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Personal Trainers are "health professionals"...



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  #11  
Old 05-05-2008, 02:24 AM
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I'm am completing my certification for personal trainer. I agree that there are many who take the "blitz" course and use "cookie cutter" programs.

I don't. I spend at least an hour a day doing research. My certification is from W.I.T.S. and was a 5 day course with both lectures and practical. I also have to do a 20 hour internship and at least 10 hours of continuing education for every 2 years. During the entire course the instructor stressed knowing your client, particularly those from special populations, i.e., diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.. We were encouraged to research these problems and develop special programs to suit the individual.

I train with a personal trainer, for two reasons. One, he knows me and my goals and is very knowledgeable in developing my programs. Two, he helps me keep on track by holding me accountable for sticking to my nutritional and training goals. The guy has a cert from ASCM.

Finally, I absolutely agree that the industry needs to be controlled...but not by the government. A standard of certification governed by an organization that can remain objective is the answer.
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  #12  
Old 05-05-2008, 10:12 AM
EricT EricT is offline
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Dude, you think that is a lot? 7.5 whole days? It's nothing compared to others in the health field. Sorry. And it is the health field. Have you had a basic anatomy and physiology course? Biomechanics, biology, kineseology, anything like that? I'm not trying to insult you but it's just ridiculous that people think that is a qualification. And I never heard of WITS.

Personal research? I do that. Anybody can do that. This is helping to illustrate my point. "Encouraging" someone to research these things? You plan on buying accesss to all the journals? You plan on taking courses? Other than seminars or 1 or 2 day things? Are you trained in the sciences enough that you can understand that research? Don't get me wrong...continuing education is a big deal.

Anyway this is not about you and of course some people are going to have good trainers. I hope you will be one of the great ones. But the majority of people out there walking into a commercial gym are getting crap. There are plenty of trainers with exactly the kind of background you are speaking of who AREN'T QUALIFIED.

I don't care about the trainers. I'm defending the people who are getting ripped off by them. If there was a licensure, it would be up to the individual states but maybe governed by an independant orgainization for oversight. Sort of like it is wiht "certified athletic trainers".
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If you act sanctimonious I will just list out your logical fallacies until you get pissed off and spew blasphemous remarks.

Last edited by EricT; 05-05-2008 at 12:01 PM.
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  #13  
Old 05-05-2008, 11:02 AM
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Eric: you're right....a shitload of people get ripped off by trainers. and not just here in the states. its the same in india, in thailand and a lot of other asian countries ive visited and worked out in. its a global thing. i see women being made to do half squats, etc....form teaching is absolute bullshit with 99% of the trainers insisting on machine work for large muscles and isolation exercises for small groups of muscles.
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Old 05-05-2008, 11:22 AM
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something else which ive noticed a lot is that trainers tend to give all their clients the same type of program more or less. they don't vary the programs based on goals. they just feed everyone the same BS. their programming techniques suck balls...most of the time the trainee loses weight/gains weight because of the slight improvement in diet coupled with cardio and weighttraining. but in reality minus the physical progress, their weights on the lifts are more or less the same. these clients tend to get their short term goals, become happy and leave...then 6 months later they are back to where they used to be.

off topic, well not off topic but enough about my rant....they opened a new mini sub forum on bb.com for PT'ers:
http://www.forum.bodybuilding.com/fo...play.php?f=191
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  #15  
Old 05-05-2008, 11:25 AM
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Eric, you and Anuj are absolutely right. I have seen way too many people ripped off by so-called "expert trainers" because the "trainer" is not worth a crap. A good trainer in my opinion tailors their approach to the individual and helps them meet their goals.

Like you said a good trainer works themselves out of a job.
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  #16  
Old 05-05-2008, 11:30 AM
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I looked up W.I.T.S. That stands for World Instructor Training Schools or something like that. I read it was a 6 week course.

BTW, wids I didn't write that thing. I am just having a hard tiime finding the actual byline. I will post that when I get it. But it's true.
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  #17  
Old 05-05-2008, 11:44 AM
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Definitely. I have been doing this for a long time and I have a lot of experience. I know what works for ME, but that does not make me qualified to be a trainer. Sure I will give advice on form and technique and such, but I would never try to pass myself off as an expert trainer.

And I hate watching people take advantage of others because they either do not have an idea about what to do themselves or they are desperate for quick (temporary) results.

Alright off the soapbox.
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  #18  
Old 05-05-2008, 11:59 AM
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Men's Health Article on This Subject

I wanted to hightlight this part..such a good example.

The trainer, it turns out, had put her on a dietary plan that included ephedra, even though Capati had told him she was on high-blood-pressure medication, which should never be mixed with ephedra (she died of a brain hemmorhage).

From "stupid shit people say": What doesn't kill you makes you stronger....Tell it to Christopher Reeve.

"Teutonic hard-guy and perpetual locker-room poster boy Friedrich Nietzsche isn't helping either: "So many people buy into that old ‘What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' mentality," says Kyle Battis, C.S.C.S., a personal trainer in Concord, New Hampshire, who has been outspoken about abuses in his profession. "The truth is, what doesn't kill you will ruin your training, or put you in a hospital, or drive you out of the gym. And a good trainer should know that. Too many don't, and neither do their clients. So when a guy gets hurt, he thinks it's normal--just a down payment on the ‘No Pain, No Gain' system."

A Certified Sham
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  #19  
Old 05-05-2008, 12:27 PM
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good discussion, I'll throw in my two cents because I'm sure you all want to hear it

I've never used a PT, and there is a reason why. From the first day I walked into a comercial gym, there was pressure to pay extra for a PT. I was like 15, and there was one guy who pretty much everyone i knew went to. He was a monster, very strong, very lean, and very very slow. I knew after speaking to him for 2 minutes I would learn nothing from this guy ... every thing he told people to do, he couldnt explain why.

I'm not saying every PT is like this, I know of a few guys who have PT certs, and are amazing, but they are few and far between. If a PT cant explain to you why your doing, what your doing, chances are they dont know. They read about it, or they've done it for years cause one of thier bro's told them it worked good.

Quote:
From "stupid shit people say": What doesn't kill you makes you stronger....Tell it to Christopher Reeve.
Layne Norton used to have a different version in his sig ... "What isnt making you stronger is Killing you.

I always liked that.
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  #20  
Old 05-05-2008, 12:37 PM
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You know, M, that brings up something that really pisses me off. It's the "guru" mentality that squashes questions with nothing more than intimidation tactics. If a person is passionate about training and fitness they will RELISH the oppurtunity to avail you of their ideas. And not with a one-size fits all one line response.

If someone tells you you are overthinking that usually means they have no answer! Sure, people over-analyse simple things all the time...that is a different story. But when you are paying someone they better have the answers even if it is to explain to you why it's the wrong question

A trainer should be able to explain the reason behind every single thing they prescribe and be ready to back up their plans at all times with thorough explanation. When it comes to your health you are not "over analysing" when it comes to questions, you are being smart.
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