When Trainers Train

My gym's trainers of course use the gym to train during their off hours. Today was one of those cases as two guys did squats. And how did they do them? Not very well.

When they loaded up the bar, their form went in the opposite direction of the weight. They bent at the knees first instead of sitting back and their thighs didn't make it anywhere near parallel to the floor. Basically they were doing half squats.

Once again it shows why it's always good to check out your trainer's credentials and even to watch them with other clients.

Will Trainers Ever Get It Right?

Once again, I heard a trainer giving bad advice.

Today, one told a client to pull his belly button in while he was doing dumbbell bench presses. But that's outdated, and incorrect, information. If only she'd read the New York Times earlier this year, which in article said, among other things, "Critics, including personal trainers and specialists in the spine and biomechanics, are now saying that drawing in may not make sense while, say, lifting weights or performing a crunch or running a race. In fact, some say, drawing in may even be counterproductive."

What are you supposed to do? Brace your stomach, just as if you would do before someone was about to it.

By the way, last week I watched two trainers working with someone on squats. The person didn't do them correctly -- he never got down far enough yet kept on adding weights. The trainers stepped in to show him how to do it. They didn't go down far enough either. Remember, on the squat, go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Get Off the Ball

There are plenty of good uses for stability balls, most of which involve core work.

The other day I used one for a core move that involves putting your feet on the ball with your hands on the floor in a pushup position. Keeping your core braced, in other words not sagging in the middle, you pike up your hips, pulling the ball forward. Then walk your hands out a couple of steps so you're back in the pushup position. Repeat. It's tough.

But too many trainers seem to believe they're a good way to make workouts exciting. So they use stability and Bosu balls, those half stability balls, in some pretty dumb ways. At my gym, for instance, I so often see a trainer make a newbie do squats on the Bosu ball. I've yet to see a client do the squat properly, and it makes me want to yell, "Teach them to do bodyweight squats on the ground before you even think about using a Bosu ball."

Super trainer Craig Ballantyne agrees.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

Why is it that some people go to the gym day after day only to do the wrong exercises with poor form? They obviously care enough to get to the gym, which is more than many of us can do. Do they not know where to look for guidance? Do they even know they're not doing it right? Are they assuming gym trainers will step in to help (when was the last time you saw a trainer actually help someone with form)?

I saw it again today at the gym. A guy came in, did a few reps on the machines, which are generally not worth using, and went from one exercise to another as if it was a circuit -- it wasn't. When he did a good exercise, one-arm rows, he did it wrong, rounding his back, going too fast and using almost no weight.

What's the lesson here? There are plenty of resources out there, including ones I point to here, that will teach you what to do and how to do it at the gym. Use them and you'll see how your gym time will transform your body and health.

What's Your Trainer's Background?

After suffering through one injury after another, the Yankees just fired their strength coach, the New York Times reports. And where did this person who was charged with developing conditioning plans for pro players come from? Ballen Isles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he was director of fitness.