The stain on the underwear of fitness training
By: Jess Casteel
This article is destined to piss some people off, that being said if you drink from the kool aid that various instructors serve without investigating their credentials first then the old saying “a fool and his or her money is soon separated” may apply to you. Be warned though, this is no beat around the bush article and it is meant to serve on purpose. That purpose is to bring awareness to the general public about certain training programs and protocols as well as the hidden dangers that they may offer.
So as I have just met and signed yet another client who at the ill advised instruction of another "fitness professional" had to endure a highly preventable injury that could have easily turned into a catastrophic event that the main problem the general public seems to have is education in the field of fitness training. This is evident in gyms across the nation. Just drive by any gym and look at all the obiese individuals on the cardio equipment in the windows of any gym like they are put on display to be some sort of magnet to attract more business. Truth is if you take a picture and go to the same gym a year later the same people will be on the same equipment and will be even fatter or at least the same. It is fair to say that the cookie cutter trainers that just throw people on this equipment and walk away usually work part time as waiters because they just don't have what it takes to be a real fitness professional. If these trainers can't get anyone strong and dropping weight they should quit training and take up the window position at the nearest Burger King and stop ripping people off. That being said I know this blog is most likely going to piss some trainers off but that's just the nature of the beast and that anger is a direct reflection of a deeper feeling of knowing I am right. That being said I will dive a little deeper into the programs they teach and why they are ineffective even though they doctor the results of their programs to make them more appealing.I won't specify names but the first and most recent incident had to do with a certain boot camp style program that is in operation in my area. The client came to me and discussed how without an assessment or any other type of evaluation she was directed to basically run. First of all running is fine for heart health but does nothing for strength gains or the correction of muscle imbalances which is one of the biggest reasons for injury and joint problems. Yes you will burn fat but without teaching proper running form and not knowing past health history is it wise to take someone out to the hills and have them run while being yelled at? Second where is the nutrition advice and healthy lifestyle coaching? Now when my client complained of knee pain she was told to "keep pushing it will be alright." That shit isn't professional and that is the bottom line. I personally have talked with one of these trainers who were hired to work for one of these outfits and he took a test online for fifty dollars and had no muscle mechanics education, no biomechanics education, never studied kinesiology and most likely never studied anatomy. He didn't even crack a book to get certified! This is a very common theme with these classes since I have been contacted many times by ex clients who suffered injuries or gained weight during these programs. There is a reason why these programs are fading away fast, they don't work so if you are on one of these ships I would advise jumping off before it sinks.I can hear it now, but Jess what about the amount of fat loss they advertise? Let me say this much about these claims. First show me proof like assessment records, training logs etc... Anyone can take 3 classes of 20 ladies who rarely get any exercise and make them run 4 miles in the hills almost forcefully and they are going to drop weight but without proper nutrition advice and diet planning a lot of the weight will also include the muscle you are breaking down for energy as well as the sudden change from a sedentary lifestyle to an abrupt physically challenging regiment but the results simply won't last and in the case of heightened cortisol production the fat will return faster. Sure some will adapt nicely especially women who are more endurance or slow twitch muscle dominant anyway but the ends don't justify the means in this case.The client who hired me before this most recent case had a trainer at one of the local gyms in my area think because he was dosing anabolic testosterone injections "juice" that she would be able at a young age of 52 to squat with horrible form using a bar loaded with 45lb plates and she blew out her hip. Listen to me, if you are training natural the advice you get from a younger male who is on a different path using different aids will not work for you. Their diet, intensity, and goals differ from those on a natural fitness routine. This pissed me off because now I have to rehab her hip which by the way she gets her bottom end almost to her heels now squatting with me and the pain is almost completely gone but that's a different matter, but I also have to rewire her hard drive to unlearn all the bad habits she has learned in a short amount of time. She had many many imbalances that should have been addressed way before she even put a bar on her shoulders. I have had to take these clients back to basic training principles 101 which slow the process of progression way down wasting time, money, and days off their lives. If you don't know lifting principles then you don't need to be teaching anyone anything. Most of the problems I run across in my meeting