After getting home from the health club tonight I felt compelled to write this
article on the potential dangers of just hiring a trainer without finding out what
their credentials are…
While I was working out tonight a guy I know from the gym who is in excellent
shape, came over to me and informed that he had just “picked up his first
training client.” I immediately found this strange since he works as a real
estate agent. Anyway, he went on to tell me that his neighbor asked if he
could train her son to improve his football skills, and since this guy had
played division I football she thought it would be a great match. After she
offered to pay him $100/hr he gladly accepted.
The next thing you know this ex-football athlete was telling me how he had his
neighbor’s son running 3 miles as a warm-up and then doing some heavy
lifting drills for his legs. Any decent strength & conditioning coach will tell you
that not only is that workout completely backwards from a sports periodization
model, but it is practically useless in terms of functional and applicable skills
to football. I felt compelled at this point to try and shed a little light on the fact
that a more appropriate program would be built upon shorter sprints, since
most plays account for less than 40 yards in length. He told me that “this kid
isn’t ready for that yet.” I couldn’t believe it! He’s not ready to run a 20 to 40
yard sprint, but he is ready to run 3 miles and then train maximally with his
legs afterwards when his strength has been pretty much depleted???
At that point I just let him finish, and this is where it gets really good. The ex-
athlete turned “personal trainer” casually mentioned that his client is only 12
years old! But wait there’s even more – The “trainer” proudly stated that his
12 year old client had “a cast on his wrist,” and when he gets it off they are
going to start some plyometric work!!! If you are not familiar with plyometrics,
these exercises are extremely effective in “sports specific” type training, but
are also some the highest impact movements on the joints due to ground
impact forces. Thus, as a pre-requisite there are a series of assessments that
must be completed when training an athlete to qualify that athlete to
participate in those types of drills. I can assure you, if you ask a 12 year old
boy who is probably going through a growth phase and just got a cast of his
wrist to perform upper body plyometric work, he will surely re-injure either his
wrist or another compensating muscle or joint.
In closing, please research your or your family’s trainer. Just don’t pick the ex-
athlete because they are in good shape or know the game… Even a good
sports coach will tell you his expertise ends with instructing players on the
game and he lets his strength & conditioning coaches design programs to
enhance his player’s power, speed, agility, etc. When in doubt look to see if
your trainer is certified through either NSCA, NASM, ACSM, or has a degree
in an exercise science related field. If you are looking for athletic
performance, your best bet is to make sure your trainer has the CSCS
certification…
Good luck and never be afraid to ask your potential trainer lots of questions
and if you have any doubts keep looking!
Committed to your success,
Stephen Cabral, CSCS, CPT, NS
Author of Fatlossity – Lose5in7 Weight Loss System
Health Consultant for MTV, NutritionData, Diet.com, Gather, EDGE
Stephen Cabral is a national health correspondent with over 10 years of credentials. He
holds national and international certifications in strength & conditioning, personal training,
yoga and nutrition. For more information on his Free Trim, Tone & Tighten Newsletter
seen by over 100,000 readers each week sign up at www.StephenCabral.com
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“I have made more progress with Steve than I have on my own or with other
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