In under a month I will be going away to college and will be living with 3 Div. I-A college football players.
I am a Certified Personal Trainer, and even though they train 5+ times a week I know these guys eat like crap and also drink alcohol frequently.
I would really like to help these guys out because they all are NFL prospects and one of them is my cousin.
How can I have a positive influence on their diets and lifestyles without turning into a nutrition nazi and an outcast of the house?
I say fuck it, be the nazi,outcast,wtf ever. who are you there to help, you or them. If they get started, and see results,they might stick with it.( i quit drinking and have more fun than ever) fun=results results=fun
ps
[quote]fedorov91 wrote:
In under a month I will be going away to college and will be living with 3 Div. I-A college football players.
I am a Certified Personal Trainer, and even though they train 5+ times a week I know these guys eat like crap and also drink alcohol frequently.
I would really like to help these guys out because they all are NFL prospects and one of them is my cousin.
How can I have a positive influence on their diets and lifestyles without turning into a nutrition nazi and an outcast of the house?[/quote]
By living it and waiting for them to ask you questions…period. I have frat brothers that are just now beginning to exercise regularly simply because they have seen me do it non-stop for years. Aside from going out of my way when actually asked, I would never chastise them for drinking a 40oz. In the end, it is their life.
enjoy college and dont worry about changing the world, if they work hard the chips will fall as they may, dont take it upon yourself to try and help them get to the NFL thats there job
but if they ask dont be shy about sharing your advice and knowledge.
we football players tend to be a strange breed. I go to a d3 school and we have a great team, and the strangest thing is that our best players drink the most, but on top of that the best ones always work the hardest in the running and lifitng its weird as hell…
but like i said dont be concerned with changing the world cause its naive to think you can change people.
If they have gotten this far without you, What makes you think they need saved?
People don’t reach the elite level athletic status of college and N.F.L. recruitment by accident.
Great advice by Prof X. That strategy works with anything you’re trying to advertise or push on someone. Instead of being aggressive, set an example. When they see you getting results, it’ll pique their interest and come to you thus making them more receptive than if you tried selling your idea to them.
BTW, I’m assuming you’re going to Michigan? Considering they do HIT training there, any advice you can give them from this site would help them out in a big way. Good luck!
[quote]mindeffer01 wrote:
If they have gotten this far without you, What makes you think they need saved?
People don’t reach the elite level athletic status of college and N.F.L. recruitment by accident.
[/quote]
Exactly. It doesn’t matter if they drink or smoke if they out perform you and their competition. Unless you are stronger than them or in better shape, who cares that you eat better? Genetics and innate ability outdo technical nutritional or performance book knowledge regardless of if you are a trainer or not.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
fedorov91 wrote:
In under a month I will be going away to college and will be living with 3 Div. I-A college football players.
I am a Certified Personal Trainer, and even though they train 5+ times a week I know these guys eat like crap and also drink alcohol frequently.
I would really like to help these guys out because they all are NFL prospects and one of them is my cousin.
How can I have a positive influence on their diets and lifestyles without turning into a nutrition nazi and an outcast of the house?
By living it and waiting for them to ask you questions…period. I have frat brothers that are just now beginning to exercise regularly simply because they have seen me do it non-stop for years. Aside from going out of my way when actually asked, I would never chastise them for drinking a 40oz. In the end, it is their life. [/quote]
I agree. A lot of my frat brothers didn’t have the best lifting approach or nutrition habits. Some did pretty well in spite of it. Others didn’t. It wasn’t my place to change their approach. But if I asked I did pass along the great information I was learning at T-Nation and applying in my own life. And as everyone has said, if they’re really NFL prospects they’ve done ok for themselves so far. I’d probably laugh if I was them. I used to laugh at my teammates who would never have a beer and tell me to do the same. Maybe theirs was the healthier approach, but I kicked their asses on the track and most of the competition too. If it ain’t broke, we as human beings don’t see too much reason to fix it.