with clients or consultations with clients of other training systems are all tied back to the ignorance of the trainers or instructors and it sickens me that these are the same people who give good personal trainers a bad name. We all seem to get lumped together and more times than not it is usually women who get scammed into these situations. I think it’s the mechanic mentality of taking advantage of a woman and that's why these trainers and programs shoot for the female demographic. This is disgusting to no end to say the least so ladies I employ you to educate yourselves and shop around. I have a client male to female ratio of 9:1 meaning 99% of my clientele consist of women and to this day I have yet to have any of my girls get injured and we move some iron buddy. I would be happy to put any of my girls up against any of their strongest in a deadlift or squat competition and watch mine out perform in form, execution, and sheer poundage. Women should be strong and they should damn well get what they pay for.I can give you examples if you would like of some of the work my ladies put in and be assured that some of my gals lift more than some men with better form, range of motion and endurance. One of my girls used to weigh 298lbs at 5 foot 3 inches less than one year ago. She started with me using stability ball and rubber band training and today she stands at 170lbs and can deadlift her body weight raw with no straps and near perfect form. She bench presses 100lbs for sets and squats her body weight with her butt to her heels. This weekend she bought for the first time in her adult life a size 10 pant. Its all her because all I did was educate and teach along with program design and progression. Another lady who hired me a mere 3 weeks ago dead lifted 100lbs after working on form diligently for 2 weeks after never dead lifting before in her life and last session squatted her body weight. She also performed 3 sets of 10 wide grip chins and chest to the bar with little assistance and 3 sets of 10 dips with biceps to forearms with little assistance. Most men can't do 1 set of 5 of either by the way. I have a female client who at the young age of 57 through little to no cardio has lost 20lbs through nutrition and while she has been with me she has gone from doing exercises with an empty bar to compound movements with weight clean for reps. Women have the ability to do any exercise a man can do because they have the same musculoskeletal system men do as far as the movements so why not be strong in said movements? I won't knock anyone for effort but what I do not favor is the mentalities of women don’t know any better. To this I say find a training system that works for you and enjoy it but choose the trainer over the system because his or her advice will make or break more than just your wallet.
By: Jess Casteel
This article is destined to piss some people off, that being said if you drink from the kool aid that various instructors serve without investigating their credentials first then the old saying “a fool and his or her money is soon separated” may apply to you. Be warned though, this is no beat around the bush article and it is meant to serve on purpose. That purpose is to bring awareness to the general public about certain training programs and protocols as well as the hidden dangers that they may offer.
So as I have just met and signed yet another client who at the ill advised instruction of another "fitness professional" had to endure a highly preventable injury that could have easily turned into a catastrophic event that the main problem the general public seems to have is education in the field of fitness training. This is evident in gyms across the nation. Just drive by any gym and look at all the obiese individuals on the cardio equipment in the windows of any gym like they are put on display to be some sort of magnet to attract more business. Truth is if you take a picture and go to the same gym a year later the same people will be on the same equipment and will be even fatter or at least the same. It is fair to say that the cookie cutter trainers that just throw people on this equipment and walk away usually work part time as waiters because they just don't have what it takes to be a real fitness professional. If these trainers can't get anyone strong and dropping weight they should quit training and take up the window position at the nearest Burger King and stop ripping people off. That being said I know this blog is most likely going to piss some trainers off but that's just the nature of the beast and that anger is a direct reflection of a deeper feeling of knowing I am right. That being said I will dive a little deeper into the programs they teach and why they are ineffective even though they doctor the results of their programs to make them more appealing.I won't specify names but the first and most recent incident had to do with a certain boot camp style program that is in operation in my area. The client came to me and discussed how without an assessment or any other type of evaluation she was directed to basically run. First of all running is fine for heart health but does nothing for strength gains or the correction of muscle imbalances which is one of the biggest reasons for injury and joint problems. Yes you will burn fat but without teaching proper running form and not knowing past health history is it wise to take someone out to the hills and have them run while being yelled at? Second where is the nutrition advice and healthy lifestyle coaching? Now when my client complained of knee pain she was told to "keep pushing it will be alright." That shit isn't