The Faker

Photo by PeterEdin

We all know that the personal training field is EXTREMELY unregulated. This clearly attracts a lot of idiot personal trainers…but lately these trainers have been “disguising” themselves pretty well. Thanks to the internet, there is a ton of information out there and unfortunately this information is being misused.

Yada

To explain further, the “faker” personal trainer will say “I like to stick with the most bang for your buck movements, exercises that are compound, multi-joint movements. I fully focus on a strong program that is designed for you based off my assessment” and yada yada yada

While this person may give the persona of a knowledgable personal trainer, they’ll have a nice structured program, talk the talk, but when it comes to execution they fail. The squat is a 1/4 squat, the bench is done half to “save” the shoulders, power cleans look like power curls, etc…

photo by ColKorn1982

Another offense is when I talk to a trainer and they say they do the main exercises but I see this a squat with a kick or add in some other weak variation. While I’m not trying to knock group fitness class workouts, it’s probably not best to build your program off a auxiliary movement.

The point is to keep your eye open, when you first sit down with a potential personal trainer that you’re about to hire make sure to ask about:

Past experiences

• Make sure that this personal trainer has worked under a knowledgable Coach or trainer, a mentor makes all the difference.
• Saying I’ve worked in X commercial gym X amount of years puts up red flags for me.

Programming

• A program is key to obtain your goal, if they don’t have some type of program set up,  they’re most likely wasting your time. 
• Make sure that they have a focus on the program and be aware of it, merely saying “We’re lifting” weights isn’t enough.
• Example: Today we’ll focus on the Squat and add in Auxiliar total movements this is our initial set up:
  • Squat 4×10+ aiming to hit 225lbs x12 
  • OHP + Pull Ups 12,10,8
  • Step Ups + Leg Curls 3×10/10
  • ESD= Sled Push + Free Sprint 8×15 yards

Sit Down BEFORE

• This ensures you both are compatible.
• The personal trainer will get a base profile and understanding about your past history

While there are many other points you can list off, these 3 are very simple basic examples that everyone should hit before they hire a personal trainer. Hope this was helpful and will help you all stay clear of a jack ass personal trainer otherwise known as the “Faker”

Stay strong,

Team Fusion