or with only one training style. For overall health you need to exercise in different ways to challenge the different physical abilities of the human body, for strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, balance, agility, etc, etc. Depending on your own personal goals you may want to lean slightly more towards one training style than another but never focus on just one. Any trainer that does not look at the whole picture is not one you want to train with.

4. Don’t Properly Develop Workouts

This is a bit harder to explain but very important when it comes to the effectiveness of a trainer. Not all programs are created equally and many trainers don’t check their programs for balance. Not the standing on one foot kind of balance but rather balancing the body front to back left to right, and top to bottom. For example, I was watching a workout video the other day by a well known and well-funded trainer and I was watching them do a squat in a circle where one foot stayed stationary and the other took steps forward to complete a circle. They did a couple of sets and the whole time I was waiting for them to switch directions and step backward but they never did and to top it off they never even switched legs. Another good example would be a workout video by a well known YouTube trainer who starts their warm-ups with deep pile squats to start with which is much too rough of a range of motion on cold muscles and joints, and just asking for an injury or pulled muscle, purely due to poor programming. These might seem like small things to nitpick but using a trainer that does not think about the balance of the body’s muscles can easily lead to muscle imbalances which can cause chronic issues or can increase your likelihood of injury.

5. Promote Weight Loss Before or Instead of Muscle Building

Trainers who only focus on weight loss and not muscle/strength building are doing clients a huge disservice. Those who only focus on sheer calorie burn through cardio, toning (lightweight training), or core exercises, as their only form of exercise, are working with a limit to how much they can burn and typically have to heavily restrict caloric intake to see progress. On the other hand, if you start with strength training to build a good base of muscle you can increase your resting metabolism as well as max calorie burn for any given exercise, therefore, burning more calories with the same relative level of effort. Your body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the rate at which your body burns calories just keeping itself alive, is set not only by your body’s natural functions but also by the amount of muscle tissue you have. So, if you add more muscle tissue you add more calorie burn potential both during exercise and daily life activities. This increased BMR due to more muscle mass makes it easier to not only drop fat weight but to also keep it off in the long run. The best thing is that it does not take much muscle mass to make a huge difference in the number of calories you need in a day. So, especially for any ladies out there who are worried about getting too bulky or masculine from weight lifting remember that a little goes a long way.  If you are trying to lose weight and your trainer only does lightweight training, cardio or core exercises it does not necessarily make them a bad trainer just one that will be less effective for helping you lose fat content (and keep it off).

6. Focus on Intensity Over Form

This issue is especially prevalent with the bodybuilder culture as well as some of the boot camp style trainers out there. Many of them will choose to focus on how much you lift or how hard you push yourself over all else. We have nothing against pushing yourself or wanting to lift heavy but what we can not agree with is letting form and proper technique slide just to lift a bit more weight or push for a few more reps or seconds.  Proper form is by far the most important aspect to focus on during any type of training. If the form is not maintained then the returns from that exercise or movement start to diminish quickly. One thing I see a lot especially with weight lifters/bodybuilders is a limitation of range of motion so they only target the strongest portion of their range rather than moving to a lighter weight and moving through their entire range of motion for maximum muscle development. Not only can this create or intensify weak spots but it can also change posture and joint tracking which can cause long term issues with chronic pain, discomfort, and overall joint stability. If a trainer knows what they are doing they will always know when to lower intensity to favor better function and long term results. So, if you have a trainer that tries to push you past your comfort zone or does not teach proper form look for someone else.

7. Trainers that don’t Educate or Empower Clients

There are some professionals, found in any industry, who feel that you should give just enough information to keep a client coming back so they can fill up their schedules and make more money. I believe that, ethically speaking, this is a huge flaw if you’re actually trying to help someone. With our videos now and back when I was still doing one on one training and group fitness classes I would aim to teach clients everything they need to know to be a more active participant in their own health and fitness. I want each person to know why they are doing each exercise and why they are doing them in that specific order. It was my goal as a trainer to teach a client to the point that they did not need me anymore, which sounds stupid if you are trying to make money but if you have a trainer that really wants to change people’s lives and help long term then they won’t get caught up in the money. However, if you teach a person well, they will not only be empowered, they will also trust you and know that you have their best interest in mind, which may make them more likely to use your services anyways.

