Spotting a fraudulent trainer 101:

**King Kabuki** · 01:48 PM

Okay. This forum is also in-need of an off-beat yet informative thread and I recently read a really good article concerning this very subject. I wasn't aware of this myself but apparently there are a couple of websites floating around here where if you have 45 spare minutes and some common sense YOU TOO can be a certified personal trainer. Huh? Yup. It's JUST THAT EASY. Nowadays every single gym you go into there's some dink with a clipboard, a polo shirt, and a beach ball whose ready to whoop you into shape! He's gonna ask about your goals, he's gonna punch your stats into a computer and print you out a ready-made diet, he's gonna work you THROUGH your injuries, and next thing you know you're gonna be ready to pose in underwear, too!

I sincerely hope most of you are smarter than this but I do realize that a lot of these guys are also savvy of the competition factor so some of them can appear to have some knowledge and still be mostly full of shit. Over my years of working in this industry I've heard a TON of bad advice from trainers. I've heard of trainers recommending shit I'm not even sure trainers are SUPPOSED to know about. I've heard of trainers actually discouraging medical assistance for their clients. I've seen many a starry-eyed person desperately looking to get back to the shape they were in at some point going along with the nonsense.

First things first, ANY, and I mean ANY reputable trainer's FIRST move should be to ask you for your Medical Records. There is valuable information in there that pertains directly to what you are and are not going to be able to do. If they don't even seem at-all concerned with your Medical history then you can rest-assured they're not very much concerned with wether or not they injure you.

Another thing to look for is where exactly they got their certification. Education is hugely important, and there are actually not that many credible organizations that certify personal trainers. The ISSA is one and then there's also the Strength and Conditioning Association. Go with trainers who have undergone similar education as trainers who train Professional Athletes. There's a reason they're that highly regarded.

Now one of the other very big bad spots is the first workout, the free session if you will. Trainers who may end up fucking you up in the long-run are ones who immediately want to see what you can do and over-work you in the first session, or ones who jump straight into a routine. The first session is best-spent doing a VERY BASIC fitness assessment. Finding out things like weight, body composition, blood pressure, heart-rate, recovery heart-rate, and basic strength tests that DON'T kill you. If you go home from your FIRST session and you can hardly walk or move something the next day that's HARDLY good.

Be sure and ask for referrals and know how to question. It's very easy for someone to refer you to friends of theirs that will lie for them. Ask about what strength goals their referrals had set, how long it took to achieve them, and how they went about it. If it sounds like bullshit, chances are it is.

As far as that computerized dieting crap. Let me just say this. Your trainer should be willing to be part of a team to get you into your best shape. That included working closely with qualified medical professionals AND Licensed Dieticians or credible Nutritionists. Not a piece of machinery that could be on the fritz our outdated for all you know. I have a computer, and I wouldn't trust it to give me a solid eating plan. lol

If anyone else has anything to offer feel free.

**Lusst** · 11-08-2005, 04:48 PM

Thanks for the info Kabuki. My mother recently went and signed up at a gym (for what reason I dont know), so will gladly pass along this information.

Brad Morris · 11-08-2005, 06:08 PM

It is a little disapointing that someone who is supposed to know what they are talking about can get their certificates via an online questionaire.

I don't know what the gyms are like in your part of the world but Down Under its common for a person taking out a gym membership to be given as part of the membership one free consultation with a trainer and an introductory training session. Which in thoery is good.

But one of the gyms I worked at for a few months expected the following from their trainers:

Meet client.
Ask goals and what they want out of the membership.
Medical History Questionaire and Blood pressure check.
Ask client how often they can consistantly get to the gym.
For how long they can be at the gym each session.
Design a quick program around goals and FITT (Frequency, Intensity, Time Type) principles.
Show client how to use bike, treadmill and stair climber.
If introducing to weights show client around nine machine weight stations, such as Chest press, pulldowns, leg extension, shoulder press, etc.
Prepare for next client.

And they wanted all of that done in 30 minutes!!!

I did it, but I know that a lot of people had no idea how to use the machine weights or the cardio equipment the next time they came back to the gym. When a person has little kinesthetic awareness quickly showing them several different movements at the end of a fitness assessment is not going to help them much.

I argued with management saying that for people to grasp training properly they needed more time with the trainer. But money was a factor the owner did not want to committ the trainers to more than the first 30 minute session without the client paying extra for it.

But if a person can be walked through an entire training session step by step they are far more likely to pick up some of the basics and start to gain an understanding of how they need to train to achieve their goals.

I agree with King Kabuki, check your trainers certification and ask for references from prior clients (people are more than happy to give these to trainers if the trainer has helped them reach a goal). Ask how many sessions you get with the trainer and ask how the sessions will be structured.

A good trainer can really help put you on the road to great health and give you the tools to achieve your goals. All a trainer is suppose to do it help start your training, point you in the right direction and guide you for the first little while. They are suppose to impart knowlegde, not just take your money.

johnnynoname · 11-08-2005, 06:26 PM

lol at being certified by ISSA

**King Kabuki** · 11-09-2005, 12:04 AM

Quote:

lol at being certified by ISSA

Dude it's better than Bob's Certified Fitness Training Website and Waffles.

kickassboxer1 · 11-09-2005, 12:27 AM

oh u gotta be fucking kidding me lol. There are gyms that do this lol?!!

johnnynoname · 11-09-2005, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Kabuki

Dude it's better than Bob's Certified Fitness Training Website and Waffles.

i think i'd rather be certified by BOB's than ISSA. but then again I'm a ACSM cPT

MPCOA · 11-09-2005, 05:46 AM

Try for ACSM or NSCA with a four yr degree if you are really paying top $ for training. ACE is alright not as good. Also a trainer is not a nutritionist, they might know something,but unless they have a minor in nutrition and a certification, go to a real nutritionist.

**King Kabuki** · 11-09-2005, 07:16 AM

Quote:

i think i'd rather be certified by BOB's than ISSA. but then again I'm a ACSM cPT

Well don't be a prude boy, give the chaps in here some info on ACSM as opposed to ISSA. Nothing I've read on ISSA is bad but if you have information I don't then by all means. I'm not gonna cry about being wrong about something. In fact I'd like to know myself.

MPCOA · 11-09-2005, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Kabuki

Well don't be a prude boy, give the chaps in here some info on ACSM as opposed to ISSA. Nothing I've read on ISSA is bad but if you have information I don't then by all means. I'm not gonna cry about being wrong about something. In fact I'd like to know myself.

He is getting at the fact that ISSA is pretty much a hard online course where ACSM pretty much requires you to have a 4yr degree.