9 Ways to Spot a Crap Trainer

Numerous articles have been written on how to find a qualified trainer or strength coach and all of them offer the same advice - ask if they’re certified, insured, blah, blah, blah. These questions won’t give you the real information you’re seeking.  Does this person know what the heck they’re doing?  After all, it’s your money.  Shouldn’t you get your monies worth?  I’m here to give you the real skinny on what to look for and what questions to ask when meeting with your prospective “fitness expert.”

1. What does the trainer look like?

   Trainers are supposed to have a knowledge base for the best ways to lose fat, gain muscle and strength.  If you’re trainer looks like they belong to the Krispy Kreme frequent buyers club, you may want to go elsewhere. While they don’t necessarily need to have 8% body fat, they should have a healthy appearance. If its summer and your trainer is wearing a matching set of sweats, like an adult version of Garanimals, you may want to look elsewhere. Plus, your trainer should also be able to display a certain level of strength. I’m not talking about a 1,000 pound squat, but they should possess above average strength levels.  After all, if your trainer doesn’t possess the knowledge to make themselves stronger or leaner, then how do you expect them to help you achieve your goals?  Your trainer should motivate and inspire you, not just hold a clip board and count repetitions for you.

   

   “Hello, we’re your trainers”

2. Does your trainer wear a watch?

   This is a HUGE one to look for.  Rest periods refer to the length of rest between sets and are an often neglected parameter of resistance training. Rest periods are dictated by numerous factors, such as the amount of resistance used for an exercise. When you strength train (using heavy weights), longer rest periods are required because it can take the nervous system 5-6 times longer to recover than the muscular system. It’s common to take rest periods of up to 5 minutes when strength training. Rest periods also control your body’s hormonal response to resistance training. When using short rest periods (less than 45 seconds), growth hormone is produced by the body, in response to the lactic acid build up. Growth hormone devastates body fat!  So, look at the trainer’s wrist…no watch, take a walk. You’d be surprised to know that most trainers use the story method to determine your rest period. Once they’re done telling you a story, you do another set. Not very productive. Why?  Because by not monitoring your rest periods, you may rest for 45 seconds on one set and then get 3 minutes for the next one.  How do you know if you’re getting stronger or if your cardiovascular conditioning is improving if you don’t have consistent rest periods?

   

   This watch will save you from hearing about your trainer’s dreams about a real career.

3. How often does the trainer change your training parameters?

   One of the cornerstones of exercise science is the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demand). This means that after a while, your body will adapt to whatever training program you’re following. The time it takes for your body to adapt to a training program is dependent on many factors.  The main one being how long you have been consistently resistance training?

   Generally speaking, someone training for a year or less will usually adapt to a workout in about 4-6 weeks. An advanced trainee, someone training for over 1 year, may adapt in 3-4 weeks. After this time, a complete overhaul of training parameters is needed to further challenge your body. I’m talking about a different number of repetitions, sets, rest periods and exercises. If your trainer has you performing the same training program for over a month, take a walk.  The other side of the coin is the law of repeated efforts. This law states that you must repeat an activity a certain number of times before a learning or adaptive effect can take place. It’s this adaptive process that makes you stronger, increases your lean muscle mass and burns body fat. If your trainer has you performing a completely different training program EACH time you go to the gym, take a walk.