8. Believe In or Promote Spot Reduction

This has two sides to it, number one is just literally a trainer that believes that spot reduction is possible and tries to sell you on it. It is not possible, and a trainer that tries to tell you otherwise you need to avoid. The second part of this is a trainer that dispenses any false information either willingly or unknowingly (for example women should not lift weights, low-intensity exercise burns more fat, if you exercise you need more protein supplements, ab exercises burn belly fat, or cardio is the best way to lose weight). It comes down to the facts that they are either intentionally lying and will say anything they need to make a quick buck or they are not educated enough in their field to be a safe, or effective trainer. Either way if you hear a trainer saying something double-check it until you know they can be trusted, especially if it sounds too good to be true.

9. Promise Quick Results

Many people start into an exercise routine with the hope that it will be easy to hit their goals as long as they put in some effort for a while. I know that it can be discouraging to some to hear that they are not going to drop 10 pounds in a week without serious health repercussions and that they need to realise that exercise and health are things that need to be a permanent part of their life. Infact I have lost a number of potential clients because I have told them that their goals will take longer to reach than they want. A good trainer will make the hard decision to address false hopes and help people set new attainable ones. Whereas a bad trainer will keep their mouth shut just to get a paycheck or even worse plant that false hope just to close the deal. Improving physical ability takes time, weight loss takes time, gaining flexibility or balance takes time and anyone trying to tell you otherwise will never have your best interests in mind.

10. Talk about Lower Abs

This is a very specific one and really falls under dispersing false information but it is one that really bothers me. Any trainer that says they are going to show you an exercise to work on your lower abs does not know what they are talking about. There is no such thing as lower abs! I could go on and on forever about this but I am not going to in order to keep this short. If you want to know the specifics then let me know in the comment section and if enough people are interested then I will make another article and vlog about it. But for now lets just keep it at, if you hear a trainer talk about working the lower abs, they are a either completely clueless as to how the human body works or they are just trying to tell you what you want to hear.

I hope my list helps you find great trainers to help you and more importantly helps you avoid the bad ones. Afterall there is more at stake here than just your waistline. Finding the right well educated personal trainer can be the difference between becoming a happier, stronger, fitter, smarter individual or becoming a person who hates exercise, and feels that they will never succeed. There are many good trainers out there, and finding one that works for you can make a huge positive impact on your progress towards your goals and overall outlook on health and fitness.

Remember that this is just my opinion and if you think there is something else that should be on this list please include it in the comment section below as I would love to hear it. Also if you don’t agree with any of my top ten let me know which one and why.

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How to choose a Personal Trainer

People use personal trainers to assist them reach their individual health and fitness goals. A personal trainer will tailor an exercise program to meet your goals and personal health needs, teach you the best way to exercise and motivate yourself.

Good places to start looking for a personal trainer include local gyms, health centres or fitness centres. When you’re at the gym, watch trainers with their clients and see how they interact. Make a note of trainers who get along with their clients and seem fully involved in their workouts. Ask friends and workmates for word of mouth recommendations.

Take your time before you make your final choice. Make sure your personal trainer is qualified before entering into any agreement.

While professional credentials and experience are vital, it helps to rate personality and communication high on your list of priorities as well. You may be spending a lot of time with this person.

Role of a personal trainer

A personal trainer should have relevant qualifications and be registered with a recognised industry association. A personal trainer’s job is to work with your health and allied health professionals, discuss your goals, assess your fitness level, design a program for you and help keep you motivated.

