"12 Reasons to Fire Your Personal Trainer" by Steve Maxwell

It appears that Coach Maxwell is causing a stir on his blog again, and his most recent post could not have come at a better time. Last week, I was at my favorite park enjoying the sunshine, green grass, trees, abusing my sandbag, and trying to break my pushup board when I see a woman being trained (Boot Camp style) by this trainer who looked to be in his mid-20s.

Every now and then I would see the trainer and the woman glance my way while I was training. This really didn't bother me since I'm use to folks staring at me when I train because nobody else is out there bare-footed in the grass, with shades on, and an mp3 player attached to his ears. I'm not even going to tell you how the parents, who are taking their kiddies to the community pool, look at me when I'm doing my hip mobility exercises. Man, I think I need to get a t-shirt that says, "I'm not a pedophile, I'm a physical culturist!" ...

So, this young buck had this poor woman, who was obviously de-conditioned, doing the following circuit:

• pushups
• 30 yard bear crawls to a tree
  
• jog around the tree
• all out sprint for about 40 yards to the Fitness Cluster (the wooden workout stations in parks) near where I was training
  
• 15 reps of bodyweight squats
• 15 reps of step ups on a pretty elevated platform
• run back to the starting place
• repeat ...

I was floored when I saw this because she was clearly about to pass out after the first time through! Oh, and when she was complaining about how difficult this was, he had the nerve to tell her, "I told you that I was going to take things up to another level." This upset me, but what really pissed me off was that he worked out with her and was barking at her to keep up with him. Yeah, this de-conditioned, 40 something year-old woman, who probably needs to reduce her body fat by 10 percent, is going to keep up with a guy who was clearly an athlete in school judging by his build.

My blood was boiling a bit because it brought back very ugly memories I have of these type of personal trainers or personal abusers, as I like to call them. But, I didn't say anything because I go to the park to train and not socialize or get in other folk's business; however, when I could hear this woman panting so loudly that it was drowning out Bulls on Parade, I had to look back to see what was up. Well, as can be expected, she was on her second round of step-ups, and this poor woman had reached her limit. And, guess what her trainer was doing?

Checking his phone's text messages!!!!

When he noticed that I was watching, I guess he felt compelled to put away his damn phone and start doing step-ups with her, as if he was showing her how easy they were. He started to bark at her again about how she had to keep pushing herself. I was doing hindu pushups at the time, but I just stopped, shouldered my sandbag, and went for a walk across the field (a great leg and core exercise by the way) to get away from them before I couldn't hold my tongue any longer.

As I walked back across the field, they passed by me, and I could see the pain and frustration in the woman's face. Fortunately, her personal abuser chose not to make her do another round, as if she really could have. I watched as she limped, exhausted and sweaty, to her car. I really wonder whether or not she'll be back this week.

So, you can imagine how happy I was to read Steve's post on "Twelve Reasons to Fire Your Personal Trainer." I'm not going to post all of the pictures here, so I really encourage you to visit his blog to see them. Simply click on the article's title to read his original post complete with some pretty hilarious photos of Steve playing the part of the trainer who needs to be canned!

I hope you enjoy his post, and please leave comments about some horror stories you've had or have seen from these personal abusers.

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"12 Reasons to Fire Your Personal Trainer" by Steve Maxwell

1. Your trainer is a poor match.
Training is a personality-driven business. More important than credentials, or even knowledge, the trainer's personality must be a good match with yours. The trainer's job is to be upbeat, positive and always in a good mood. Mood management is a hallmark of the true professional. If the two of you fight like a married couple, it's a poor match.

2. You're getting injured.
Even with the best personal trainers, an occasional injury is unavoidable, but when you have constant, nagging, recurrent injuries, your trainer isn't paying attention to proper form and technique.

3. No results or poor results.
Some clients have unrealistic expectations about what they can or cannot do; however, if you feel like you're on that treadmill-to-nowhere, never making progress with your weight loss or strength goals, then it's a good bet your trainer is incompetent. Which leads us to number 4...

