ATTENTION ALL TRAINERS...WAKE UP!

“You’re either getting better or your getting worse…there is no staying the same.  If your doing the same shit you have been doing for the past 5 years…YOU SUCK”

Robert Dos Remedios

    Wow…I really could not have said it better myself.  One of the things that I like to do as a Strength and Conditioning Coach/Facility Owner is to head out to different facilities all over the country and check out what other physical therapists, trainers, and gym owners, etc are doing.  If there is one thing, good or bad, I can take away from the facility, I am happy.  I am not afraid to come back to Leverage Training Center and say…I think we need to tweak this or completely change that. 

    For example, I went to a local gym in New Jersey last week and as I was foam rolling in the corner (P.S.  I had to take my foam roller from the car and bring it in to use because they didn’t have any…REALLY???), I saw a client walk through the front door. The trainer greeted the client with a great welcome and smile. The trainer then lead the client to the treadmill where they spent 10 minutes reading a magazine, while doing a pace slower than my 90 year old grandmother with a replaced hip.  Come on! Can this trainer possibly say they help contribute to the fitness industry? This is the reason why we get the bad rep as we do. Your clients are paying you for your expertise, and you have the dignity to plop them on a treadmill for 10 minutes? Get off the computer and Facebook, and give your client the service that you promised them when you first met them, meaning… HELP THEM REACH THEIR GOAL! Don’t forget about the important things such as Foam Rolling, Activation, Exercises, Dynamic Warm-up, etc. 

    So finally, back to the sorry story, the clients’ personal trainer finally decided to come out and get her… Yes, the trainer walked away. I knew that after I saw the beginning, I had to keep an eye out for what wonderful things were to come. Exercises performed and directed are as follows: Seated Chest Press, Seated Row, Seated Shoulder Press, Leg Press, and Hip AB/AD.  Now I don’t know the specifics or background of the client, but I can bet you that she spends most of her day sitting in a car or at a desk, or being completely inactive.  Now we can go on forever about exercise selection for your clients, which is not where I am going to go in this post,  but I really felt like yelling… “GET HER UP AND MOVING”, but unfortunately it was not my place to say anything.

    Lastly, and the best part, “Core and Recovery”. The trainer had his client perform incline sit-ups with a 20lb medicine ball. REALLY? This woman could not even plank for 15 seconds, never mind do any type of weight bearing exercises.  As for recovery, he walked her over to the computer to schedule for their next appointment.

    I would like to apologize to every trainer that this does not apply to, but when you question whether you should invest in that seminar, book, or DVD, that you feel will make you a better trainer…DO IT! These are the people that you are competing against for future clients. If you are one of those trainers that are training their clients like this, I say this with the utmost respect, but read a book, buy a DVD, go to a seminar, Make Yourself Better! If you don’t, your time in this industry will not last too long.

    I have now been in the fitness industry for 12 years, and every day in every way, I  look to become 1% better than I was the day before. Just in the month of August, I will be visiting Cressey Performance and Mike Boyle’s Strength and Conditioning, attending a seminar by Robert Dos Remedios/Joe Dowdell, a Kettblebell Seminar with Jason Brown, a goal of reading 1 hour a day, and watching 1 DVD on a fitness topic…all while training my clients and running a facility. 

You don't have time?..COME ON!..Make it work!

Make time to make yourself better!