A personal trainer can:

  • help you exercise safely and efficiently
  • help motivate you
  • help you with technique
  • monitor your progress
  • adjust your exercise program in response to your changing fitness level
  • offer general advice on good nutrition according to national guidelines
  • vary your exercise options to keep you motivated, interested and enjoying your workouts
  • help you to manage some exercise on your own.

Personal training qualifications and experience

It is a good idea to:

  • Ask about their professional qualifications. They should have proof of their certification, including first aid.
  • Ask about their experience. How long have they been working as a personal trainer?
  • Ask what sort of results they’ve helped other clients achieve.
  • Ask how they keep up to date on health and fitness research. For example, they may take refresher courses, attend industry seminars or subscribe to exercise science journals.
  • If you have a specific medical problem, injury or condition (such as being pregnant, or having heart problems or diabetes), make sure your trainer has education in these areas and will work with your doctor and other relevant allied health professionals.
  • Ask if they (or their employer) have professional liability insurance. They should have proof of this.
  • Ask if they are involved in any type of quality accreditation program.

Choosing a personal trainer

When making your choice, factors to discuss with the personal trainer include:

  • How much does it cost to hire their services and what types of payment options are available? Do they offer a discount for larger training packages, for example, for more than one session a week?
  • What about other fees, such as extra services or cancellation fees?
  • Will they offer a discounted trial period before you commit? It is important you feel comfortable training with this personal trainer.
  • Are they available at the particular times and days when you’re free to exercise?
  • What range of physical activity options do they offer? Would you be working out in a gym, at home or outdoors?
  • How do they tailor exercise programs for clients? How would your preferences be taken into account? What sort of services do they offer to support you in achieving your goals?
  • What about updates to the exercise program that accommodate your improving fitness levels?
  • What allied health professionals networks do they have (for example, dietitians, physiotherapists) and work closely with?

Other things to consider include:

  • Make sure you feel comfortable with their training approach.
  • Check out the fees and their policy on contract cancellations.

Consider some more personal aspects that relate to the relationship with your trainer. Trust your instincts about the impressions the trainer makes upon you. Your personal trainer will ideally be:

  • someone you like. Ask yourself if you think you could get along with the trainer and whether you think the trainer is genuinely interested in helping you
  • a good listener – a good trainer will listen closely to what you say. Make sure they understand your goals. Make sure you feel comfortable asking questions
  • attentive – a good trainer will be focused only on you during your sessions
  • tracking your progress – a good trainer will regularly assess and monitor your progress, and change your program as required. They should also provide regular reports to you on your progress and associated health outcomes.

Beware of dubious personal trainers

If you’re concerned about the qualifications of an exercise professional, ask to see their proof of professional credentials, or you can check if they’re registered with Fitness Australia. Occasionally, trainers have been known to be unethical, even though they have the correct credentials. Generally speaking, warning signs of a personal trainer who is unethical include that they:

  • don’t undertake any form of pre-exercise screening
  • can’t or won’t provide proof of professional credentials
  • can’t or won’t offer references
  • try to force you into a contract during the first session – before you’ve had a chance to see if you’re compatible
  • try to sell you supplements or dieting aids, or insist that particular supplements or dieting aids must be taken as part of the program
  • prescribe dietary advice for which they are not qualified or attempt to diagnose and treat injuries
  • advocate exercise aids that may be dangerous, or weight loss techniques, such as saunas, passive exercise machines or body wraps
  • have a ‘one size fits all’ exercise program that doesn’t take your individual health and fitness into account
  • insist that their method of training is the only method that works
  • at your first session, take little notice of your goals and personal health and fitness requirements, and instead want you to do a workout
  • don’t turn up on time (or at all) to appointments and are difficult to contact by phone or email
  • promise immediate and spectacular results – realistically, you’d expect to see some sort of improvement in approximately six weeks, although this will vary enormously, depending on factors such as your age, exercise history, gender and types of activities.

