The Coach's Role

Ok I'm only joking, this post is not about a handbag

So this article comes to you after much thought and provocation. A couple of weeks ago I had, well… a little tiff with another trainer and while my behavior was in the wrong, I felt that my points were valid and correct and so I couldn’t let it go. I feel the need to publicly state my thoughts and feelings on the subject, even though this particular individual will never read them (which is probably a good thing). So here I am getting up on my soap box for you all to read. Hopefully you will use your own judgment whether I am correct or not.

I am sure you are now curious to what we argued about, well this individual and I did not see eye to eye on a certain fitness program. While the program was the subject, my real annoyance was and is concerning the role of a coach, personal trainer, or group fitness instructor.

Before I begin its important that I make these notes, while each of the three individuals above are different, they all should have the same principles guiding them and most of my thoughts and ideas will apply to all three individuals. For that reason to keep things simpler I will refer to these three different roles as your trainer.

The Background of the Argument

After spending the last 5 years in school learning about exercise physiology, psychology and coaching I have to say that I have built a pretty high standard for myself and for other trainers (and a really high soap box). And after years of studying and working hard to do things “the right way” it is a tad bothersome to see trainers and coaches out there who do not give a crap (pardon my language) what’s the best way or even a good way and as a result, their clients do not learn anything except bad habits, motives, and information. Now before you all start jumping down my throat please don’t misunderstand me. I recognize there are A LOT of really good trainers out there and that everyone, every trainer, including myself makes mistakes and they do not know everything. I will be the first to admit that I am not yet a great coach. I think it takes time, experience and education to make a truly great coach. But even with my limited (2+ years) working as an instructor, coach and now a personal trainer I still can’t help be shocked at some of the things I hear and see.

Below I have compiled a list of 10 traits and roles that I believe you should expect to see in a “quality” coach and which will hopefully help you decide who you want to be your trainer. These are traits and behaviors that are based on experience as well as formal training and common sense. I will attempt to illustrate with both “imaginary” as well as real life examples while trying to be sensitive to those who are doing the best they can. Please read through the items and consider them, not as hardened rules but as tools to guide you as you next work with your trainer, or as you seek to find a new trainer.

I know this is quite lengthy and I do apologize for that! But hopefully you will find it worth your time.

* Not all of the items I have listed will be relevant to every coach or every instructor, for example, a group class instructor will not be able to create the same individuality in a class as a one-on-one lesson with a trainer.

Your coach/trainer should:

 

1.       Seek as much formal education, experience and training they can within their respective areas of training. Including maintaining any certifications that are appropriate.

A while back I went in to certify as an indoor cycling instructor. During which a conversation broke out among a few of us instructor-wannabes on a controversial topic, which is better, experience or education. I for one am a big fan of having formal training, credible certifications as well as experience. In case you are unaware there are many training and coaching certs that only require you to pass an exam, no formal training or education needed. Some certs however require formal education (bachelors or higher) in exercise science by an accredited university. See www.acsm.org and www.nsca.org for examples.

One of the other instructors had the opinion that formal education didn’t make a big difference whether you were a good personal trainer or not because you could learn all you needed to with experience. I couldn’t have agreed and disagreed with her more, based on her experience of watching trainers with bachelors who didn’t exactly come off the block running. My response was simply this; it’s true, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell a healthy individual how to lift a weight up and down 12 times, or how to use a treadmill. In fact, helping someone lose weight or gain strength doesn’t require a hard and fast understanding of all of the below the skin information that I have gained. And since training is as much an art as it is a science there will be many trainers who lack all formal education but are incredibly successful because they are gifted artists.

From personal experience I contend that without the deeper knowledge all your trainer can give you is the surface training. And as long as you fit the mold of their previous experience you will do just fine. However, if you do not fit the mold (ie. disease, injury, highly competitive athlete) these trainers will struggle a lot more to get you where you need to go.

2.       Improve their own knowledge and ability through continuing education and by broadening their own horizons through learning new skills or observing other types of training and education.

      In case you aren’t aware I am a certified Tri coach, yoga instructor, cycling instructor, personal trainer, on top of having a bachelor’s degree in Fitness Leadership and working on a masters in Exercise Physiology. Josh (my husband) thinks I just like to spend money. But the real reason for all of the certifications is that I like learning, and each class and training has made me a better trainer and I think, has given me a broader perspective on health and fitness. It’s a shame to see trainers/coaches that think there is only one way to get fit. No, I do not think every trainer needs to have multiple certifications, in fact its better to specialize in one area, however they should at least be trying and learning new things that will help them train you.

       Not to mention, many certification programs out there (most of mine do anyway) require continuing education credits (CEC’s). CEC’s basically assure that I am staying on top of my game.

3.       Follow guidelines for training set by their certifying body, national guidelines and those established by their respective training facility.

