Train like an athlete; not a client

Sometimes I clamor at the way personal training is executed. I often wonder if progress is ever made on what the mission of that relationship is supposed to be about. Don’t get me wrong. There are some outstanding trainers out there… Brilliant even. In masse, however, I see quite a disparity.

Niki an athlete? Yup!

Does your trainer give you things to do, or does he teach you skills?

Does your trainer train himself the way he trains you? Why not?

Does your trainer get fit, while you plateau?

I’ve seen personal training and I’ve seen these issues a great deal. Maybe I am biased. As someone with a team sports background, I’ve been coached but never had a “personal trainer.” While  I know it is possible to train someone one on one extremely well, it seems rare. Furthermore, it is difficult for me to swallow a training session that is more about filling an hour than it is about growing fitness. Plus, if you start getting in shape you might not need a trainer anymore, and that’s bad business, right?

I’m not saying fire your trainer and come here. Don’t do that. I am calling for reflection. Why is it that people want to look, feel, and perform like athletes, yet train nothing like athletes? If that sounds illogical, that’s because it is! As a trainer there are two problems with training folks like athletes:

1: It’s hard.
2: It requires the skill set to do so.

These are the same two reasons why it’s effective and these are the same two reasons why we choose to treat our family of students like they are athletes. For an athlete, training has one purpose: improved performance. If “getting a workout in” doesn’t yield a better you, then why do it?

 

Logan Gelbrich

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Wednesday’s Workout:

4 Rounds for time:

20 KB Snatch

25M KB OH Walking Lunge (L)

20 KB Push Jerk

25 M KB OH Walking Lunge (R)

100M Sprint



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