BURN Fitness 101: Not all Trainers are the Same…
The personal training business has evolved a lot in the past 20 years (since I started back in 1995). Back 20 years ago, there where bodybuilders, powerlifters, and Physical Therapists… and by and large, they all pretty much did their own thing. There were strong bodybuilders who occasionally competed in powerlifting, and there were Physical Therapists who were also bodybuilders, or powerlifters… but most personal trainers worked predominantly in the realm of aesthetic training. That is, training people for improved appearance through fat loss and muscle gain.
Today, the line between physical therapy and personal training has faded. The line between powerlifting and aesthetic training (bodybuilding) has faded. And bodybuilders have moved away from many exercises that have been found to be “higher risk” and downright dangerous/injurious to many people, while CrossFit has turned moderate-risk power movements into higher risk repetition marathons. But, even though these lines have faded over time, there are again some strong distinctions forming in the fitness profession. There seems to be a trend back toward specialization. Today, we have three quite distinct “specialties” in the Personal Training profession. The best practitioners in the business are fluent and capable in two or even all three… but most still maintain a “specialty” of sorts.
Unfortunately, most consumers in the market for a personal trainer to help them with their fitness goals do not know that there is a BIG difference. They may contact and even hire a Personal Trainer or “Coach”, with the expectation that that coach’s teachings align perfectly with their personal goals as a customer. Yet unfortunately, they frequently hire the wrong coach/trainer. Many trainers of all specialties work on the ragged edge of “broke”. In the slow economy we’ve survived through the past 7-8 years, there just isn’t enough business out there for most trainers to truly specialize and still be able to pay the bills. They end up taking every client they can get, regardless of the client’s personal goals. And though they sell the client on their ability to provide exactly the services they want, they end up training that client in a fashion that more suits THE TRAINER’S style, than in a fashion that best serves the customer.
I don’t intend to disparage any specific style of training, because for every client’s goal-set, there is a correct fitness professional. The problem comes when a trainer with a specific strength ends up training clients with goals outside their area of strength/knowledge, or worse convincing a client with a specific goal-set that their personal goals are WRONG… and convincing them to train the way the TRAINER prefers… Unfortunately, in our industry, this is rampant. The end result is often a dis-satisfied client, who in the end paints the whole profession in a negative light.
So who is the “right” trainer?
Preferably, the right trainer is the trainer who understands all aspects of fitness, but whose personal specialty aligns with the personal goals of the client.
So what are the different trainer specialties?
I tend to divide Trainers into three areas of expertise. The three specialties are:
- Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers,
- Corrective/Functional Trainers, and
- Performance/Power Trainers.
Again, some trainers cross over, and have great, or limited, ability in more than one specialty… but most have a specialty where they are strongest.
Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers specialize in working with clients whose primary goal is an improvement in appearance, health, and confidence through the loss of excess fat, and an increase in muscle mass/tone. These body composition goals also align with specific health markets, such as blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers work well with clients with issues including motivation and adherence, to both regular exercise, and healthy/fat-loss conducive nutrition. Good aesthetic Trainers also understand muscle imbalance, healthy muscle/joint function, and know how to get a client stronger, faster, and more competitive. Weak aesthetic trainers have limited understanding of function or performance, and may actually injure clients with aesthetic goals by teaching bad form, or creating over-use injury through imbalanced program design. Aesthetic Trainers tend to be the strongest in the area of nutrition and dietary guidance. Weaker disingenuous Aesthetic Trainers frequently attempt to dissuade clients who truly NEED functional help away from a functional program in favor of a “bodybuilder” style program, which can just exacerbate their function issues. They train every client like a bodybuilder.
Corrective/Functional Trainers specialize in working with clients who have issues with posture, joint dysfunction and previous injury leading to chronic pain, like back, shoulder, and knee issues. They are experts at addressing a client’s incorrect movement patterns and imbalances that can lead to joint pain and instability/balance problems. Good Corrective/Functional Trainers can help out a client with strength and muscle gain, and even some fat loss. Weak Corrective/Functional Trainers have very limited knowledge about strength or competitive performance training, and very limited patience and depth of experience with weight/fat-loss. Weaker disingenuous Corrective/Functional Trainers frequently attempt to dissuade clients who have primary goals of fat-loss and muscle gain AWAY from weight training, insisting that they need to reach optimal function FIRST before they can address their fat-loss goals. They train every client like a rehab patient.