Reminds me of an article I read about Julius Peppers. He said he ate like shit and almost never lifted untill he got to the pros. He said he lived on chips, micrwave crap from the freezer and vending machine food and would pretend to workout or duck out of weightlifing when he was at North Carolina. Obviously this is an extreme case of good genes, but sometimes athletic ability and skill can overcome bad diet and workout. Lawrence Taylor is another good example.
Good advice so far. I guess keeping your own diet clean and following your own workout schedule will be a sufficient challenge on its own.
By the way, how has your progress been since the last thread(s)?
I hope I didn’t come off as a jagoff in my last post. So to complete the thought- If you are there in an observational role, check out the posative aspects of their daily/weekly regiments that may account for good results and allow them the liberties of a less than optimal lifestyle while still getting good results. That may help to give you more insight into your clients as a personal trainer.
Sad fact is that as a personal trainer or even a strength and conditioning coach, a lot of the people you are going to be working with are not going to have the absolute discipline and structure to their lives to yeild optimal results.
[quote]mindeffer01 wrote:
I hope I didn’t come off as a jagoff in my last post. So to complete the thought- If you are there in an observational role, check out the posative aspects of their daily/weekly regiments that may account for good results and allow them the liberties of a less than optimal lifestyle while still getting good results. That may help to give you more insight into your clients as a personal trainer.
[/quote]
What gave you the impression that these were clients? He is living with them…as a roommate. He is a personal trainer who wants to influence their eating habits. I see this resulting in them kicking his ass out of the apartment if he gets too rigid with what everyone else should be eating.
Hey Prof.,
I’m not under the impression that they are his clients. I was just clarifying my initial statement, and changing the focus a bit from trying to change people who are already doing well to some people who could actualy use the help.
Personaly, I take the observational role. I find it very interesting to see what works for some people and what doesn’t. The one common thread I’ve noticed is that experience is the best teacher.
I was also trying to buffer the initial statement a bit. I need to practice a little diplomacy in my comunication pattern. I’ve been pissing off some people around me lately, and could definitely use the practice.
[quote]michael2507 wrote:
Good advice so far. I guess keeping your own diet clean and following your own workout schedule will be a sufficient challenge on its own.
By the way, how has your progress been since the last thread(s)?[/quote]
Well, since April I have gone from 176 to 184 lbs with very little fat gain. Unfortunetly I still have the most tan resistant skin in the known universe.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
What gave you the impression that these were clients? He is living with them…as a roommate. He is a personal trainer who wants to influence their eating habits. I see this resulting in them kicking his ass out of the apartment if he gets too rigid with what everyone else should be eating.[/quote]
No, they are not clients at all. They are more like subjects to study and connections to get me a decent job in the athletic department.
There have been some great points on this thread that I hadn’t considered.
I think I will just sit back and do my own thing(nutritionally) and answers ?'s if they come up.
keep in mind that nutrition and drugs are different things, and that nutrition (food choices) plays a very small role when it comes to elite performance.
[quote]fedorov91 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
What gave you the impression that these were clients? He is living with them…as a roommate. He is a personal trainer who wants to influence their eating habits. I see this resulting in them kicking his ass out of the apartment if he gets too rigid with what everyone else should be eating.
No, they are not clients at all. They are more like subjects to study and connections to get me a decent job in the athletic department.
There have been some great points on this thread that I hadn’t considered.
I think I will just sit back and do my own thing(nutritionally) and answers ?'s if they come up.
[/quote]
Sounds good. And congratulations on your own progress!
Maybe you could learn something from them.
They have to want to help themselves. You can definitely lead by example, though. Make sure that your Grow! and Surge are in view, eat the right stuff, and answer their questions when they ask.
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
Make sure that your Grow! and Surge are in view[/quote]
This is an excellent point, eye traffic stimulates conversation. Just make sure they don’t take all of yours 
-Dan