There’s a reason why some exercises, techniques, and styles of training are NOT recommended and go in and out of style quickly. Most often its due to the benefit/risk ratio of participating in that activity. Don’t get me wrong, every activity has its risks, but when performed correctly according to guidelines it helps to decrease the odds of injury. Take biking for example, there are many many “wrong” ways to bike, like not wearing a helmet, biking against traffic, or in an indoor class trying to lift weights while biking. Believe it or not there are nationally recognized governing agencies that release guidelines that tell you the safest way to bike based on research as well as experience. 

 

When your trainer knows and follows these guidelines they will be able to not only increase safety, but also improve your training efficiency.

4.       Provide you with quality, up-to-date information that is founded on scientific information as well as experience.

Ever heard of the “fat burning zone”? It’s a myth. What about that lactic acid causes soreness? Also a myth. Ever seen this add “7 old tricks to lose weight quick”? More than likely a load of crap. 

It doesn’t matter where you go someone or some company is looking to get rich off of your naiveté by pushing their gimmicks down your throat. When I see those ads the only thing I can think of is a big old lazy lion lying in the grass waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. Why do you think every week/month there’s a new fabulous, guaranteed fix to your problem? Well… could it be that the 1,000 tips before it didn’t work??? Hmmm…. 

 There is a lot of bogus info out there, and while some may be harmless, some bad info can be dangerous (have you heard of phen phen?). In a day with as much information at our finger tips you can’t assume that everyone out there writing articles in your favorite health magazine actually know what they are talking about, same thing for your trainer. I’m having recall error here, but I believe that it is estimated that every minute a new research article is being published. That means that your trainer needs to stay up to date. 

 

 

5.       Know how to “periodize” a training plan which involves knowing how to manipulate intensity as well as the training/recovery balance.* 

Example of a periodized plan. Notice the high and low volume weeks during the "taper" phase.

As an endurance athlete there are 4 main phases to my training program in a year, base phase, endurance phase, speed/strength phase and race skills phase. Yet somehow each year I get stuck in the endurance phase and never seem to move past it. You wonder why I’m still the same pace as I was last year? However I can say this for myself, I make sure to take adequate recovery between hard workouts as well as after severe increases in training load. 

Experience and research have shown that using a structured, progressive training plan (ie periodized program) that uses different phases of training and a variety of intensities while allowing for adequate recovery will optimize results and improve efficiency. 

*This is much harder to do in group classes at the gym where you have people who attend rather inconsistently. 

6.       Create programs that are about YOU (not them) and help you meet your goals. 

Have you ever met with the trainer on the very first day and they already have a program written for you? Or maybe, they give you a program that really isn’t what you need or wanted. Well… then you are probably a victim of the “canned approach”.  I’m sure you’ve all heard of the “canned approach” in case you haven’t basically it’s the “one size fits all” of training programs. In the health and wellness world that can be all too common.

However, worse than being canned is being caught on the wrong end of the Ego. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of coaches/trainers pushing their clients to become THEIR success story, which in the end drives the athlete out of the sport entirely. 

7.       Minimize inherent risks as well as warn and advise concerning the risks that are inherent to the sport, but perhaps not always controllable.

I want you to look subjectively at the picture below. What are your first thoughts? Are they “wow those guys are so tough” or is it more along my line of thought “Oh my HELL (pardon my thought) what are these idiots thinking???” My guess is you probably thought more along the lines of the first statement, and that’s fine. In fact, that is exactly why the trainers and coaches devised this exercise, to look and be tough. So now you’re probably wondering why I would think the way I do. I suppose its because I take safety very seriously and anyone willing to let someone else “run/walk” with a barbell with that much weight on it is clearly not considering safety. 

The barbell mile... aka run/walk a mile with the barbell and some serious weight.

Here’s what I see wrong with this picture. I see someone putting their body to the maximum test of fatigue and strength in a way that is compromising to their joints (spine and knees) and without any spotters or assistance. They are in the dangerous position that one misplaced step could land them in crutches or in the extreme case a wheel chair. I’ve heard a trainer try to justify using a barbell for this exercise by saying “it’s the same thing as doing squats”. To them I say “you’re lying to yourself”. First of all with squats, particularly back squats, you should always have a spotter, in case you get stuck. Not to mention, typical weight lifting you might do anywhere from 5-20 reps at one time with rest in between and then maybe repeat that 3+ times so that you are able to hold proper form. It’s nowhere near the same impact. Giving the benefit of the doubt, lets estimate it takes them 11 minutes to do a mile, at that slow rate 120/min or approximately 1,320 steps. Now if I was a bio mechanist I could then calculate the force and impact each step has on the body and while I can’t give you the exact number it’s a lot, and it’s enough to be concerned about the impact on the spine (compressed disks?) as well as the meniscus in the knee.  This is a big problem, particularly since the goal of the exercise is to take you to extreme fatigue. Once your main muscles start to fatigue form and technique go out the window, which with that much weight could ultimately lead to injury. 