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Top Ten Reasons To Hire a Personal Trainer

Working with a personal trainer is one of the most successful ways to improve your health and fitness. Personal trainers are used by people of all fitness, age and economic levels to help make lifestyle changes not easily achieved by themselves. A 2014 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found those who used a trainer had greater improvements in their lean body mass, and other measures of health-related fitness, than those who completed self-directed training.

Consider the following benefits of hiring a personal trainer:

1. Build Confidence– Feel uncomfortable in the gym? Don’t know how to use all the machines? A trainer will show you the correct way to use equipment in the gym and give you a plan.

2. Accountability– Do you find it difficult to keep working out consistently? Having an appointment with a trainer might be what you need to get you to the gym when you may otherwise find a reason not to go.

3. Clarity– Fitness, and nutrition can be very confusing. Every day seems to bring a new diet or workout trend. A trainer can help you sift through all of the information out there and provide direction to help you find the right path for your fitness journey.

4. Expert Workout Advice– A personal trainer will help you define achievable goals and plan how to meet them. They will create a workout routine specific to your goals and needs while also making allowances for your current physical condition and medical background.

5. Improve Overall Fitness– A personal trainer will create an individualized program that improves your overall conditioning and develop the specific skills you need. They will monitor your progress and fine-tune your program as you go, ensuring your progress and helping you work your way off plateaus.

6. Avoid Injury– Having a trainer demonstrate the correct form, and watch you complete each exercise to ensure you are completing the move in a safe way, will help to avoid any potential injury. Also, your trainer will plan your workouts to maximize the benefits and reduce the possibility of injury or overtraining.

7. Focus On You– If you have a unique medical concern, a trainer can work with your physician, physical therapist or other health care provider to plan a safe and efficient program that will speed your recovery or enable you to reach your health goals.

8. Motivation– Ever feel like you can’t do one more rep or keep going for one more minute? A trainer will push you (safely) to do just one (or two!) more.

9. Fun – Doing the same old thing at the gym might get boring (and may prevent you from reaching your goals). A trainer can change up your workout and show you new exercises to keep things interesting, maybe even fun!

10. Support– Your trainer will be your biggest cheerleader and source of encouragement. I know most trainers became certified for the same reason I did because we want you to succeed in meeting your goals and live a happy and healthy life. A trainer will work with you to overcome any resistance or barriers to creating a healthier life and meeting your health goals.

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P.S. Source: https://www.livritefitness.com/blog/top-ten-reasons-to-hire-a-personal-trainer

15 benefits only a personal trainer can provide

There are so many reasons why a Personal Trainer is essential to achieving your fitness goals, whether they be weight loss-based, sports-driven or for athletic purposes. Here, we’ve put together the most critical reasons why you should have a Personal Trainer, as well as the benefits that you are likely to achieve.

1. It’s Educational

One of the primary reasons that someone should have a Personal Trainer is that they are trained in teaching others how to exercise. And while exercise in itself is only a part of fitness, with nutrition and lifestyle playing an essential role in the overall picture if you don’t get exercise right then you will never achieve your goals.

The importance of education when exercising is important for two primary reasons:

1) If you don’t know which exercises are most effective for the goals you have, you are unlikely to achieve those goals. For example, if your goal is to build core strength but you spend all your time on cardio exercises, then you are unlikely to hit your goal.

2) Education when performing exercises is essential in reducing the risk of injury. Many people every year are seriously injured by performing exercises they have not received training for, and this can impact their health and fitness for a long time. Having someone trained in how to execute certain tasks will greatly reduce the level of risk and increase the effectiveness of your fitness routine.

2. They Help Perfect Form

Having a Personal Trainer beside you to demonstrate the correct posture and technique is invaluable. A Personal Trainer will ensure clients are performing exercises correctly and efficiently, in order to maximise results. If your form when exercising is not correct, then you are at increased risk of injury as well as not achieving your goals (because nothing kills a dream like 10 weeks of prescribed bed rest!).

