Eight
things I’ve learned in twenty-eight+ years of personal training
I have been a personal trainer for more than twenty-eight
years now. There is “new” information sprouting up every day. I will share some
insights in the field. These tips will help anyone seeking a personal trainer
and personal trainers.
1.
Full body
movements
We
need to train full body movements (squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, jerks,
walking, running, and jumping). We will not train all of these in a session there
is not enough energy to do so. Training each several times per week is
mandatory. I used to train people on a bodybuilding model and they did not see
results as quickly or permanently as training on a weightlifting model.
To
coin a popular phrase, these movements are functional. Functional training has
been around from the beginning. It is not new. We used to call it training. A
group of rookies wanted to claim the term and invented “functional training”. Their
version is very specialized. Nobody should specialize until they have trained
for ten years or more. Any elementary or middle school physical education
teacher will agree. All training is functional. If it not functional it is exercise
NOT training.
2.
Fitness is
fiscal
We
are all familiar with the term fitness. Fitness is meeting the demands of
every-day life with ease and having a reserve for emergencies. That said, is fitness
the same for a triathlete and a weightlifter? Fitness managers have homogenized
fitness. They sell the idea that everyone should meet the same criteria in being
fit. Criteria, standards, or norms are not
what training is about.
Training is about surpassing adjectives.
Training
is about being yourself. Nobody wants to be the same as anybody else. We want
to be the best not equal to. Training is done individually and it is about outclassing
your competition. Even if your competition is an earlier version of YOU.
3.
Competition
There
is no such thing as friendly competition. There is good sportsmanship. Sport is
about good citizenship first. Manners are on the way out with PC (political
correctness). Competition is about dominion. I want to break my competition’s
heart to the point they never want to compete with me again.
That
is competition. Stay local if you want to get along with everyone. That is a
meet not a competition.
Do
not compete in the gym. It takes you off track.
4.
Quality
I
read “Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” years ago.
Mr.
Pirsig questions if there is a definition for quality. He states we all know
what quality is or believe we do. The point is simple in my mind. Quality is a
personal issue. Quality for one is not quality for another.
Fitness
is a matter of quality and we should not take another’s definition as our own
unless we are looking for a group to be a part of. Take in all of the available
information. Sift it through your filter. Keep that information which aligns
with your philosophy and discard the rest. The theory is we cannot forget
something we can only squander the ability to recall it.
5.
My personal
workout won’t work for you
I
am a powerlifter. I have trained a wide variety of athletes over the years. I have
trained everybody from triathletes to weightlifters. Training another with my
training protocols is careless. I individualize my athletes programs after I assess
their wants and needs.
The
best marathon runners train like powerlifters in the weight room. All athletes
should train like weightlifters and powerlifters in the weight room. Do the
workout designed for you and work with your coach to make the work plan and outcome
unlimited.
Fitness
is individual and your workout should be too!
6.
Abs,
CORE, & midsection
When
I started training I wanted to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. I read books
and magazines to gather information. I read I could train the “abs” as much as I
wanted. I was always very strong in this area and warmed up with as many as
2500 reps in a workout doing sit-ups. Recently I read a study from some PhD
from Indiana saying we should never do more than 6 reps on any spinal flexion
movement or we would inevitably rupture a disk. For six weeks I did 2500
sit-ups to warm up for my bodybuilding workouts. I later became a powerlifter
and squatted and deadlifted 3 times my bodyweight in every weight-class. I have
never hurt my back! Pilates, Yoga, CORE, abs… pick your poison. The terminology
“midsection” works just fine.
New
people in my field are inventing new names for things at an alarming rate. They
take ownership and credit they do not deserve. They are not qualified to rename
anything. Always ask your “trainer” the origins of the name they use for parts
of your practice sessions.
CORE
is a particularly useless term. It implies the midsection structures are the
driving force behind the training. They are the medium at best. The hips drive
everything and the midsection is the medium between the force production and
the realization of the weights moving.
7.
Appearances
One
of my best coaches said “the strongest person in the room never looks like the
strongest”. He is correct. My statement is further down this road, “the
strongest person in the room is the fittest person in the room”.
Fitness
is relative. If I athlete A is stronger than athlete B and they decide to
compete in a variety of events athlete A will win. Assuming they have time to
train for the events.
Train
to be a certain way. It is exercise if you are working to look a certain way. Training
is chronic. Exercise is acute.
8.
Wants and
needs
I
have made the mistake of training people’s needs I lieu of their wants in the
past. A six pack is not functional. I have attempted to describe the wants,
needs, and functionality for clients in the past. I no longer do this.
Fiscally
we must train client’s wants and their needs. Most personal trainers fall on
the opposite side of the fence. They train people’s wants in lieu of their
needs. This is dangerous physically.
As professionals
we must train people for what they want and what they need!
Get stronger
doing YOUR workout!
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