Personal Trainers P*SS ME OFF!!

Okay, so that's not entirely true.  Not all trainers piss me off, some of my really good friends are PT's and there are some really awesome trainers out there BUT on more than one occasion over the last few weeks I have seen various PT's in the parks or in the gym that have just made my blood boil.  Let's give a few nameless PT's a good kick up the backside......

Here are a few guidelines both for Personal Trainers and yourselves in the simple courtesy's that should be maintained during your training session.


1. The damn mobile phone!!! 
 
Trainers:  Don't text/talk/do ANYTHING with your mobile phone (using it as a stop watch is okay) or unless it is an absolute emergency and you have advised your client before hand that you may need to take a call (and got the OK from them).......

Clients:  This is YOUR time, it is not a time for your PT to reschedule other clients / take bookings / arrange to meet their mates at the beach.... it makes me soooooooo angry when I see PT's on the phone completely oblivious to what their client is doing.... if you have a trainer guilty of this I suggest a comment to them wouldn't go astray (you could text it to them ;) )  After all when was the last time you saw your doctor and they were texting away whilst talking to you?

2. You have legs....use them

Trainers: You are supposed to be motivating and encouraging your clients to work hard and move well - sitting on anything in site that might just hold your body weight, chin in hand relaying instructions in a monotone voice DOES NOT HELP.

Clients: You might not have even noticed this especially if it has been the norm since you began training - I challenge you to challenge them..... it's not!

3. Not talking enough

Trainers:  Your clients need your feedback, giving the instruction 'squat' then standing back and counting from 1 to 10 really doesn't cut it - they may as well have grabbed the latest copy of Womens Health from the newsagents for ten bucks rather than paid you to count their reps for them. 

Clients: Ask yourself "What did I learn from my trainer today?", "How else did they add value to my session?" If you're consistently coming up with blanks it might be time to move on.

4. Talking too much

Trainers:  At the end of the day you are there to put your client through their paces, to improve their strength, fitness and to keep them on track to reaching their goals - spending two thirds of their training session gossiping and becoming mates does nothing but work out the jaw.  Don't get me wrong, I know some PT's form great friendships with their clients (and I have made some good friends through training too) but this should be done outside of their training session and not one their $.

Clients: How do you FEEL when you finish up your session?  Has a weight been lifted off your mind or doing you feel like you've been lifting weights?  If its the former you can bet your bottom dollar that it's not going to help shift any weight of the body variety.  Talking is good - we all need a good chat, but how much is that chat costing you?

5.  Eating and drinking

Trainers: A bottle of water is okay and in fact is setting a great example but leave your coffee, V, Red Bull, COKE (what is that about???) for before or after hours - apart from the fact that some of these drinks completely contradict the good practices you should be teaching your clients it doesn't look good.  Get out of bed 10 minutes earlier, schedule yourself 5 or 10minutes between clients to refuel and if you do HAVE to bring that can or coffee cup into the gym or park do us all a favor and put the empty version in the bin!

Clients:  Unless you are the first client of the day and you have a standing arrangement that either yourself or your trainer will rock up with an espresso shot to get you both going (I have seen this done) then you should expect your trainer to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for your session.  Yes trainers work hard and yes they work evenings and early mornings but they also often have time for a nap or rest in the middle of the day (and you work hard at your job too (motherhood included)) so there is no excuse for dragging their heels on this one.  If they can't hack it they need to re asses their schedule.

So there's my little rant for today - please feel free to pull up your PT on any of the above points (I am happy for you to blame me) or add your own comments below if you think I have missed anything and give us all license to rectify some wrongs and improve the quality of workouts you are receiving.