3. They Can Help With Your Unique Requirements

Everybody is different, and that means everyone’s abilities and requirements are different when it comes to exercise. This could be anything from having an old injury that requires special exercises to having a phobia that may impact on where or how you workout.

For example, if you have an old knee injury that required surgery, but since then you haven’t done anything to rebuild the muscles or improve mobility, then you are going to need different exercises and goals than an athlete who is training to run a marathon. This is where a Personal Trainers experience can make a huge difference to your training program.

4. They Help You Set Realistic Goals

Everyone wants to achieve their goals straight away, whether they be weight loss, cheese grater abs or Hulk-like strength. But these are not always achievable, and if you don’t hit them then you may be discouraged and backslide.

A Personal Trainer will not only help you set realistic goals that you will be able to achieve – if you put in the effort, of course – but they will also be able to keep you on track to hit those goals. For example, if your goal is to achieve a ‘bikini body’ for summer, it’s not just about doing 100 crunches a day for a month to work your abs. It’s about altering your diet to eat the correct foods, mixing cardio and weights to work the right muscles, and setting a timeframe in which this can be achieved.

5. They Can Help With Specific Goals, Such As Training For An Event

As well as helping their clients set realistic goals, Personal Trainers are the perfect tool to help you achieve a specific goal. This is ideal for those who are training for a specific event, or need to achieve a certain level of fitness before they are able to do something they really want.

For example, if you have a bucket list with ‘Skydiving’ on it but are over the maximum weight, then hiring a Personal Trainer to assist with helping you lose weight is a great start to achieving this goal. Or if your goal is to be able to run a marathon in six months, then hiring a Personal Trainer to put you on the right track could be all you need to complete a marathon.

6. They Hold You Accountable

How many times have you gone to bed and said to yourself, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to wake up, go to the gym, and do an hour workout before I get ready for work’, and then woken up and decided to sleep for another hour instead of exercising?

This is where a Personal Trainer is critical to ensuring that you commit and stick to your fitness goals. If you’ve made an appointment to meet you trainer for a session, then you are far more likely to still go than if you are just telling yourself you should go to the gym.

7. No Wasted Time = Maximum Results

There are two types of people who go to the gym:

1) Those who wander in, spend 10 minutes on one machine and then drift slowly over to another, before half-heartedly trying bicep curls for five reps and then walking out.

2) Those who have a plan in mind, and hit the machines with a purpose. They generally have a set amount of reps they do in sets of two or three, and they’ll know exactly what they’re doing on each machine.

It’s fairly obvious that the first group will not be achieving their fitness goals unless they get some help and have someone to direct them, so if you know that you’re one of those people then you should be enlisting the help of a Personal Trainer ASAP.

8. It’s Not Just Fitness They Can Help With

When completing their Certificate III in Fitness, every student is required to complete a module on nutrition and how it can affect fitness. Personal Trainers who complete their Certificate IV in Fitness have to then complete additional work on nutrition, and a number of Personal Trainers also add on additional education to their program by completing a Nutrition course such as those offered by the Australian Institute of Fitness.

By choosing a Personal Trainer who has undergone specific nutrition education, you know that they will be providing the right nutritional advice to achieve your goals.

9. They Improve Your Mental Health

It has long been known that physical exercise can help with mental health issues such as depression, and that it is a recommended part of treatment by many medical health professionals. Having a Personal Trainer to help with your exercise plan when you suffer from mental health problems can help with motivation, with choosing the right exercises to release the most endorphins, and also just to have another shoulder to lean on.

Which leads us to our next point…

10. They’re An Unofficial Therapist

Let’s be honest, most of the time when exercising with your Personal Trainer you will be telling them about your week, how work is going, and what’s wrong with your life at the time. This is normal!

A Personal Trainer is there to help with your fitness goals, yes, but they’re also there to help improve your overall wellbeing. They care about how stressed you are, because that will impact how motivated you are in your sessions. They care if you’re unhappy in a relationship, as this could result in eating unhealthily.

