Why Hire a Coach/Trainer?

Off Topic
1

not that i have anything against them, in fact, i’ll like to be a strength/fitness coach in the future myself, training athletes, somewhat like Joe Defranco(im a big fan). But why do ppl hire these coaches? to explain myself more clearly, and correct me if im wrong. these coaches help to make workout plans,teach the atheletes proper techniques and form and just push them to their limits. but when all these is done,perhaps maybe after a month, the athelete will have knowledge of all of these and wouldnt he just quit? and you’ve got to stick to a workout plan right? preferbly for a few months, so the athlete will know what he’s got to do already, know the correct form and technique, so why does he still need the coach? why not just get a friend to spot/motivate/push and help ea other out?
(its quite badly put, but i hope you guys understand)

perhaps the coach does more than just what i mentioned above for which the athlete finds it worthwhile to spend his money and stay?

it may seem like a stupid question but i have no clue about this and strength/fitness coaches which specialises in training atheletes in singapore are very rare as the emphasis is placed on education and sports is pretty far behind compared to countries like USA,China etc. and as the saying goes, its better to look like a fool for 5mins then forever be a fool. (or something like that)

so yea, anyone with any experience could you help me out?

2

Lots of people (athletes in particular) are doers rather than thinkers, they’d rather get a plan handed to them and just do it. Plus when you consider that they will have their sessions with the strength and conditioning coach, they will also be having lessons from their sports coach or doing practice for their sport, PLUS they may be competing quite often. So they’ve got enough on their plates without having to design their own programs. If they’re professionals they’ll be more likely to just pay someone to do the planning for them.

Even Dave Tate has hired people for his diet before, he’d rather put his trust in somebody with more experience than him and get the job done.

3

I’m hoping English is not your first language.

4

hey jf it is, but when you stop going to school for 3+ months and just gym, slack around and play computer games all day. your brain really starts to rot. finished junior college and waiting for enlistment into army. :smiley:

vir: hmmm ok, but i was thinking that they would have a plan handed to them already, and couldnt they just quit right after that? maybe this will be with regard more to student athletes? i get what you mean with the professionals.

5

Say your training with Louie Simmons and he handed you a program to follow for some reason. Do you really think he’d be able to impart his years of knowledge to you in a single day. Do you really think your friend spotting you is going to be the same. Do you really think he’s not gonna be able to teach you anything beyond that one day. Are the people your training with or training, good enough to know what their weaknesses are and how to address them. Would they know how adjust the program to any injuries that occur or to address new weaknesses that develop.
There’s a lot more to it then having a cut and dry routine written out for you.

6

"Would they know how adjust the program to any injuries that occur or to address new weaknesses that develop. "

ok this makes sense, thanks.

but i did mention above, i didnt say the trainer would merely coach him for a day only, but perhaps for a month or two, to impart techniques and correct form for perhaps the few basic and important movements like deadlifts,squats,etc. and with that knowledge, i thought that the athlete would be able to train by himself, following a routine that the coach has alr given him.

7

Most “athletes” don’t hire trainers for long term. Pros do because, as mentioned, they are focused most of time on their sport and living the lifestyle of a professional athlete and don’t have the time to create their own ultimate training program or whatever you want to call it.

Most college athletes have the strength coach at their university since they can’t afford private trainers. High school athletes that have trainers have them because their parents paid for them.

The average personal training client is someone that is at the top of the career food chain and spending 70 bucks an hour on a personal training session is not a big dent in their expendable income. These people generally associate with other people at the top of their prospective fields, whom are often very busy, and forming a stable partner training relationship with is near impossible. As a result, these professionals tend to hire a trainer just so they have someone stable that they know is going to train.

A lot of these people aren’t serious about training and just simply don’t want to think about having to work out and don’t want to hurt themselves. They just want to stay fit as they get older and not be miserable during their workout times.

Granted, there are some professionals who are serious about the gym, but they are far and few between. How many strong/jacked doctors, lawyers, or executives run around your commercial gym? None in mine, and the gym I train at is fairly upscale.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any professionals that are muscular (blanket statements are useless), but most of the big guys in there are average people.

But I digress, in short, most “trainers and coaches” work with people who have money to play with. Most people don’t make a living training athletes. Joe DeFranco has a lot of athletes train there because his athletes are notorious for tearing up the combine. They get results… and as more players came in, it creates an infectious environment. They can learn all the form and technique and programming they want, but none of those athletes can go home and lift at their local gym and work out with 20 other D1 football players on any given saturday.

8

I’m more of a rehab trainer than an athlete, but why WOULDN’T you want a coach in your corner? Look at the above posts, and posts on this site, how can anyone replicate 20+ years of training experience? I use my coach once a month, maybe once every 6 weeks whenever I have a technique issue, or a sticking point I want to work on. I also find I push myself more to meet my coachs goals, or just to try and impress my coach how hard I’m working.

Besides the point, how do you self-teach yourself stuff like the clean or the snatch? Athletes work for years on technique on oly lifts and still have points they want to work on. As mentioned, if Dave Tate still asks for guidance, that should say enough.

The more people you have in your corner helping you keep training pain-free, and to keep you going, the better.

