Have I learned more in a four years of T-Nation awakening, than the average Joe Schmoe personaly trainer at a commercial gym?
Only if you’ve applied it.
Knowing is one thing. Doing something with that knowledge is another.
I personally believe you can sometimes learn from the least likely sources.
Unlikely indeed. I mean look at the ATG depth on this kid, nice wide stance etc lol.
Out of all the trainers at my gym, only one looks like he actually gives a shit about his clients. He also happens to be the biggest one as well, connection? Now that I mention it, I haven’t seen the guy in a while.
What ID said, and also depends on the trainer. Does he/she only tell you what you need to know? or does he/she educate you and prepare you to workout on your own? There certainly is a potential for a knowledgeable trainer to tell you everything you would learn from here in a 4 year time-span, but a blanket statement couldn’t be made either way in my opinion.
The info is all out there, it certainly is not exclusive to PTs. I think most people want them more for their ability to kick their ass in gear (motivate), not for their knowledge. Or at least most educated people who know how to find answers to their own questions without paying someone do.
Most of the people who claim they learn so much also seem to have muscle growth progress inversely related to the amount of “facts” they can spew.
Most of the really big guys I know would get laughed at here for not knowing enough…by people with legs smaller than their arms.
Hard to say. Even the average Joe Schmo gets his hands on a lot of people and finds out what works and what doesn’t for a greater population with more diversified goals than someone who self learns and self trains.
the internet is no substitute for real life training.
I think I’ve done much better on my own using the interwebs than I ever could have with a PT. I suppose it comes down to the individual but I believe people who own their progress get better results.
[quote]WormwoodTheory wrote:
the internet is no substitute for real life training. [/quote]
x2
Many people who are just starting out get overloaded by information and overwhelm themselves.
Any skill is learned easier with a mentor.
A website is a textbook, where some pages are written by professionals and others are written by 3rd graders.
I’m actually studying to get my NASM certification before the end of July, and must say that I’ve given this some thought. From what I’ve seen, if you read the articles on this site, understand them and know how to apply them, you probably know more than the average personal trainer. The gym I was offered a job at has only trainers that are very fit, some of whom are also fairly big. It’s actually a very commercial and big gym, btw, which I thought made that all the more interesting. They do, however, still give weird advice to my sister, who also works there as a sales rep.
Because all the information you need is available for free through the internet, and because I want to be a personal trainer, I had to actually reason through why I should respect my clients despite their lack of research. I only did this because I want to honestly help my clients and enjoy what I do without having to despise them. I came up with the fact that although you can learn an instrument or a language through books and other sources, such as the internet, it’s much easier to learn something properly when someone is teaching you through their experiences, and when they’re able to personally critique you. A good trainer should also be able to motivate you. I’ve been working out for only 2 years, but I could probably have gotten the results I did in a year, had I known all of the things that I do now. If I had someone kick my ass and tell me to stop being lazy regarding my diet because I wouldn’t get to where I want to be otherwise, I probably would’ve also been much better off. When I first started deadlifting and squatting with a barbell, I had no idea if my back was rounding or not. I had to bring a mirror from the other side of the house into my area to find out, and I still couldn’t really tell, because I had to look at the mirror while performing the exercise. For someone new, I definitely think it could be helpful, but unless you have the money, it’s not exactly worth it. For people that can afford to buy personal training, it definitely is, but only when being trained by someone who really knows what they’re talking about. I still have a lot to learn, and suspect that I will for quite some time to come.