Performance/Power Trainers (more often “Coaches”) specialize in working with either competitive athletes who are seeking maximum competitive edge, or professionals who have a HIGH demand for strength and durability in their jobs… like firefighters, law enforcement, and military clients. Good Performance/Power Trainers can not only squeeze huge strength gains out of their clients, but also do it without exacerbating joint issues, and understand enough about nutrition and fat-loss to help their clients with some aesthetic goals. Weak Performance/Power Coaches run at a VERY high risk of injuring clients who are not accustomed to handling heavy loads or suffer from pre-existing injury, or are very limited at addressing fat-loss, or health-related client goals. Powerlifting and CrossFit lean heavily toward the performance/power area of fitness. Weaker disingenuous Performance/Power Coaches train every client like a Navy SEAL or professional athlete.
In conclusion… there are “different horses for different courses”, and there are optimal trainers for different clients. If you’re in the market for a Personal Trainer, or if you’ve worked with a Trainer in the past… consider where the strengths and weaknesses of your trainer align(ed) with your goals.
The majority of studies investigating the personal training business (and from my 20 years of experience) show that 85-90% of the people who seek the assistance of a Personal Trainer have a PRIMARY goal of weight/fat-loss. Balance, function, raw strength, and posture fill out the secondary goals. This leaves between 10-15% of potential customers for Personal Trainers in the primary goal categories of Corrective and Performance Training. If you are in that small minority of 10-15% who is seeking primarily performance or corrective guidance, there are a good number of trainers who cater directly to that need, and are excellent at what they do. If you fall into the 85% whose primary goal is one of either aesthetic or health-related fat-loss, or “toning” (rebuilding or modest increase in lost muscle mass), you’re in luck. Most fitness professionals are pretty good at addressing your primary goal. But be careful… If you’re primary goal is fat-loss and general fat-loss-related health… steer clear of the Trainer that INSISTS on maximizing your one rep max in the bench-press, deadlift, and squat. Also watch out for the trainer who insists on spending the first 6 months of your fitness investment in correcting minute imperfections in your movement patterns. Both of these secondary goals can be addressed WHILE you attack your primary goal. They should NEVER take precedence… after all… you’re the one writing the check!
The personal training business has evolved a lot in the past 20 years (since I started back in 1995). Back 20 years ago, there where bodybuilders, powerlifters, and Physical Therapists… and by and large, they all pretty much did their own thing. There were strong bodybuilders who occasionally competed in powerlifting, and there were Physical Therapists who were also bodybuilders, or powerlifters… but most personal trainers worked predominantly in the realm of aesthetic training. That is, training people for improved appearance through fat loss and muscle gain.
Today, the line between physical therapy and personal training has faded. The line between powerlifting and aesthetic training (bodybuilding) has faded. And bodybuilders have moved away from many exercises that have been found to be “higher risk” and downright dangerous/injurious to many people, while CrossFit has turned moderate-risk power movements into higher risk repetition marathons. But, even though these lines have faded over time, there are again some strong distinctions forming in the fitness profession. There seems to be a trend back toward specialization. Today, we have three quite distinct “specialties” in the Personal Training profession. The best practitioners in the business are fluent and capable in two or even all three… but most still maintain a “specialty” of sorts.
Unfortunately, most consumers in the market for a personal trainer to help them with their fitness goals do not know that there is a BIG difference. They may contact and even hire a Personal Trainer or “Coach”, with the expectation that that coach’s teachings align perfectly with their personal goals as a customer. Yet unfortunately, they frequently hire the wrong coach/trainer. Many trainers of all specialties work on the ragged edge of “broke”. In the slow economy we’ve survived through the past 7-8 years, there just isn’t enough business out there for most trainers to truly specialize and still be able to pay the bills. They end up taking every client they can get, regardless of the client’s personal goals. And though they sell the client on their ability to provide exactly the services they want, they end up training that client in a fashion that more suits THE TRAINER’S style, than in a fashion that best serves the customer.
I don’t intend to disparage any specific style of training, because for every client’s goal-set, there is a correct fitness professional. The problem comes when a trainer with a specific strength ends up training clients with goals outside their area of strength/knowledge, or worse convincing a client with a specific goal-set that their personal goals are WRONG… and convincing them to train the way the TRAINER prefers… Unfortunately, in our industry, this is rampant. The end result is often a dis-satisfied client, who in the end paints the whole profession in a negative light.
