How do you train clients indoors/outdoors?

[ovahdryve]

Evening folks.

Recently completed my Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training and whilst I am currently trying to get my foot in the door working in/for a gym for the experience I am looking to PT clients OUTSIDE the gym i.e in their homes and in parks.

I currently have only very basic equipment (i.e markers for cardio, skipping ropes etc.), so no resistance bands or weights. Could I still train a client without these things?

Given the generic example of a client that just wants to shift the pounds, I believe providing a SUITABLE diet plan (i.e giving them a good macronutrient split, calculating their BMR and putting them in a deficit) ALONG with some basic cardio and bodyweight exercises (such as dips, squats, push ups, box jumps etc.) would suffice? I have done this outdoors as part of my assessment and firmly believe I can get clients the RESULTS outside, but would this differ from inside?

How do you train your clients outside the gym?

I hope to learn from you experienced PT's out there, so thanks in advance.

- O

[KyleAaron]

Get a foam roller, an 8, a 12 and a 16kg kettlebell, and do a coaching course in kettlebell movements. Find a park with a pullup bar at thigh height and one at head height. You can now address most of the needs of 90% of potential clients.

Alternately, a foam roller and TRX in a park with a bar at head height or a bit higher.

[UTCFitness]

Evening folks.

Recently completed my Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training and whilst I am currently trying to get my foot in the door working in/for a gym for the experience I am looking to PT clients OUTSIDE the gym i.e in their homes and in parks.

I currently have only very basic equipment (i.e markers for cardio, skipping ropes etc.), so no resistance bands or weights. Could I still train a client without these things?

Given the generic example of a client that just wants to shift the pounds, I believe providing a SUITABLE diet plan (i.e giving them a good macronutrient split, calculating their BMR and putting them in a deficit) ALONG with some basic cardio and bodyweight exercises (such as dips, squats, push ups, box jumps etc.) would suffice? I have done this outdoors as part of my assessment and firmly believe I can get clients the RESULTS outside, but would this differ from inside?

How do you train your clients outside the gym?

I hope to learn from you experienced PT's out there, so thanks in advance.

- O

Sled dragging is great, maybe a big tire and a sledge hammer if u have a way to haul it around.You can get big tires for free.

[ovahdryve]

Get a foam roller, an 8, a 12 and a 16kg kettlebell, and do a coaching course in kettlebell movements. Find a park with a pullup bar at thigh height and one at head height. You can now address most of the needs of 90% of potential clients.

Alternately, a foam roller and TRX in a park with a bar at head height or a bit higher.

Isn't the foam roller mainly for stability? Or can you get a good body-weight workout with these. Would you not opt for resistance bands if anything instead if so? Outdoors I wanted to include a cardio session, body-weight exercises, dips/pull ups and use terrain for other such exercises such as box jumps (does that sound sufficient for the average 'weight-loss-tone-up' sedentary client)?

May I ask for a generic routine that you would give someone in their home? Where do you do the cardio? I've only been qualified for PT Outdoors so PT'ing indoors is new for me. Of course I can use initiative but just good to double check with you more experienced guys out there.

Thanks

[KyleAaron]

The foam roller is for myofascial release, which is fancy-talk for midway between a stretch and a massage. Most people will present with hunched over and knees-in posture and tight thoracic spine. Foam rolling the thoracic spine, ITB, quads, these will give relief to that, loosen the person up.

Inside, outside, all the same. People need to work the basic movements, squat, push, pull, hip hinge, and either loaded carry or some sort of plank.

Get the 8kg kettlebell
Goblet squat 10-20
press 5-10
standing rows (split stance, lean forward at the hips, back straight), 10-15
hip hinge 10-15
plank 10"
foam roll thoracic spine (if a desk worker) or ITB (if a runner)

Do a few rounds of this. Start with lowest reps, when they can do max reps, get them the larger kettlebell, they may have to push press a heavier one on some or all reps, that's okay. Increase the plank by 2-5" a session.

After a few weeks you should be able to graduate them to swings. And then cleans, snatches, etc. Or from squats to split squats, etc.

For cardio indoors, simply use the kettlebells for 1'00" per movement, don't count reps, use the same KB throughout, the squats will be moderate, the presses hard but they'll catch their breath, the rows easy, etc. A few rounds of that and they're done.

[ovahdryve]

Thanks again for your kind and informative response.

May I ask, if a clients goal is stubbornly just 'weight loss' or to have that smaller stomach or perfect abs, would you still include and emphasise the importance of core stability to them, the use of the foam roller etc? Whilst this is important as we know, a 'stretch/massage' type movement isn't focused on really burning calories and so would you still include it given that it is vital towards 'OVERALL' development and a foundation for other lifts and movements? If this was a male client, who wanted to body build would you still start them off like this?

I'm too used to my own goals of strength training, hypertrophy and bodybuilding and so i'm just trying to learn how to cater for other needs. Whilst I have the qualifications (in the UK) theres so much they DON'T teach so I apologise for my lack of knowledge.

Cardio indoors is definitely an eye opener, great to see you that big compound lifts can be used as opposed to conventional running/jogging.

[KyleAaron]

It's the same for everyone. Whether you want to bodybuild, lose weight, do 100m sprints, whatever - first you need to be able to move well. If you can't do a goblet squat then you can't do a heavy 45 degree leg press or a barbell back squat. If you can't do a plank you can't do a pushup, if you can't do a pushup how can you bench press? If you can't do bat wings, how can you do heavy barbell rows? If you can't do a goblet squat and decide to go for a run, what happens when you come to a hill or some stairs, and how much more likely are you to suffer a knee injury? If you never do resistance training and have low bone density, how much more likely is a stress fracture from all that running? And so on.

Basics first. It doesn't matter what you want to do at university one day, if today you're 5 years old, you need to learn to read and write, too. Whatever their goals, most people who come to us are movement-illiterate, or semi-literate at best. They need to sort that out first, and this takes time.

As well as goals they state, they have needs they don't state or even are aware of. A couple of weeks ago I had a 65yo guy start with me. To stand up from a chair he had to lean his trunk forward, swing his arms and kind of lurch up. If he continued that way, at 75yo he'd need a carer to put him on and off the toilet, and wouldn't be able to do his own shopping. His goal? To lose his belly.

I'm teaching him to squat. This started with sitting down on and standing up from a high bench. "Okay, now put your feet on the outer edges of the supports there, and as you sit down and stand up, think "knees out"." As he got that, "rightyo, now as you come down, rather sitting back, just touch your bum lightly on the bench and then come straight back up." He's also been leg-pressing, starting with no weight on the 45 degree leg press, adding 10kg a session, going for 20 reps. In between the leg press sets he does 3 planks, starting with 10" in the first session, adding 5" a session.

Next week he'll go to a lower bench. Two weeks after that just before Christmas he should do the first below parallel unloaded squat he's done since he was a toddler. And if he keeps that up, then in ten years he can go to the toilet on his own and do his own shopping.

If he can do an unloaded goblet squat, he can progress to weighted squats of some kind. And walking and getting up stairs will be easier, he'll be more likely to actually do these things. Loaded squats and lots of walking will burn energy, and help him lose his belly.

His goal was to lose his belly. His needs were to be able to squat. His needs actually help his goals, though he didn't know it until I told him. And that's what they pay us for.

[foxtrotjoe]

I've had people gaffe at car pushing, but it's still my favorite outdoor workout. Pretty much everyone can do it, it's free, and most people say it's a refreshing change of pace. You can make it quad or ham dominant and really do a ton of work without a lot of soreness. Obviously you have to coach them up and keep a close eye on their form, so don't be the guy in the car.