9

[quote]LTKO wrote:
not that i have anything against them, in fact, i’ll like to be a strength/fitness coach in the future myself, training athletes, somewhat like Joe Defranco(im a big fan). But why do ppl hire these coaches? to explain myself more clearly, and correct me if im wrong. these coaches help to make workout plans,teach the atheletes proper techniques and form and just push them to their limits. but when all these is done,perhaps maybe after a month, the athelete will have knowledge of all of these and wouldnt he just quit? and you’ve got to stick to a workout plan right? preferbly for a few months, so the athlete will know what he’s got to do already, know the correct form and technique, so why does he still need the coach? why not just get a friend to spot/motivate/push and help ea other out?
(its quite badly put, but i hope you guys understand)

perhaps the coach does more than just what i mentioned above for which the athlete finds it worthwhile to spend his money and stay?

it may seem like a stupid question but i have no clue about this and strength/fitness coaches which specialises in training atheletes in singapore are very rare as the emphasis is placed on education and sports is pretty far behind compared to countries like USA,China etc. and as the saying goes, its better to look like a fool for 5mins then forever be a fool. (or something like that)

so yea, anyone with any experience could you help me out?

[/quote]

LTKO, I’m from Singapore so hopefully there’s some weight to what I say. I believe a trainer is essential for achieving goals within sports/fitness/lifestyle. Unless you’ve studied sports science or equivalent degree courses or your parents exposed you to a highly knowledgable environment of do’s and don’t when it comes to training enlisting a formal trainer is the way to go.

For Singapore be selective on trainers, most of the big gyms here have average trainers and have very little experience in training you as well as helping you with correctional exercises, stability/mobility exercises etc. I had a pretty good trainer at Cali for about 1.5 years then I quit due to work commitments. I now work with a private trainer which I enlisted last year to help me run the Singapore Marathon and it helped alot because I learnt some techniques that I did not know before (despite training for 3 years and reading heavily including this site).

I feel trainers help more than just their sessions, they are there to motivate, push your limits, analyse, design and create workouts that challenge you at the same time respecting you (I can’t tell you how many shit trainers I’ve seen taking phone calls and daydreaming without focusing their attention on the client’s form).

Do I read correctly, you’re about to go NS/Army? They should work you out pretty hard there too.

For the most part, and no disrespect to your friends there is a high chance they have no clue how to help you and they have no vested interest in you achieving your goals.

PM me if you need more help.

10

challer: ok thanks for that post, it’ll give me something to think about. and yes id also think that most athletes probably would not hire coaches in the long term etc.

struggle: yea i wouldnt mind a coach in my corner, but like you said, youll maybe see him once in six weeks? give or take. then how would the trainer be able to earn a living like that.

and ok, i get that about the olympic lifts being difficult to learn, but its not an essential for an athlete too right.

Xanderbuilt: haha thanks for posting, but youve got it slightly wrong. im already training, but i WANT to be a strength coach in the future, im aiming to take sports science in uni in fact. yup so im just asking abit on it. so what did the coach teach you for one year+, what made you stay with him, if you read from here and perhaps been with him for a few mths, wouldnt you know what to do by yourself already?

11

Most people, even those who are genuinely interested in fitness, will tend to gravitate toward exercises that they are already good at instead of those they need to do. Alot of others who need to have a good body whether it be aesthetically or functionally (athletics) dont give 2 shits about learning how the body works they just want you to tell them exactly what to do. Most people are also not in tune with whether or not they are doing a specific particularly small muscle exercise correctly, and if not using a trainer would most likely cease to do these exercises rather quickly as the benefit or such exercises is quickly forgotten. Lastly, having someone in your corner who cares (often more than you do) about your success in achieving your goal is invaluable to say the least.

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because not everyone is a student of training philosophy… high school kids who don’t have a clue, pro athletes who just wanna smoke weed and get laid, etc.

13

I hired a diet coach for a few reasons. The main one being, he knows more than I do, and providing its a successful relationship (which so far it is) I learn how to make my own plans and what works and doesnt work for me in the future.

A good coach wont bullshit you and say stuff works if it doesnt, they are paid to deliver results, so they’ll quickly cut through the crap that doesnt work, after all if they dont deliver the results, their business and reputation are in the toilet.

14

[quote]LTKO wrote:
challer: ok thanks for that post, it’ll give me something to think about. and yes id also think that most athletes probably would not hire coaches in the long term etc.

struggle: yea i wouldnt mind a coach in my corner, but like you said, youll maybe see him once in six weeks? give or take. then how would the trainer be able to earn a living like that.

and ok, i get that about the olympic lifts being difficult to learn, but its not an essential for an athlete too right.

Xanderbuilt: haha thanks for posting, but youve got it slightly wrong. im already training, but i WANT to be a strength coach in the future, im aiming to take sports science in uni in fact. yup so im just asking abit on it. so what did the coach teach you for one year+, what made you stay with him, if you read from here and perhaps been with him for a few mths, wouldnt you know what to do by yourself already?[/quote]

Ah I see. Well I think there is a limit to what Singapore trainers can teach you about “Strength”. I make a distinction between coaches that train people for specific sports, those that train bodybuilders, those that train strength etc. I guess you will know a lot from reading this site, e-books, videos, blogs etc but to put it into practice is very different.

Personally to improve your knowledge on Strength etc I would save up and suggest making regular trips to the USA and learning from some of the top coaches there, attending their seminars etc. You’ll be 1-up on any coaches in Singapore armed with cutting-edge knowledge. I’d also plough through every article written on this site, look at the links and read-up on specific coaches. Get informed, go succeed!

On why I stuck with my trainer - because I felt he knew more about weight training, diet/nutrition etc than me. Also when I started with him I had no idea how to squat properly, how to deadlift/bench etc so I really needed a back-to-basics help on improving my form. He was also around 80plus kilos, could deadlift 400lbs and a karate black belt so I knew I had something here to aspire towards.

15

alright. thanks for all the posts.i can see what you mean with regard to diet and about those who are inspired to train, but only work and their strengths and those who really cant be bothered to learn up on these stuff.

xander:yea i really should. if i have the cash, id like to visit places in usa like defrancos and elite FTS. hey, if i do, youll let me coach you wont ya. :smiley: