About becoming a personal trainer

Pick up something heavy, press something overhead, do a deep knee bend.

Well done Kyle, perfect session.

Cheers. And this is basically what we're being taught at RMIT, as I said they're big on the compounds, full-body workout each session, "every exercise is a core exercise", and so on. Situps don't appear in the exercise part of the manual (they have prone braces instead), and just yesterday one of the teachers was dissing the leg press in favour of the squat. They do have swiss ball exercises in there for the core, but nobody's perfect.

She's a strong young woman, all her aerobics and rowing has stood her well. Very strong and stable core. I want to encourage that potential.

It will be very interesting to see what she inflicts on me next week, I will learn a lot from being at the receiving end, though with my particular issues I expect more technique work than anything.

Another thing was that while I was training her one of the teachers was in the next squat rack, training one of his clients. He kept dropping little comments in, not on her lifting or technique but on my coaching. It was a bit nerve-wracking but useful

Sounds like a fine course

KYle, is this RMIT in the city? Latrobe / Swanston?

Yep, that's the one. Read the thread you lazy sod

Guilty lol...

An interesting few days. The exercise programming has been a bit slow for me and the other two from Holmesglen as it's not all new to us, but they've different advice.

The only crazy thing I've heard is that "deadlift is not a pulling exercise, it's a leg exercise."

I thought but did not say, "I've never been able to do a deadlift without using my back, could I deadlift twice my bodyweight but not be able to do a single chinup?" I guess he just wants to put each exercise in a neat category of legs/push/pull, and deadlift is an inconvenient one that goes in two categories. But it just affects a few programmes I write during the course, after that I can forget it

As to the programming in general, Holmesglen was all "Give them lots of exercises, this gets them around the gym and familiar with it. Yeah I guess compounds are good, they should do some cardio though, too, what do you mean you can't do weights after cardio, of course you can."

RMIT is,

• give them the fewest exercises possible, so they can learn them well and see their progress
• What is best for strength? compounds. For size? Compounds. For fat loss? Compounds. For sports? Compounds. For rehab? do I have to say it? Compounds.
• Low intensity cardio is not much use, unless it's more than they ever did before. Otherwise, resistance training is to be preferred, second-best is High Intensity Interval Training. "Combine those two and you're golden."
• There should be no isolation exercises while the person is still a beginner, just a full-body compound-based workout 3 times a week.
• Every workout should have Legs, Push and Pull and stretches. When they've been doing it a few months, you can make it Legs, Push, Legs, Pull, HIIT and stretches.
• A "beginner" is a person who has not yet managed: squat/deadlift 1.5-2x bodyweight, bench 1-1.5x bodyweight, chins 6-12 for men and 3-6 for women
• once they're no longer a beginner then you can think about splits, isolation exercises, etc. But even then the base of your programme ought to be compounds.
• Compound exercises should always be done with the fullest range of motion possible which does not compromise perfect posture. If that's a narrow range, well that's where they start, build up from there.
• There is a continuum of exercises from easier to harder, an older less fit less bodily aware person will be on one side (machines, etc), the younger fitter more bodily aware person on the other (barbell deadlifts, etc). But everyone gets squats, even if only bodyweight squats.
• A beginner may not be able to do much. "But is it more than they were doing before? If so, then they'll improve."

All seems good to me, though I'm sure plenty of you would quibble over the details.

Still training with the young woman, it's going well, but I have to go to the physio about some kind of knee injury. In the meantime I've just been training upper body and not been cycling, which I've not enjoyed much. Productive workouts anyway, she is getting stronger, and me a bit fitter. Just one more quiz and two more days before the break, we go back Jan 18th I think. I'll be a married man then

how is deadlifting a leg exercise???? your not using squat mechanics

I can understand the dilemna when classifying compound movements into one area. It may seem straight forward to some of you.

When little Nick deadlifts at PTC, he uses no leg drive at all, pure back. He DL 192.5kg and squats only 115kg. He has no leg power at all. So its a back exercise, correct?

When he squats, he has no leg power and leans forward excessively, its meant to be legs, trust me its back.

I also know lifters who deadlift from the full squat position, Minh deadlifts and squats 220kg @ 70kg, same action for both lifts.

So while theoreticly its a back exercise, compounds can include more than one area.

Thats why we dont train bodyparts at PTC, we train lifts. Its also why I mock those that say they train chest or legs etc. Its not possible to simply train one area if using compounds.

If your doing isolation stuff, your simply ignored, you dont count so I dont comment.

The only area the instruction is incorrect is in that its trying to classify the lift, I dont feel you always can, it can be lifter specific.

Weird I start deadlift in the full squat and use my legs and lower back.

Everyone is different, there is no right or wrong way, you will naturally use areas where you are strongest.