The other excuse that this trainer handed me was that every sport has its risks, well true, but shouldn’t you do everything you can to minimize those risks? For example, rock climbing can be very dangerous, especially with increasing difficulties. So while these people are not going to quit, they have done what they can to minimize the risk (e.g. using proper equipment and a trusted belayer). Well… there are many ways to still have the alter ego and eat your cake too. You could use a back pack, give piggy back rides, use resistance belts, pull sleds, carry a dead body, etc. In case you aren’t sure why this is so unsafe there are 2 main reasons. 1. The hands are occupied holding onto the weight behind your head. If you fell or tripped you’d have to have lightning reflexes and superman strength to throw that bar over your head before it came down on top of your head or neck. And 2. The weight is centered exactly over the upper spine and as fatigue sets in, form fails, and you start to slouch over more you increase the risk of compressed disks.

A very good example of a bad example is what was known as one of the best rock climbers ever DanOsman (check out the link). He would frequently climb without ropes and was fast and strong (I’m not a climber so forgive me if I screw up the lingo) and confident. He took risks in his sport that I would never dream letting anyone I know take and he was pretty lucky. Read the caption and the comments on the youtube video to find out how he died. It takes one mistake or accident, that’s all. One mistake like in Dan’s case where they failed to check the rope thoroughly. Odds are you will not die due to a mistake made by you or your trainer, but that doesn’t mean you might get off easy either.  Just be smart and careful. 

 

8.       Practice only within their scope of knowledge (and certifications) and offer a support team of professionals to guide you as the athlete to full health and wellness in the areas where they should not. 

Every time one of my runners comes to me with an ache or pain I automatically want to diagnose it. Well I could get into a lot of trouble doing this. I need to be very careful that I leave the job of the injury specialist to the injury specialists. This doesn’t mean I can’t make recommendations and help them find ways to stretch, strengthen, and modify. But I shouldn’t throw out diagnosis like I have x-ray vision either. Instead I should help advise that they go see someone who can help them. 

It would be awesome if every trainer or gym had their own sports medicine physician and dietician on hand, but most gyms don’t. Ask your trainer or someone else you trust if they have anyone they recommend to you when needed. 

 

9.       Provide you as the athlete with the necessary knowledge, tools, skills training and supervision that will offer the best chance of success and injury prevention.

There are some secrets which should never be kept, especially when it comes to your health, safety and success. Would you ever walk into an advance gymnastics class if you can’t even do a handstand? No, you would be smarter than that. So should your trainer. They should teach you everything you need to know about the program they are giving you including but not limited to, technique, strategy and purpose. So that you feel like you can achieve the goal in front of you. It’s that simple.

I have been coaching a marathon training team on the weekends and I have a wide variety of fitness levels and experience. While I love coaching this group it can be both difficult and nerve-wracking all at the same time. As an assistant coach I am to help these team members reach their goal of completing a half, or full marathon. Easy right? WRONG! Why? Well because everyone is different with different problems, fitness levels, and experience. So while practices are the same for everyone it is my job to make sure these individuals know proper technique, know how to stretch and strengthen to avoid injury as well as providing them with a workout that will give them the right amount of work without causing injury. What makes it particularly difficult is when I don’t see the team on a regular basis to know how they are faring with the program.  

10.       Foster motivation and lifestyle changes that will improve your quality of life now and in the future.

Your choice but your trainer's student.

 

         One of my areas of study is motivation. What an interesting and complex topic. Each one of us is motivated by slightly different things and the decision to act is always up to you. So while your trainer can’t shove motivation down your throat, they should create an environment that is going to improve your motivation so that you make a lifestyle out of healthy living.

No trainer is perfect and they are all going to make mistakes. In fact a good trainer will probably make more than a few, especially in the beginning of working with you. Why? Because each individual is unique and if they are trying to adapt to your needs it will take learning. Training is as much of an art as it is a science, so just like in art class in middle school, there might be a lot of “color testing” before they find a “color” that really fits with you. But the majority of the items I listed above should not be affected by how new they are, how challenging your needs are, or even the art.

 

Hiring a personal trainer, or paying for that gym pass is not cheap and you definitely don’t want to waste your money on bad information and instruction, just like you wouldn’t intentionally take medicine that was going to hurt you. So whether your trainer is brand new or has years of experience. Find one that fits your needs, budget and these guidelines.

Hopefully this list gives you a good idea of how to pick someone that you can really trust and that you want to invest in. But as I mentioned in the beginning, these are just my opinions, you should judge for yourself.