personal trainers

[gottabadrash]

ok here is something i can't comprehend... im a little guy(height wise) so i look bigger than most with smaller credentials..17 arms 13.5 forearms.. etc (gear free) . the trainers at my gym were offering to train me for free.. a couple of sessions.. the thing is they arent big, they are far from symetrical, and they have prolly a higher bodyfat % than me... i was just wondering what it takes to become apersonal trainer, and how valid is their advice if they look like they do.. also the ne trainer at my gym is old and was wondering maybe his workouts are outdated....do you have to renew your training cert every year?

 

[pullinbig]

read this thread from the training forum.

also i am certified as a trainer and train folks for a living, both on line and in the gym. i can tell you this. what i learned while getting certified was of no help at all. most of the stuff was totally useless for strength training. and as we all know strength training is what builds muscles. there were people in my class that had never been in a gym before and passed the certification tests. now how the hell these folks gonna train someone. its a racket in my opinion. you have to renew every year at a certain cost to keep your certification. i let mine lapse because it means nothing unless the gym that employs you requires it for insurance reasons. hell the folks i got certified thru sell the insurance too.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52203

 

[urripped]

I got my cert through ISSA several years ago. Its very easy, even too easy for anyone to get certified in my opinion. But I do think some of these certification programs are constructive and helpful.

If you have the passion for training you already know most of what they teach. But the problem is alot of these trainers in clubs dont know how to train, but they got a piece of paper that says they're certified just because they read a book and passed a test. Most havent even spent a week training themselves, but somehow they get clients.

I'm supposed to keep up on my CEU's every 2 years to stay certified. I've slacked a bit. Felt I was just giving them money.

 

[Ifrit]

I think we all agree the CEUS and continued education is crap and just a way for them to make more money. I am letting my certification lapse this month because it costs about $500 just to get more ceus. If they don't look good themselves find someone else.

 

[rippednick]

ACSM is the only certification that i know of that is proof of their knowledge. It is very hard.

 

[gottabadrash]

if the test is easy i think i should just take it... prolly make some good money of it... might be worth it

 

[urripped]

Yeah its easy, but its expensive to start and expensive to keep current. I have never had a client ask of I was certified. I did it on my own, but I really didnt learn anything worth money I shelled out for the course.

And like Ifrit says above the CEU thing gets to a point where its just not worth the money. You're just giving the certification outfit money for nothing. A person who has never picked up a weight ever can pass some of these certification courses.

Pullinbig's post is right on and sums it up perfect.

 

[inssane]

Unfortunately most of the trainers I have seen at gyms are just there to sell personal training time and make commission.
Just my .02

 

[{R}a{G}e]

I have seen alot of trainers who know what they were talking about however their bodies have not shown it. I am a person that thinks you do what you preach.

Alot of these people do pass these test and don't know shit. If your workout is working for you you and your more impressive then them then you can tell them to a) kiss your ass and tell them maybe they should pay you to train them or b) see if they have anything new to show you.

I am currently going to school for exercise science and will get certified through this. but i am also walking away with a degree. But like they said before, most of the things you will find out is that the things you have learned on your own will probably outweigh what they try to teach you in a book.

 

[Crekz]

Damn guys, don't be talking that kind of mess at the Bally's I go to!

If the 6 ft 150 lb personal trainer working there doesn't tear you a new one then the 400 lb one with 35% BF surely will!

 

[DJ VENOM]

6' 150 lb.
My dog almost waeighs as mush as that dude.
Anyway if it some thing you want to do, for a living or on the side it couldn't hurt but like the rest of the boys said the experience you gain from your on training and research is prob.ten fold to what you will get out of the training.
The ology for example I have learned a ton of stuff. Some of the guys on here know their stuff.

 

[DecaE]

The certification for Can-Fit Pro in canada is a joke...
i've done it and so have the rest of the trainers at my gym and i cant understand how any of them even belong in a gym in the first place. One of them has never even worked out before...
I don't understand how anyone can teach based only on theory without any experience themselves...
If the piece of paper didnt help you get a job then there would be absolutely no point in getting it.

 

[rich503]

Rage, if that isn't all that good; I will graduate soon with an Ex. Sci. degree and then go to PT school (hopefully Duke). Read and read to learn....

 

[syko]

you know what i hate.....the so called "strength trainer" at my gym has a degree in sports training and kinesology and all that crap (sorta like spikeylizzard is trying to get)....and he was struggling today to get the 80lb dumbell off the floor onto the rack while organizing the rack...and the dumbells go all the way up to 140lbs....i didnt stick around to see him try to move them....

it annoys me that people actually spend money to get a routine or advice from a 6'1, 150lb guy who says he has a certification....and pay 30bucks....whereas id be more than happy to help em out for FREE, and give them benefitial advice!

Today, i helped a guy )who i met yesterday while sharing the tbar row), and he was struggling with his bench press....i showed him how to do it properly with his elbows in more, etc...and he put his bench up 20lbs instantly....i felt so happy for him and for myself

 

[bigdaddy22]

ACSM is the only certification that i know of that is proof of their knowledge. It is very hard.

CSCS is also a very difficult cert. I got my CSCS after graduation and that shit was hard. I also agree that having a cert does not mean anything, but you got to understand that if a guy is not huge does not mean he knows nothing, Dan Duchaine is a good example of this, he competed earlier in life but usually was small and thin

 

[jarbulldog]

the thing that i think that you can learn from a book is butrion and how to write a diet but, trial and error is the best teacher because everyone's body is different. i am 5'4 198 and the only type of personal trainer that i would hire is a body builder that really knew what he is talking about. everything i have learned i haved learned from 16 years of training, and i can not even tell everyone what i have learned from this board and applied it to trial and error and i think i would be better then one of those trainers with a peice of paper because i would train them like i would train myself and i know what works and what does not.

 

[pullinbig]

Rage, if that isn't all that good; I will graduate soon with an Ex. Sci. degree and then go to PT school (hopefully Duke). Read and read to learn....

i live an hour from duke.

 

[rippednick]

i think pullbig is looking for a date. But seriously the guys with the biomechanics and kinesiolgy degrees that are so skinny arent really beneficial to bb's and pl's. Most of those guys are geared more to improve your vert or improve you stride through motion sensors to help you save energy. sport specific.

 

[Ifrit]

I think your look matters BIG TIME, I am the last to talk great about myself but I am now 183 pounds at 8% BF at 6"1 so I am no where near looking like crap. I'll also agree there are those that look like shit but no what they are talking about. There are 7 trainers at my gym besides me and out of those there are 2 that aren't fat as hell or anorexic and I hate that they hire these fools because it makes me look bad.

 

[{R}a{G}e]

I think they should have some kind of pre-requisit or something for trainers.

Keep some of the morons out of the field that have no idea what they are doing.