What I’ve learned as a Trainer

                I’ve been a personal trainer for the last 4 years, a weight trainer 2 years prior to that, and a volunteer coach for a few years prior to that. And over the years I’ve learned a lot when it comes to training, coaching, and the industry. Below is some of my random thoughts of what I’ve learned, enjoy.

• Everyone should learn to lift
• Everyone should learn how to move their body
• Everyone should learn to move more in general
• Squats, such a basic movement done wrong by many
• Push-ups (see squats)
• Deadlift, great exercise for lifting heavy
• What’s the best training program out there? The one that you can stick to.
• You can’t do high intensity every single day, every week of the year; give your body a break
• Recovery is how the body improves
• Variety in training is important, but it doesn’t mean constantly changing your routine every day
• Never stop learning, always improve
• Barefoot running, not for everybody
• And if you’re gonna run barefoot, gradually build up to it
• It took time to get that beer belly, don’t expect it to be gone in a week
• And don’t expect endless crunches to get rid of it (spot reduction does not work)
• Nutrition, vitally important whether your goal is to lose weight, gain mass, improve performance, etc.
• It’s always good to have a goal to shoot for, helps give purpose to training
• Have some fun when training, even when it hurts
• Runner’s need strength, triathletes too (hell, endurance athletes in general need strength)
• Exercise alone isn’t the best way to lose weight (exercise + good nutrition is), but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it
• If you can, get a training partner. They keep you accountable and stay motivated
• Weight loss and fat loss are not the same; if I had to choose one, I’d choose fat loss
• To succeed, you gotta have “The Drive”
• There’s a difference between working out and training; working out sounds boring, going through the motions. I like the sound of training, it sounds purposeful.
• Heavy strength training is great, but never underestimate the power of bodyweight training