My last newsletter # 110 was The Sience Of Deadlifting. I did 4 pages explaining how different lifters need very different assistance exercises.

My wife equalled her deadlift PB standing on a 4" block......because she was able to use more leg drive, and her legs are stronger than her back. I just need to find her sturdy 4" platforms to deadlift in lol

Well as I said I didn't argue it with him, nor do I plan to. It's not important. We just get in there and lift, and make sure the basic movements are covered: squat, pull and press.

Training is going well. The other day during the workout my trainee went deaf in one ear for a bit. She then told everyone about it.

Today she was close to tears during Tabata, wanted to stop. "Keep going, even if it's just 1 rep in the set. Just 1, you are strong and fit, you can do it." Of course if they do 1 they get all proud and want to do more Afterwards she went and told everyone about it, and... another classmate asked me to train him.

Squats, chins, Tabata thrusters. No tears or deafness, but he crumbled in the 3rd set, "keep going," he finished it. Afterwards, "What are you doing tomorrow, Kyle, are you free?"

These people are crazy.

Since I was in the Army and (briefly) a Corporal, it has been suggested that I have a PT business called Corporal Punishment. Not sure if that's an image I'd be comfortable with...

Kyle Aaron said:

Since I was in the Army and (briefly) a Corporal, it has been suggested that I have a PT business called Corporal Punishment. Not sure if that's an image I'd be comfortable with...

Click to expand...

AHahah reminds me of this, jap translation is better.

[YOUTUBE]qbMBU1tguBI[/YOUTUBE]

On the last day for the year, today we had some quizzes, one on the heart, respiratory and digestive systems, one on the health and fitness assessment, and the last on postural assessment. I just stuffed up on the heart, I mean muscles and posture, if you remember some of it you can just move yourself around a bit and figure out the rest. But the vena cava and pulmonary artery and which has deoxogenated blood and... you just have to memorise it all.

This afternoon we were supposed to come up with an outdoor work with just one piece of equipment each, medicine balls, dumbells, plates or therabands, our choice. We were told that we had to have one legs, one pull and one push exercise.

"Where we're going, are there fences and things?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Okay I don't need anything then."
"Still grab a medicine ball or something."
"Rightyo."

My regular training partner was with one guy in the class, not the sharpest tool in the shed but a decent guy. He grabbed... little pink 0.5kg dumbells. She was insulted and pissed off, and rightly so. I guess he wasn't listening when she was talking about doing Tabata thrusters with 6kg dumbells, squatting her bodyweight for a heap of reps, or putting half her bodyweight overhead.

Most were in pairs, we had odd numbers so I was in a group of three. The other two are always hanging out together, so when the guy was instructing the woman kept laughing and stopping and resting. The teacher wandering around was not well-pleased and said, "When you swap around, Kyle I want you to be the instructor for both, she can have a second session."

I warmed them up with star jumps, "Two minutes... go!" Thirty seconds in she started laughing and stopped. "You're resting? So you'll have more energy, another 30 seconds for you." She did it again. "Awesome, up to three minutes now. The other guy is going to fall asleep waiting for you to finish."

She ended up doing four minutes, and had stopped laughing

I put them through another 25 minutes, pushing them, making sure it was just on the edge of what they were capable of. For example, the woman knocked out 20 knee pushups easily, so obviously she could do several full pushups. "But I can't -"

"Sure you can, just try."

I went a bit Army-style, and got them to do the exercises in tandem, on my command. "Up... down... up!... down... hold it... hold it... up! down!" and so on. If they feel they're doing it together this helps them get through it.

I am slowly developing my own style of doing things. I call it "firm but fair". Like if there's a lift and I'd said, "our goal is 5 reps," and they just managed 4, "okay, that was well done, rest for a bit, give me that 1 you missed plus 1 more for missing it, you are strong and can do it."

No shouting or anything, not my style

You are going to make a great PT, would of been great to have you at my gym when I first started!

With a couple of weeks before class starts up again, I have put the offer out there to train, or train with, other classmates, and revise the theory stuff with them. I'll just go to the gym each day at the same time and see what happens, helps us recruit people for the PT clinic, too. One classmate showed up today, the other happened to come in.

The one who showed was late, I'd worked out already, so I trained him:- squats, chins, bench press. He wanted to do some "core work", I said squats and chins worked his core, relax, but he wanted some extra, fair enough. No Tabata as he's asthmatic and hadn't brought his puffer, I don't feel like doing CPR again.

