Advice in regards to personal training...

**ascendant** · 07-10-2006, 10:29 PM

Well, finally getting back into personal training now that I've settled into a permanent location. Gonna be working for the largest gym around, their sales reps set us up with clients, and he says he'll be able to fill me up with a good 40hrs a week easy in no time, though I'm not sure if I actually want to work that much. Regardless, I'm really psyched to be getting back into it, but also a little nervous. After all, it's been about 2 years since I've done any personal training and with how big this gym is, I'm sure they're very selective. Basically, for the first 2-3 weeks, I'm in a "probationary" period, where they watch over me and make sure I'm the kind of trainer they want.

So, in order to make sure I do the best I can, I figured I'd come to you guys here. After all, I know there's a good handful of you trainers on here. Anyway, I know it's impossible to sum up training in a nutshell, but just wanted to toss out the basics of what I do for clients and get some feedback from you guys. Here goes...

Basically when starting with clients for the first time, I have them get on a treadmill and I do as well and I give them a good 5mins or so to warm up for the workout. While on the treadmill warming up, I run through all the "need to know" info, such as family health history, meds, injuries, etc. Next, I ask them about their experience with training, their goals, current routine, and the like. Then from there, I get a basic idea of how hard I can push these people and if their primary objective is working on form, learning new excercises, motivation, etc.

Then the weight training begins. As far as program design, it's very rare I set people up on anything other than some sort of split routine. As far as how many bodyparts I have them training in a day, that of course all depends on their level of development and how many sets I feel they can handle for a bodypart in any given workout. I focus on form, proper breathing, and point out things to avoid to prevent injury. I typically try to give them 45secs-1min breaks between sets, but with those people you can tell are impatient and don't want to wait, I'll sometimes go as low as 30sec breaks and just prolong their stretching at the end.

Once the workouts finished, I do passive stretching for clients, doing basic stretches for all their major muscle groups while allowing them to relax and just breathe deep. If I feel they don't push themselves very hard during the workout or in other rare circumstances, I will have them do pnf stretching for a little extra work.

That's pretty much a very generalized summary of how my training programs work for people, but it gives you an idea of how I set things up for clients. I just wanted to hear ideas from other trainers on here who add anything else in that might be worthwhile. I'm just really looking forward to training again and really want things to work with this gym as like I've already said, they're the biggest and the best around. Anyway, if you have any personal suggestions, websites with some possible useful info, or anything else you'd like to contribute, please feel welcome. Thanks.

**Panzerfaust** · 07-10-2006, 10:43 PM

I am just getting into it and it was great to hear how you approach the session, more than likely it is common to start in such a way no?

**ascendant** · 07-11-2006, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by muriloninja

I am just getting into it and it was great to hear how you approach the session, more than likely it is common to start in such a way no?

Thanks for the positive feedback. As far as how I start off, that is pretty much typical of how you'd want to start with someone. It gives you the opportunity to find out if there's any inury areas you need to be careful of as well as how many sets you should be having them do per bodypart.

For example, if they had surgery on a knee or have some other kind of knee issues, you'd want to start out with isolated exercises for their legs as opposed to any compound movements. That allows you to see if anything aggravates their knee(s) without an excessive risk that compound movements can cause. Eventually later down the road if their knee seems alright, you can start out with machine compound movements, such as the lying leg press machine with some light weight.

As far as how I split up a training routine for a person, asking them their experience up to that point lets me know where to go from there. Typically if they're completely new to training, I'll put them on a 2-day split, training 4 bodyparts each day and getting a full body workout in the 2 days. This allows you to give them an hour workout without excessively working any particular muscles as you would if say starting them off on a 4-day split and only training 2 bodyparts per day. Also, considering that since they're first starting off and their muscles are most likely not that well developed at that point, their muscles will tend to recover fairly quickly so long as the intensity level is not at maximum during their workouts and the volume isn't too high. As a person progresses, I gradually split them into a 3 and sometimes 4 day split routine down the road.

I know once you get most of these basics down, the main thing is being able to keep the people I guess you would say "entertained" during a workout, so that even during their break periods between sets, they feel like they're getting something from you. As you guys know from most of my posts, I have a lot to say, so as long as the persons talkative, I have no problems keeping up conversation. I know some people will passively stretch their clients between sets, or do something else to keep them physically occupied. Personally, I prefer to just give them their break physically. However, as I said, I'm looking for any and all advice and suggestions you guys can give me that in your personal experience as trainers works for you.

**gritt** · 07-11-2006, 02:16 PM

Sounds like you love what you do; that is what matters. I work around quite a few trainers and you can tell the good ones in that they really beleive in what they are doing and they do it well.

**ascendant** · 07-11-2006, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by gritt

Sounds like you love what you do; that is what matters. I work around quite a few trainers and you can tell the good ones in that they really beleive in what they are doing and they do it well.

Thanks bro. I've seen my share of both good and bad trainers, and not to be obnoxious, but I'd like to think of myself as one of the better ones. As I said though, after 2 years of not training and starting in such a huge gym that offered me the position, I just want to make sure to do everything as close to perfect as possible. During that 2-week probationary period, I don't want them to have a doubt in their minds that they want to keep me as a trainer.

**Natty99** · 07-11-2006, 08:07 PM

As Swole has said in another thread, Advising your clients regarding proper nutrition is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. Don't overlook this and make sure your clients are on correct diets for their goals.

**ascendant** · 07-11-2006, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by Natty99

As Swole has said in another thread, Advising your clients regarding proper nutrition is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. Don't overlook this and make sure your clients are on correct diets for their goals.

thanks for the advice bro. i actually already do that, i just forgot to mention it in my posts.

i have them write down everything they eat, times, portions, and all that, and bring it in to me. if they don't eat the same meals consistently daily, i get them into the habit of it. from there, i make sure their macros are good, the amount of calories are right for their goals, and take it from there.