Earlier on I posed a question on my own personal facebook page;
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Has anyone else figured out a way to politely say “stop posting that fucking round back dog taking a dump higher than Afroman deadlift and squat bullshit you have your clients doing in the gym” to PTs on Facebook and the ‘gram?!
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I posted it after I saw ANOTHER personal trainer post ANOTHER video of client doing something I would politely describe as “less than efficient” and more truthfully describe as “a bigger waste of time than tits on a bull”.
I wasn’t really looking for answers.
(It was more of an expression of my frustration at the dumb shit I see on FB every day from newly qualified personal trainers who have been let loose on the unsuspecting public)
BUT there were some really good responses to the Q, one of which came from a fellow coach, Trevor Naughton down in Cork Strength & Performance Gym. He said he uses;
“Hi bud I know it’s not my business but I would have appreciated if someone said the same to me if something was off. The form for ‘Xs’ deadlift wasn’t the best, it’s putting her/him at risk and it is also reflecting poorly on you as a trainer/coach. Just looking out for you.”
…but he also went on to say; “I wish I didn’t have that right on the top of my head” because obviously, like me, Trev sees way to much of that shit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not just mindlessly ripping into other trainers here. I get that we’re all still learning, and to be quite frank, there have been episodes in RevFit where someones tekkers has made me cringe.
You know what we did in that situation?
NOT POST THE FUCKING MESS OF A LIFT TO SOCIAL MEDIA SO EVERYONE ELSE COULD SEE WE’RE CRAP AT OUR JOB.
There’s nothing wrong with form breakdown once;
– it’s corrected immediately
– it does not happen every training session and become a habit
Posting it up suggests to me that the trainers involved don’t even realise the difference between good technique and dangerous technique, nor do they really care about their clients long term results once they get a short term ego hit. Sad times.
So you’re probably wondering what the point of all of this is. Why I’m emailing you moaning about it. And what I’ll hope to achieve.
I’ll tell you that in a second. The reason WHY I find it so frustrating is because it sets up false expectations for clients. Another trainer on the post nailed it when he said;
“It’s crazy!! we had clients start with us after training in a previous facility who nearly lost their lives because we wouldn’t let them just throw anything on the bar and lift. One clients words were “sure a lifts a lift” ‘
Imagine the conversation that followed. Trying to find a nice way to tactfully say “no – your other gym was just full of morons who don’t know what they’re doing”.
Totes awky mo mo.
Anywho, coming back to the point of this little rant.
The reason why I’ve given up and don’t say anything when I see people doing something wrong UNLESS THEY’RE PAYING REVFIT CLIENTSÂ is because for the most part, people just don’t care, and don’t want my help.
…or at least, they don’t realise they want my help. We don’t have a relationship. I don’t know them. They don’t know me. They don’t get that I’m not just some random punter who’s read a blog post or two. They don’t get that I, and the team, do this stuff PROFESSIONALLY.
And really, unless they’ve recognised they have a problem themselves, they don’t realise what you’re trying to help them solve. At best it will fall on deaf ears. At worst, it’ll spark a confrontation.
(me more man than you man because me man know how to lift stuff rightly and you don’t. now me sleep with you wife and exterminate you genetic line. SUCKER!)
…that sorta thing.
The point of all this is – if you don’t recognise that you’ve got a problem, no one can help you.
BUT if you know something’s up and you need help, there are trainers that will go to the end of the world to help you out.
In Dublin, that’s us at RevFit. In Cork, there’s guys like Trev in Cork Strength & Performance. All over Ireland there are guys who eat, sleep and breathe it so it is incredibly frustrating to see people still being duped by part time PTs who are in good nick cos they take a boat load of drugs and eat nothing but chicken and broccoli.
Jussayin’.
Please send all hate mail directly to “go@fuckyourself.com”.
PS – the reason why I get so annoyed about it is because the problems we keep seeing are easily solved. Most just don’t recognise the problem, or have the tools to solve it. Mind bending.
PPS- eh… obviously if you need help with something… even if it’s just a video technique review… send it in email and we’ll help ya out