This past August marked my 18th year as a professional in the fintess industry. In that time (and before it) I've had the privelage to seek out and learn (and continue to study and learn from) some of the most amazing people in the world of fitness, strength and conditioning, health and longevity and nutrition. In that time I've met amazing coaches and trainers that have my absolute respect and admiration. Alos, I've met plenty of shitty trainers and coaches that have no business working with anyone. The unfortunate thing that I've found is that the shitty far outnumber the awesome. So, how can you tell if your trainer or coach sucks? Let's take a look at some sure fire signs:
1.) They don't teach you the basics:
It's pretty simple; much like you can't build a building on a crappy foundation, nor can you build a body on a crappy foundation. This is why the basics are sooooo important. Not only do they build a strong and healthy foundation, they also give you the most bang for your buck, they'll help you to reach all of your goals, they'll optimize your hormones, they'll keep you resilient and healthy, and they'll teach you how to move correctly. And, even if you stray from the basics for a short period to sophisticate your movements, you'll always come back to them.
So, what are the basics?
For barbells they're the sqaut (both front and back), the bench press and floor press, the bent row, the deadlift (both sumo and conventional), the overhead press (standing of course), the push press, the jerk, the clean and clean grip high pull, the snatch and snatch grip high pull, and the clean and jerk/ clean and press.
For bodyweight training they are the free squat and Hindu squat, the push-up (even though it's one of the most basic movments I hardly ever see anyone performing it with good technique), the pull-up/chin-up, body/recline rows, l-sits and their variation, bridging and handstand work.
For kettlebells it would include the 2-hand swing, the 1-hand swing, the clean, the high pull, the snatch, the overhead press, the push press, the jerk, the clean and press/clean and jerk, the bent row, the windmill, and a variation of the get-up.
It's safe to say if you don't know or havne't been shown these movements, your trainer or coach sucks!
2.) They plop you down to work on the machines:
Now, I could go off on a huge rant about open kinetic chains versus closed kinetic chains, how machines only allow you to work in a single plane of movement which leads to muscular imbalance and injury, how mahcines don't allow you to work your stabilizer muscles which leads to injury, how machines were created to follow the path of the "normal" persons movement and no normal person actually moves through the path that machines force you to follow and how that leads to injury and more; but let's just boil it down to this. In 95 percent of all cases, machines suck. Learning to use your own bodyweight and learning how to use free-weight based movements are much better. If your trainer or coach is putting you on the machines it means they either a.) don't care if you get results b.) don't care about your health and longevity or c.) have no idea how to train you for real so they plop you down on the machine because it's easier for them to kill the hour that way. Or, of course all of the above. Either way, it means your trainer or coach sucks!
3.) They try to get you to focus on the "cardio:"
If you follow the actual medical and scientific research as well as the real-world cases you'll see that all of the aerobic and "cardio" exercise out there pretty much stinks. It causes oxidative stress to your tissues which will lead to heart disease, strokes, cancer, and more. It causes your body to burn muscle tissue while preferentially holding on to stored body fat. It shuts down the production of healthy hormones. It stimultes your body to produce excess cortisol. It weakens and shrinks your heart and lungs leading to "Jim Fixx" syndrome (this is the syndrome where advanced marathoners, runners, bikers, etc. die of a heart attack in their 40's or 50's while out for their daily jog, bike, etc.). It wears out your joints and causes repetitive stress injuries. It slows your metabolism. And more.
Yes, your heart and your lungs are important. But guess what? Cardio-pulmonary health and endurance based fitness are not the same thing. You're much better off hitting some hard core sprint intervals to build up your cardio-pulmonary strength, power, recovery ability and reserve capacity while also building muscle, burning fat, and stimulating good hormone production.
Also, if "cardio" and aerobics are so good for burning fat, why is it that all of the long distance athletes that I know have skinny bird-like arms and legs and a fat, albiet small, tummy. They don't have ripped abs, built up pecks and shoulders, defined backs, chiseled arms and legs, or the like. But, all of the sprinters I know look like freakin' Adonis?
If you're coach or trainer is forcing you on the treadmill-to-nowhere, trust me, they suck!
4.) The are constantly nagging you to starve yourself:
In some of the earlier posts I've talked about how I've personally dropped over 20 pounds while adding 500-1000 calories a day to my eating. And I've had the same results from my clients. It's not how many calories you take in that count, it's what those calories are that does. Mix in some good nutritional timing and your pretty much home free.
If your coach or trainer is trying to get you to starve yourself, they have no idea what thery're doing and they suck!
Well, there you have it. Four pretty straight forward and simple ways to know if your trainer or coach suck. If they do, why are you giving them your hard earned money and your time. Get rid of them and find a coach or trainer that's awesome. I'll talk with you all later.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett Stepan
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