4. No record-keeping.
For fat loss in particular, it's very important to document progress with anthropometric measurements and before/after photos. Skin folds and other measures of body composition are generally inaccurate but can sometimes be useful in gauging the general trend of fat loss progress. If your trainer isn't keeping precise records, including recording each workout, then he's simply lazy.

5. Not paying attention to your stated goals and needs.
Goals should be hammered out during the first meeting and everything should be made clear. If the trainer doesn't keep his agreement and starts to veer from the agreed-upon path, then it's time to say adios.

6. You're in a constant state of fatigue from your workouts.
Included here is frequent colds and other illness, constantly aching joints, especially a "heaviness" of the limbs. This means your trainer is driving you into the dreaded overtraining. Working out is meant to enhance your quality of life and make you feel better, not worse. This doesn't mean your goals don't require hard work--they do--but a good trainer knows the difference between under and over training and should be able to figure out the proper dose of exercise for you, if he's any good at all.

7. Using negative reinforcement.
Most people feel bad enough about themselves already and don't need anybody else to make them feel worse. Personal training is to help you feel good about yourself and enforce positive habits and positive self-image. Some clients may seem to respond well to being berating and insulting in a boot camp/drill instructor style, but in my experience, people who like this kind of training have a masochistic disorder, enjoying emotional beat downs. Words are powerful tools and affect the subconscious mind. Using negative techniques does nothing to promote health and healing. As a young trainer, I used to fall into this pattern because I thought it was cool and macho but later I realized it created more harm than good...for them and me.

8. Your trainer complains about his own personal issues on your time.
Your trainer is paid to be there for you. Part of that entails paying all of his attention to the details of your workout and supporting you in your optimal performance. There's no room for sharing personal gossip. If he's a constant complainer, run for the nearest exit! I've also heard trainers engage with their clients in a gab-fest and end up talking more than doing.

9. Your trainer is always late.
This is an indication he has no respect for you or your time. Subconsciously, he's not looking forward to seeing you and doing his job. When people are late for appointments, they're avoiding and procrastinating the meeting because they don't want to be there--this includes taking cell phone calls and texting during the workout. There are times these things are unavoidable, but anymore than very occasional is a waste of your money. Find someone who's in the moment with you.

10. Your trainer is a Don Juan.
There's an old saying, "you don't sh*t where you eat". These relationships rarely work out. There's undeniably sexual attraction when two people meet and it happens in every professional setting. Casual flirtation is harmless. Letting people know you find them attractive can be a great ego boost. But when your trainer is a known player around the gym, you may do better with someone with a better handle on who they really are. Maturity on this level is a good indicator of professional commitment. The energy should be going into your workout, not titillations.

11. He's letting you get away with murder--and you know it.
Sometimes trainers put clients through ridiculously easy workouts (they don't push you, permit sloppy form, stick you on aerobic equipment while they just talk to you) just to make some easy money. They don't progress you or design new programs. Or they switch up your program so frequently there are no meaningful gains made. They don't admonish you for diet infractions or missed workouts or touch on any seemingly unpleasant topics because they're interested only in your money, not you and your progress. A true fitness professional will call you on your bullsh!t because he's about earning the money he's paid.

12. Poor personal health and workout habits.
If your trainer shows up for your appointment looking like he slept in his clothes, sloppy and disheveled, it means he has no personal pride in his profession or appearance. The same goes for fat trainers. If your goal is weight loss, how can you expect someone else's help if they can't discipline their own eating? Another old saying in the coaching business: you can't take someone else where you haven't been.

Fatties in the weight-loss business are something to be avoided like the plague.

Before the flames arrive, let me clarify: I'm not talking about a power lifting coach or someone training strongmen. Being heavy and carrying extra body fat can be an advantage in these types of events. I'm talking about people who work with the general public where weight control and increased health are the primary goals. In my opinion, there's no place for fat trainers. If you're a fat trainer reading this, have some pride in your appearance, follow your own advice and get the weight off, otherwise you're in the wrong profession.

Further, I'd like to state that in over 36 years of working in the personal training business, I have violated many of these rules at one time or another...and I later regretted it. I've lost both clients and income and--worse--people's trust in me. Luckily, I'm a fast learner and corrected these mistakes and became a better trainer for it.

Sandbags -- Stubborn Bastards!!

OK, I have to admit that going from receiving only 100 hits a day on my blog to close to 40,000 yesterday, with countless emails, all have me a bit wired with excitement, so I knew that I needed to do something to work off some of this energy.

One unfortunate thing about the CNN interview is that they didn't show any footage of me training with my Ultimate Sandbag. These bags are put out by Josh Henkin, whom I've blogged about before. After researching other sandbags and even building my own, I found that Josh's bags are top quality and ones that I recommend.

To fill my sandbag, I went to Home Depot and picked up a 50lb bag of all purpose sand for $2.15! I used 45lbs to fill the inserts to stuff into the main bag, and I've been working out with this bag like a kid. It reminds me of carrying around a little brother or cousin who's playing dead or something! LOL!

Anyway, it's time for me to change up my routine, which I'm starting to do every four weeks. So, I decided to follow some of Josh's routines that he's posted at his website and on youtube. Well fellas, one move in particular really surprised me--the Turkish Get-Up or simply The Get-Up (TGU). If you click on this link, you'll be taken to youtube for more than enough videos of people performing TGU using kettlebells (KBs), dumbells, or sandbags. I've trained with KBs for a couple of years now, so I'm very familiar with this move, as it works the whole body.

One thing about doing TGU with a KB or dumbbell is that you have to really focus on the weight above your head because if your attention wanders away from the weight, so will your arm. As a result, it's not only an exercise for muscular endurance but overall concentration too.

Well, call it arrogance or foolishness (probably a combination of both), but I really didn't think that doing a Get-Up with a 45lb. sandbag would be that challenging. Hell, I've done more than one Get-Up with a 70lb KB! OK, it's not an earth shattering weight like my buddy Ray who does TGUs with the 106lb. "Beast", but it was enough for me to not really "respect" the sandbag.

Wrong move!

Alright, I'm on my back with the sandbag lying across my left shoulder and left pec. The first thing that came to mind was, "Man, this feels heavier on my chest than I thought". Since I'm going to start taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes in a couple of weeks, I imagined trying to control a guy that weighs four times as much as this sandbag in my guard. It's no wonder that MMA fighters and other combat Martial Artists workout with sandbags.

"Yeah, it feels different, but at least I don't have to worry about focusing on anything overhead," was the next thought I had before going from my back to supporting myself on one-arm. As I raised my torso, the sandbag shifted and the weight pulled me back down to the floor! My wife just laughed at me because she saw that I was being kinda cocky with the sandbag since it only weighs 45lbs. OK, it was time to get serious, as I now realized that I have to "focus" a bit more than I initially thought.

I get through the first step of the TGU better this time because I was prepared for the shifting weight. Rest for a sec or two, and then I start my bridge and the sandbag starts to shift its weight again, which caused me to grip the bag and floor harder to support myself. This was really different from using a KB because you are so focused on staying in line with the KB so it doesn't veer from one side to the other; you don't experience the sensation of trying to keep something from falling from your body while supporting yourself on one hand with a KB. I think it's something that you have to experience to fully appreciate.

Now, I'm finally in the lunge position getting ready to stand up, but, before I can do that, I have to reposition the damn sandbag because it's not getting with the program! I'm trying to finish the "up" portion of the exercise before reversing all the movements, and the sandbag is trying to fall of my shoulder from every conceivable angle, which causes me to, once again, grip the stubborn bastard to get it under control. Fortunately, with help from gravity and a white-knuckle grip, going back down wasn't as bad.

All in all, doing TGUs with the sandbag was a pain in the ass, BUT man was it one of the most enjoyable pains in my ass that I've experienced in a long time. Sandbags don't care how much you can bench press or if you're doing double KB work with 70s; they don't even care if you have never touched a weight before in your life because they're not going to cooperate with you no matter what you current level of fitness. Stubborn bastards!

Below is a video of Josh showing the Top 5 Core Exercises done with sandbags. The TGU sit-up is the third exercise he shows. Notice how the sandbag flops around like a rag doll and the extra effort he has to use to keep it stabilized (if that's a word you can associate with them!):




Once again, I can't thank all of you enough for the comments and well wishes you have sent here at my blog or via email. I promise that I will answer every email that is sent to me, but please be patient with me.

Finally, be on the lookout for MrLowBodyFat's Blog to get a face-lift in the next couple of weeks, so sign up to receive my blog posts through email, rss/atom feed, or simply bookmark my site and check back weekly since my blog will be updated with new content and posts every week.

"Gurus Gone Wild" by Josh Henkin

OK fellas, I've decided that once a week, I will post something from one of the strength and conditioning coaches I mentioned in my last post. Our inaugural post comes from Josh Henkin, developer of the Sandbag Fitness System. In the about section of his blog, Josh says this about himself:

Josh Henkin is a Strength & Conditioning Coach in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is owner of Innovative Fitness Solutions (www.ifsstrength.com). He has trained professional athletes, composed creative fitness programs, and helped clients rehab from serious injuries. Coach Henkin is also the creator of the Ultimate Sandbag and author of two E-books on Sandbag training.

I found his post on "Gurus Gone Wild" an interesting read that I wanted to pass along. Click on the title to be taken to the original post and leave a comment:

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Gurus Gone Wild!

One of the most common questions I receive is "what do you think of what (enter guru name) said about this or that?" Let's face it I don't blame people, it can be very overwhelming nowadays. I use to feel overwhelmed 13 years ago when I first started in the industry. When I began I was attending seminars like crazy, this was my passion!! Even during these seminars coaches would say conflicting information and often I would leave confused and having what I call "seminaritis".

What is seminaritis? It is a common disease for most coaches and trainers. Seminaritis is when you enter a seminar with one philosophy and after the seminar COMPLETELY change your thoughts because of what was said. I use to be incredibly guilty of this and have seen it with other coaches soooo many times. Why? I believe in my early stages I wasn't completely confident with how I was working with people. I believed anyone giving a seminar must know more! This was probably a good attitude for a young person, however, as the years progressed I became more engrained in my own philosophy of training.

What else happened? I continued to grow more and more experience working with people. Currently I train people 60 hours a week, yep, you can call my assistant to verify this number. Insane, but true. So, just this year I will log almost 3,000 training hours! If we take this to a greater level, if I say I average 40 hours a week (I can only wish) in five years I will complete almost 10,000 hours of working with people. I can tell you in this day and age of internet coaches, very few will have logged that much experience working hands on with people.

So, when I attend seminars now my attitude is very different. Typically I will use the Bruce Lee idea of taking what is useful and disregarding the rest. I will look for ideas of subtle cueing or training concepts that I can relate to with my clients and their goals.

Here is what I DON'T do:

1. Perform a program because it is hard.
2. Perform an exercise just because it is hard.
3. Judge the success of a training session on the intensity of it.
4. Throw out my philosophy, I know it works I have worked with too many successful clients to say otherwise.
5. Listen to anyone that does not work with people daily.
6. Blindly say a method or technique works or doesn't because a Guru said so, this is foolish as almost anything works for a certain amount of time.

This may sound negative, but really it is a positive. My trying to understand how we can always improve what we are already are doing is evolution. Currently I am at a great program that I am looking forward to implementing some great concepts, but it won't change how I work with people. If you boil down all good systems they generally work with very similar principles.

Be careful of those that espouse that they have all the secrets, something completely doesn't work, and more importantly can't tell you from experience whether some ideas have potential or not. I can speak about a lot of different training methods because we have done most of them in my facility. The keyboard is a powerful tool nowadays for good and bad, you have to be the judge though.