There are myriad ways in which having a Personal Trainer can be like having an unofficial therapist.

11. They Help You Form Good Habits

It can take weeks to form good habits, and even longer to break bad ones – and trying to do it on your own is hard work. Having a Personal Trainer is like having a good angel on your shoulder encouraging you in the right direction. They can help to argue with the bad angel in your head, and keep you on track to achieve your fitness goals.

12. Personalised Training Plan

There are always going to be some exercises that you enjoy more than others, beyond simple capability. For example, just because you can physically do burpees doesn’t mean that you always want to, but you might really like doing squat jumps and sit ups instead.

A Personal Trainer will be able to tailor your training plan to suit you and what you enjoy, as well as encourage you to do the exercises that are best to achieve your goals.

As well as this, there are always going to be some days when the last thing you feel like doing is a hard workout, and so having a Personal Trainer means that they can tailor your exercise for that day to both accommodate your mood while still making the session helpful.

13. They Fit Into Your Schedule

Regardless of whether the only time you have available to train is at a ridiculously early hour before work, or on your lunch break, or mid-afternoon before the kids come home from school – a Personal Trainer is one of the most versatile professions in terms of hours. They understand that different people have different availabilities, and so they will tailor appointment times to suit you.

14. Increased Flexibility For Location

Not everyone enjoys the atmosphere of a crowded gym, or having to wait for the machine you want to use to become available. The benefit of having a Personal Trainer is that you aren’t limited to working out where equipment is available – not only will your PT have some equipment that they can bring with them, but you can also choose the location in which you exercise.

Whether it’s in the comfort of your own home or in your neighbourhood park, with a Personal Trainer you have the flexibility to workout wherever suits you best.

15. They Challenge You

Are you getting bored with your fitness routine? Have you progressed beyond the exercises you know and have plateaued in your fitness? A Personal Trainer is what you need to take you to the next level, and continuously challenge your abilities.

Don’t think you can lift that medicine ball?

Positive you won’t fit back into your favourite dress?

Doubt you’ll be able to compete in a charity run next year?

A Personal Trainer is your life coach, nutrition guide and encourager all in one, and without them your fitness goals are that much harder to achieve. So what are you waiting for? Find a professional Personal Trainer today to help achieve your fitness goals.

Credit: https://fitness.edu.au/15-benefits-personal-trainer/

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The benefits of being a personal trainer

Are you interested in a career in personal training? Here are some of the amazing benefits that come with this career!

Stay healthy

Whether you work in a gym or at home, you will be able to stay healthy and keep in shape whenever you have some free time. This could be at the start of your day or when you are waiting for your next client. You will have all the proper equipment you need and keeping in shape will attract more clients!

Help other people

One of the main benefits of being a personal trainer is that every day you help your clients achieve their goals and become fitter, healthier and more confident. You have the ability to help your clients change their lives for the better and that is very fulfilling.

Turn your passion into a career

If you decide to become a personal trainer because you are passionate about health and fitness then this is the perfect career as you will be able to do something you love every day. You will have the knowledge and skills to teach other people and help them improve their lives whilst fitting in some time to workout yourself.

Career Opportunities

You can work in a gym, health club, sports club, hotel, on a cruise ship or you could even set up your own business and work in your own gym. The opportunities are endless and personal trainers can work almost anywhere in the world!

Meeting new people

You will meet and work with all sorts of people being a personal trainer. The social side makes the job very interesting and you will also have to help clients with different needs and goals so each day will be different.

Choose your own hours

If you work for yourself, you can set your own hours and enjoy a flexible schedule. However, you should consider clients who may only be able to train early in the morning or late at night due to being at work during the day. However, you can still choose which hours suit you best and you wont have the same work hours every single day.

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Source: https://www.velocity-pt.co.uk/blog/benefits-personal-trainer/