A second classmate was doing half leg presses with 300kg and his knees turned in while he did it. This particular machine I am wary of since it has a stop, if you collapsed it'd stop the weight from crushing your body, but your leg would still be munted.
"You're finished with him? Will you train me?"
"Sure," I said, "stop what you're doing, we'll clear off the plates, you are likely to injure yourself without much chance of getting stronger."
"Just one more set..."
"Okay, you want to train yourself, that's fine, I'll leave you to it."
"No, I just want to do one more set."
"If you want me to train you, I'll train you. That means you do what I say. Then stop now. If you want to do your own thing, that's okay, too - but you don't need me for that."
"But - just this one -"
"Okay, be careful, see you later in the cafe."

Unpaid training of others, so I have the luxury of saying no. When they pay I have to say yes, but... but if they pay for it, they're more likely to listen, your mates always ignore you.

It was funny because the other guy had just been asking me whether I thought we should approach people in the gym using bad form. I said, if they're in immediate danger of injury, yes - otherwise, leave them to it unless we're hired to help them, they will just tell us to fck off anyway, especially the blokes. [Deep Aussie bloke voice] "I know exactly what I'm doing!"

Mate when I did my certs 98% of my class was like the dude on the leg press - when it really comes down to it, its not worth your time.

I ask myself the same Q every week "why do some ppl do there certs" - like they have either never trained in a gym before, or they have never trained on a consistent program, I just don't get it - it does not make sense to me one bit why these ppl want to become personal trainers - yea there is the money but how many pt's do you know make a really good living out of it - not many.

Its also sad to see that prob 90% of the pt's they go out to work are shit - I wouldn't even look at them if they asked me for a job at my gym.

As you can prob tell it drives me f***ing crazy!

If they arn't willing to listen - bugger them off - not worth it mate!

Well, as I've said before on the thread, people do Cert III/IV for a number of reasons. I think there are four rough categories.

• injured - someone who had a knee reconstruction, came back from a broken spine, etc - during rehab they got an interest in physical training, and just want to improve their own knowledge - no PT career wanted
• martial artists - similar to the injured, their hobby makes them interested in physical training, also some martial arts organisations seem to require Cert III/IV if you want to be a high-level instructor - no PT career wanted
• drifters - long-term unemployed people, or young people around 17-25, not really sure what they want to do with their lives, "I'm just giving this a go," etc. - who knows what these guys want
• passionate - the ones genuinely interested in the industry - want a PT career

It's pretty obvious which I consider myself to be, others may disagree. The dodgy leg presser is a martial artist, so really it doesn't matter if he knows his way around a gym or not. The other guy I think is a drifter (22 yo), but I think he may also discover a passion for it, he certainly enjoys training hard and cares about other people, and that's the important part, I reckon.

But anyway, point is that only the last lot really do intend to be PTs of some sort. And those don't seem to be more than 1/4 the class, from what I've seen and heard. Sometimes less, rarely more.

So only 1/4 the class is going to go on to do either good or bad. I mean, some of the drifters might do it but most won't last more than 12 months - though a few may discover a passion for it.

And some of the passionate will lose their passion as their beautiful ideal dissolves in the bitter water of reality - no, you will not spend your time counting Ian Thorpe's bench press reps or helping Jessica Alba do supine hip extensions.

Overall, not more than 1/4 the class. More like 1/6, thinking about the ones I've met.

I think you could make a similar breakdown for any course. It's disappointing in many ways, but I think it's fair enough that the teachers let in people they're not sure are really passionate. You have to give people a chance.

The main frustration with the fitness industry as a whole, is that it completely lacks regulation. As a result, the industry is a mockery. Standards vary too much. Even basic education between organisations is totally different. Some offer "8 week courses" in comparison to a full 12 month TAFE certification, in comparison to a full bachelors degree. It degrades the credibility of the whole industry, and those of us who work hard in it.

If you scan over some other parts of the thread, Nic, you'll see that it's even crazier than that - in that a "12 month" TAFE course may actually have less effective teaching hours than a 6 week course at another institution. While some will go for 8 weeks full-time and do nothing technical at all.

Holmeslgen effective teaching hours were about 40 for one cert, RMIT effective teaching hours, 72. AIF = 0.

And within those hours, considerably different amounts of information are given. For example, no other Cert III/IV course I know of does RMIT's kind of postural analysis. Mostly they get the students to run boot camps and that sort of low-content stuff.

People with bachelor's degrees usually don't become personal trainers, they help out physios in hospitals and that sort of thing. It's the Cert III/IV people who do that.

While we don't have regulation worth speaking of, we do have registration, and the industry bodies make some effort to keep some standards - and some workplaces require industry body membership.

In the end it's like any other industry - the truly hopeless people are unlikely to get employment, and if they get it won't keep it. The ordinary ones will, but will never prosper. The good ones either do well or get jack of it all and quit

All we can do is try to improve the industry and its image by our own actions.