Bad Advice Personal Trainers Give Out
Bad Advice Personal Trainers Give
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I’m still undecided on whether or not we need personal trainers, at all. For centuries humans managed to exercise without someone telling them when and how to. That being said, we also didn’t used to sit around as much as we do, or consume so much processed foods. There was a time when our great, great, great ancestors got their exercise by literally hunting their food and scaling boulders. So, I do understand that, our regular activities don’t encourage us to use all of our muscles the way we once did. I also understand that maybe we don’t know how to safely use them all. So, do we need personal trainers at all? The jury is still out. But are there trainers who definitely do know what they’re doing and some that…don’t? Absolutely. Here is some bad advice personal trainers give women.
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Do crunches for abs
The reality is that you can do crunches all day and you will not see abs if your body fat is too high. Abs hide under stomach fat, and we mostly lose stomach fat through diet (cardio plays a small role, too). Doing hundreds of crunches a day, without adjusting diet, will just lead to back pain and no ab definition.
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Bulk up on protein
You don’t need to consume protein powder and 20 eggs a day to build muscle. You can actually do so on just a…balanced diet. There should, of course, be sufficient protein and carbohydrates in there. But having a diet that is extremely heavy on protein is actually just bad for the kidney and intestines.
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Work out until you vomit
Some trainers will tell you that only when you vomit, or feel like you might, can you be certain you’ve had a good workout. But…last time I checked, the body vomiting is its mechanism for telling us that we are harming it.
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Work out until you almost faint
Fainting is another thing our body does when we are mistreating it. So, no, we should not work out until we feel like we might faint. We can certainly see results even if we stop exercising far shy of that feeling.
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Squat this way
Many trainers advise people not to squat past the 90 degrees angle (formed by the upper body and thighs). Unfortunately, that exact angle puts the most pressure on our knees and can cause knee pain. It’s best to dip just below that angle.
Mixed Race woman running in park
Run to slim down
You’re told to do tons of cardio to slim down. Unfortunately, too much cardio has the adverse effect—it messes with our levels of T3, the thyroid hormone that controls metabolism.
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Run during sessions
If your trainer ever advises you to get on a treadmill during a session, fire him then and there. You can go on the treadmill, alone, for free. There is nothing he can tell you to do on the treadmill that you couldn’t figure out on your own.
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Work out every day
You should not necessarily work out every single day. Your body needs rest days. And, some people’s bodies don’t need rest days. But ultimately, you should listen to your own body. If it feels like it could use a little R&R for rejuvenation, then resting could help you work out better the next day.
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Or, do nothing without them
Also be wary if a trainer tells you that you should not lift a finger if they aren’t there. There are so many exercises you can safely do without a trainer—this is just their method for making you reliant on them (aka spend lots of money). A good trainer will give you homework to do while you’re away.
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Keep going, even if it hurts
If you are in pain, stop exercising. When a trainer tells you to keep going, even if it hurts, what they probably mean is that you should keep going even if you feel tired or like you can’t. But exercising while in pain can lead to injury.
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You should burn the next day
Speaking of pain, you shouldn’t be in pain the next day. You may be a bit tired, and some muscles might feel tender. But if you literally cannot walk or stand up, you’re doing something wrong in sessions—don’t just accept that as normal.
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This works for everyone
No one workout or diet plan works for everyone. Everybody is different. People have different body types, metabolisms, metabolism disorders, past injuries, and even goals.
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Any nutrition advice
Unless your trainer is a certified nutritionist, think twice before taking a diet plan from them. You should get that from a real nutritionist.
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Telling you what body type you want
A trainer should never tell you what your body should look like, or what you should want it to look like. You tell your trainer what you’d like, and he should help you get that (within reason).
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All other trainers suck
When one trainer tells you that all the others are hacks, you should probably run for the hills. This one plans on brain washing you, and even putting you through routines that make you feel dependent on them.
