Wednesday, October 28, 2009

What makes a good trainer?

Have you ever wondered what makes a good trainer? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you ask a fitness magazine, they'll say someone with an accredited certification, or someone who has liability insurance. If you ask a certifying organization, they may say anyone who has there certification. Everyone has a bias. Everyone has a label. I guess I'm wondering if labels make good trainers.

I used to think so. I would see a list of credentials after a person's name and determine whether or not they were a good trainer. That's ridiculous, I know. But I would do it. I would literally look pass the person and look to their qualifications. Then I wonder, do people do that with me? If I do it, do they do it? Do we live in a world where the label makes the person? Yep, sometimes we do. At least I do. I did.

There are great trainers out there who have different certifications. Like everything else, there is no one best certification. There is no one best way to train. It is the person who makes the certification look good. It is the individual who makes a great trainer, not a label. Sure there are good trainers and bad trainers. But there are also good trainers with not so "desirable" certifications, or backgrounds AND there are horrible trainers out there with excellent certification credentials behind their name.

What is the point? The point is a person, a client, buys the trainer, not their label. If you are shopping for a label when you choose your trainer, you are doing yourself a disservice. You're missing the boat. Sure don't just choose a guy off the street. Do your homework, but look deeper than the label. Look at the person, their personality, their character, their passion and dedication.

We live in a world of labels and we shouldn't.

Anyway, training yesterday:

TGU w/ 16kg: 10/10
Dbl Bottoms Up Squats w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Press w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Cleans w/ 2 20kgs: 10, 10, 10
Bent Press w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4
SLDL w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4 sets

1 comment:

Rapid Results Fitness - Betsy Collie said...

whoa...on to something here my frend.... A lesson for us all...not only as the client but also the trainer....