4. Does your trainer have you performing exercises on unstable platforms?

   This statement is going to get a lot of trainers upset with me, which is fine. I’m here for your benefit, not theirs.  For the past few years, there has been a growing (alarming) trend in the strength training community of having healthy clients perform exercises on unstable platforms, such as wobble boards, foam rollers and air pillows. They call it “functional” training. Some believe that performing weight training exercises on these devices creates an increased level of muscle activation in core musculature. Not a good idea. The concept of unstable training is not new. These training protocols have been around for a very long time, but what these trainers fail to mention, is that these training modalities have been “borrowed” from physical therapists (PTs). These trainers are using training techniques used by PTs for clients with muscular injuries and faulty motor recruitment patterns. If you’re healthy, then performing these techniques will make you weaker. Studies performed by Appalachian State University had 9 trained lifters perform a squat on stable ground and on an air pillow. The researchers measured the amount of force the lifters were able to apply, as well as the activation of the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. The researchers discovered that squatting on the air pillow severely reduced the amount of force the lifters could produce by 84%.  Studies performed by other universities are discovering the same results.  In order to get stronger, you need to lift heavy weight.  Performing an exercise on an unstable platform, will severely limit the amount of weight you can handle for that exercise, therefore denying you the strength gains promised by these trainers.  “Functional” training is so popular because of marketing and the need for trainers to do something new and different.  Even with new research disproving unstable training techniques, don’t expect trainers to abandon them. They’ve spent too much time and money on seminars, instructional DVDs and certifications learning to stand on a pillow.

           

   Guess who has a stronger core?

5. Does your trainer have you performing squats, rows, deadlifts, bench presses, chin-ups/pull ups, lunges and military presses?

   These compound exercises will prepare you not only for sport, but for everyday life. I’m certain you perform versions of these exercises throughout your day. Think about it. Plus, they’ll build muscle, strength and burn more calories than isolation exercises. Isolation exercises should compromise no more than 20% of all the exercises you perform.  Anything more than that and you’ll be going nowhere fast.

6. Does your trainer have you performing the above exercises in the 1-7 repetition range?

   As we get older, we lose muscle mass, specifically, Type II muscle fibers. These fibers are the ones responsible for making us stronger and they can only be trained with heavy weights.  Think they’re not important?  Visit a nursing home and you’ll quickly find that the majority of the residents are there because they lack the strength to care for themselves. Daily activities that we take for granted, such as getting in and out of chairs and taking a shower are impossible for them. So, keep training with high repetitions, neglecting your Type II fibers and you might as well look into retirement communities right now.  Ensure yourself a high quality of life, lift heavy.

7. Does your trainer have you using a “Smith” machine?

   The Smith machine consists of a barbell that is constrained to move only vertically upwards and downwards on metal rods. It is considered “safer” to use than a regular barbell because it only moves in one plane of motion. But here’s the problem: the Smith machine produces excessive strain on your joints, forcing them to work along the bar’s pre-determined path, whether it’s a healthy movement for your joints or not. Since the bar is stabilized for you by the metal rods, your body’s stabilizing muscles are not called into play. This “teaches” your body’s prime movers to function without the use of their stabilizing muscles and that’s not a good thing. The main reason trainers use the Smith machine is because it makes them look good. Since the bar is stabilized for you, you can use an unusually large amount of weight for any exercise performed. This false strength will not carry over to real life and the high loads used will further tax your joints, leading to pattern overload. The same trainers who preach “functional” training to build your core and stabilizing muscles are also big proponents of the Smith machine. It doesn’t make sense does it?

   Invented by an Orthopedic Surgeon to maintain his mortgage payments.
   
   

8. Do you feel better and/or look good nekkid?

   Once you begin resistance training, you should be feeling more energetic within a week or two.  You might feel some soreness the first week, but this is dependent upon your activity levels prior to working with your trainer. You should be able to see a difference in your body within three to four weeks or at least feel a difference in how your clothes feel. If you don’t experience any of these changes within the time line I have given, then something is wrong. Either the exercise parameters designed by the trainer are not challenging you sufficiently to cause any adaptive changes or you’re not holding up your end of the deal (not eating the right foods) or both.  I can’t tell you how many clients I have seen wasting their money month after month. If you don’t see any changes in your body within four weeks, and you’re eating properly, take a walk.

9. Ask questions…

   Listen to the answers that the trainer gives you to the following questions. If their answers give you a funny feeling, take a walk and give Banda’s Athletic Training Systems a call.

   1. What are your short and long term plans for achieving my goals?
   2. How often will we take body measurements?
   3. Will we ever spend an entire session discussing all your failed relationships?

   There you go.  Nine ways to check if your trainer knows what they’re doing. If you find that your trainer is lacking in one or possibly more of these areas feel free to print a copy of this article and leave it in a convenient place for them, like on the Smith machine.