professional and that is the bottom line. I personally have talked with one of these trainers who were hired to work for one of these outfits and he took a test online for fifty dollars and had no muscle mechanics education, no biomechanics education, never studied kinesiology and most likely never studied anatomy. He didn't even crack a book to get certified! This is a very common theme with these classes since I have been contacted many times by ex clients who suffered injuries or gained weight during these programs. There is a reason why these programs are fading away fast, they don't work so if you are on one of these ships I would advise jumping off before it sinks.I can hear it now, but Jess what about the amount of fat loss they advertise? Let me say this much about these claims. First show me proof like assessment records, training logs etc... Anyone can take 3 classes of 20 ladies who rarely get any exercise and make them run 4 miles in the hills almost forcefully and they are going to drop weight but without proper nutrition advice and diet planning a lot of the weight will also include the muscle you are breaking down for energy as well as the sudden change from a sedentary lifestyle to an abrupt physically challenging regiment but the results simply won't last and in the case of heightened cortisol production the fat will return faster. Sure some will adapt nicely especially women who are more endurance or slow twitch muscle dominant anyway but the ends don't justify the means in this case.The client who hired me before this most recent case had a trainer at one of the local gyms in my area think because he was dosing anabolic testosterone injections "juice" that she would be able at a young age of 52 to squat with horrible form using a bar loaded with 45lb plates and she blew out her hip. Listen to me, if you are training natural the advice you get from a younger male who is on a different path using different aids will not work for you. Their diet, intensity, and goals differ from those on a natural fitness routine. This pissed me off because now I have to rehab her hip which by the way she gets her bottom end almost to her heels now squatting with me and the pain is almost completely gone but that's a different matter, but I also have to rewire her hard drive to unlearn all the bad habits she has learned in a short amount of time. She had many many imbalances that should have been addressed way before she even put a bar on her shoulders. I have had to take these clients back to basic training principles 101 which slow the process of progression way down wasting time, money, and days off their lives. If you don't know lifting principles then you don't need to be teaching anyone anything. Most of the problems I run across in my meeting with clients or consultations with clients of other training systems are all tied back to the ignorance of the trainers or instructors and it sickens me that these are the same people who give good personal trainers a bad name. We all seem to get lumped together and more times than not it is usually women who get scammed into these situations. I think it’s the mechanic mentality of taking advantage of a woman and that's why these trainers and programs shoot for the female demographic. This is disgusting to no end to say the least so ladies I employ you to educate yourselves and shop around. I have a client male to female ratio of 9:1 meaning 99% of my clientele consist of women and to this day I have yet to have any of my girls get injured and we move some iron buddy. I would be happy to put any of my girls up against any of their strongest in a deadlift or squat competition and watch mine out perform in form, execution, and sheer poundage. Women should be strong and they should damn well get what they pay for.I can give you examples if you would like of some of the work my ladies put in and be assured that some of my gals lift more than some men with better form, range of motion and endurance. One of my girls used to weigh 298lbs at 5 foot 3 inches less than one year ago. She started with me using stability ball and rubber band training and today she stands at 170lbs and can deadlift her body weight raw with no straps and near perfect form. She bench presses 100lbs for sets and squats her body weight with her butt to her heels. This weekend she bought for the first time in her adult life a size 10 pant. Its all her because all I did was educate and teach along with program design and progression. Another lady who hired me a mere 3 weeks ago dead lifted 100lbs after working on form diligently for 2 weeks after never dead lifting before in her life and last session squatted her body weight. She also performed 3 sets of 10 wide grip chins and chest to the bar with little assistance and 3 sets of 10 dips with biceps to forearms with little assistance. Most men can't do 1 set of 5 of either by the way. I have a female client who at the young age of 57 through little to no cardio has lost 20lbs through nutrition and while she has been with me she has gone from doing exercises with an empty bar to compound movements with weight clean for reps. Women have the ability to do any exercise a man can do because they have the same musculoskeletal system men do as far as the movements so why not be strong in said movements? I won't knock anyone for effort but what I do not favor is the mentalities of women don’t know any better. To this I say find a training system that works for you and enjoy it but choose the trainer over the system because his or her advice will make or break more than just your wallet.
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