So who is the “right” trainer?
Preferably, the right trainer is the trainer who understands all aspects of fitness, but whose personal specialty aligns with the personal goals of the client.
So what are the different trainer specialties?
I tend to divide Trainers into three areas of expertise. The three specialties are:
- Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers,
- Corrective/Functional Trainers, and
- Performance/Power Trainers.
Again, some trainers cross over, and have great, or limited, ability in more than one specialty… but most have a specialty where they are strongest.
Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers specialize in working with clients whose primary goal is an improvement in appearance, health, and confidence through the loss of excess fat, and an increase in muscle mass/tone. These body composition goals also align with specific health markets, such as blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Aesthetic/Fat-Loss Trainers work well with clients with issues including motivation and adherence, to both regular exercise, and healthy/fat-loss conducive nutrition. Good aesthetic Trainers also understand muscle imbalance, healthy muscle/joint function, and know how to get a client stronger, faster, and more competitive. Weak aesthetic trainers have limited understanding of function or performance, and may actually injure clients with aesthetic goals by teaching bad form, or creating over-use injury through imbalanced program design. Aesthetic Trainers tend to be the strongest in the area of nutrition and dietary guidance. Weaker disingenuous Aesthetic Trainers frequently attempt to dissuade clients who truly NEED functional help away from a functional program in favor of a “bodybuilder” style program, which can just exacerbate their function issues. They train every client like a bodybuilder.
Corrective/Functional Trainers specialize in working with clients who have issues with posture, joint dysfunction and previous injury leading to chronic pain, like back, shoulder, and knee issues. They are experts at addressing a client’s incorrect movement patterns and imbalances that can lead to joint pain and instability/balance problems. Good Corrective/Functional Trainers can help out a client with strength and muscle gain, and even some fat loss. Weak Corrective/Functional Trainers have very limited knowledge about strength or competitive performance training, and very limited patience and depth of experience with weight/fat-loss. Weaker disingenuous Corrective/Functional Trainers frequently attempt to dissuade clients who have primary goals of fat-loss and muscle gain AWAY from weight training, insisting that they need to reach optimal function FIRST before they can address their fat-loss goals. They train every client like a rehab patient.
Performance/Power Trainers (more often “Coaches”) specialize in working with either competitive athletes who are seeking maximum competitive edge, or professionals who have a HIGH demand for strength and durability in their jobs… like firefighters, law enforcement, and military clients. Good Performance/Power Trainers can not only squeeze huge strength gains out of their clients, but also do it without exacerbating joint issues, and understand enough about nutrition and fat-loss to help their clients with some aesthetic goals. Weak Performance/Power Coaches run at a VERY high risk of injuring clients who are not accustomed to handling heavy loads or suffer from pre-existing injury, or are very limited at addressing fat-loss, or health-related client goals. Powerlifting and CrossFit lean heavily toward the performance/power area of fitness. Weaker disingenuous Performance/Power Coaches train every client like a Navy SEAL or professional athlete.
In conclusion… there are “different horses for different courses”, and there are optimal trainers for different clients. If you’re in the market for a Personal Trainer, or if you’ve worked with a Trainer in the past… consider where the strengths and weaknesses of your trainer align(ed) with your goals.
The majority of studies investigating the personal training business (and from my 20 years of experience) show that 85-90% of the people who seek the assistance of a Personal Trainer have a PRIMARY goal of weight/fat-loss. Balance, function, raw strength, and posture fill out the secondary goals. This leaves between 10-15% of potential customers for Personal Trainers in the primary goal categories of Corrective and Performance Training. If you are in that small minority of 10-15% who is seeking primarily performance or corrective guidance, there are a good number of trainers who cater directly to that need, and are excellent at what they do. If you fall into the 85% whose primary goal is one of either aesthetic or health-related fat-loss, or “toning” (rebuilding or modest increase in lost muscle mass), you’re in luck. Most fitness professionals are pretty good at addressing your primary goal. But be careful… If you’re primary goal is fat-loss and general fat-loss-related health… steer clear of the Trainer that INSISTS on maximizing your one rep max in the bench-press, deadlift, and squat. Also watch out for the trainer who insists on spending the first 6 months of your fitness investment in correcting minute imperfections in your movement patterns. Both of these secondary goals can be addressed WHILE you attack your primary goal. They should NEVER take precedence… after all… you’re the one writing the check!