Training and Teaching

I’ll admit it, I’m pretty much useless when it comes to technology. I’m lucky to have been able to get a website put together without causing a new global economic crisis. I mean, I cancelled my cell phone data plan, primarily because I didn’t use it, and also because I didn’t want to accidentally cause the nukes to go off and start the Armageddon (I heard the new smart phones are crazy powerful and didn’t want to take the chance). I’ve lost my phone twice and wound up washing it in the washing machine two other times, meaning I needed replacements, and each time I had to re-enter all my contacts because I can’t get the damn thing to sync to my computer. Fail

So when the time came to set up a website, I originally opted for a free one through Blogger, primarily because, well, I’m cheap and it was free. Second, it seemed pretty easy to do, just hit some radio buttons, click “Yes” to this, “No” to that, Bob’s your uncle. When I wanted to expand it, I had to set it up through Go Daddy and WordPress, and nearly wound up crying in the fetal position in the corner of the room while hugging my knees and rocking softly.

Thankfully there’s tech support. I’m sure they get all kinds of people phoning in who have no idea what they’re doing, how to do it, and probably a few tearful “why won’t it WORK!?!?” They’re trained to make you not feel stupid and to answer all the dumb questions we can ask cheerfully and professionally. I’ve tried to read up on how to do these kinds of things, and the language being used might as well be written in Klingon or anything Tracy Anderson writes because I can’t understand a bloody word being said. For that reason, having a trained professional walk me through it and answer all my asinine questions in a timely and professional matter is worth its’ weight in gold.

This is one of the biggest benefits someone will have in working with a personal trainer. I’ll admit, most of the information out there can be confusing, and even contradictory, which means those clients coming through the door are going to need some help. Sure, there may be those who just need an objective set of eyes to tell them their hips aren’t moving properly or to depress their scapula a little more and they will be the next Bill Kazmaier, but most people will be a lot like me in the internet: lost and in need of guidance.

I joke occasionally about people asking dumb questions, primarily because it’s an easy joke to get people to laugh a little. Truth be told, I would never belittle someone for not knowing something, because I was once there as well. If I see someone doing something stupid in the gym, my first thought is always “Please stop doing that, you’re making my eyes bleed.” Once over the initial shock, I want to try to find a way to get them to fix the problem by playing to their desire to improve themselves and to respect their egos and make them feel good about themselves in the gym.

I’ve done a couple of variations of this. Occasionally I’ll just get eye contact with the individual and give them coaching cues and corrections directly, like “get your chest up and sit through your hips.” Most if not all people will respect a little 2-second coaching. If I’m not sure how they will respond, I strike up a short conversation with them. “Hey, I saw you doing some good weight on your deadlifts. If you want to get a little more weight on the bar, try to put some more weight on your heels and drive your hips into it instead of standing up through the balls of your feets.”  After that we throw down a Predator handshake, eat some beef jerky and call it a day.

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

Same goes with any of my clients. If they come in and have atrocious movements in exercises I know they can do better, or if they completely brain fart on an exercise we’ve done a dozen times, I may poke a little fun depending on their mood, but I always try to make it more about teaching than simply putting them through the paces. My ultimate goal as a trainer is to make all my clients completely self-sufficient within the gym, and to take control of their health and well-being. Lofty goal, I know, but occasionally it works out. I know too many trainers who only want to be good at making people work out and sweat their face off, only to leave the person unsure of what to do on their own between appointments. If the client can leave feeling like they know more than when they came in, I did my job. Training is just another word for teaching.

I’ve never had to worry about giving my clients too much information. I can honestly say that I could never teach a client everything that I have learned about health, fitness and training, simply because they don’t have the time to spend learning as I have. I’m never going to have a client say that they learned everything they needed to know, and therefore don’t need to work with me anymore. In most cases, the more I give, the more they want.

Again, it all comes down to training being synonymous with teaching. The more I teach, the more a client wants, and the more valuable I become in their eyes.