to all you know-it-alls who want to train w/o a cert.

[dshinton]

And just the thought of just little imbalances in form leading to bad joint alignment or weak/strong links in parts of the body that end up injuring yourself in other lifts in the future is kind of scary to me ....

Here are some thing I did to myself in the gym:

1. I rounded by back while doing heavy shrugs and pulled a muscle in the center of my back. I couldn't lift for a month.

2. I got pain in my forearms when doing curls because my flexors got out of balance with my biceps. It took about a month to rehab.

3. I damaged my left AC joint by a combination of bad form and letting my back and delts get out of balance with my chest by benching like a fiend. I couldn't bench, do freeweight squats, or chins for 2 months while I rehabbed my rotator cuff.

After that last injury, I am a form and balance maniac. You have to be safe!

[danmcbabe]

Question for the personal trainers out there that train people on the side for extra cash. When you are certified, where are some locations where you can train people that work great for you and the client?

What happens if you come across a situation where someone inquires about your training services and they are apart of a gym and they want you to train them in that specific gym? Do you have to buy a membership?

Sorry if the questions sound rediculous. Just curious.

[rockstomper91@hotmail.com]

You could get away with training clients under the table in any gym. Just don't let them catch you, as most gyms tend to get upset that you're taking their business away. If you're not a member you will typically be required to become one unless it's a private studio. Which I would say would be your best bet in finding a knowledgable trainer rather than commercial. But it all depends. Good places will be anywhere trainers are independently contracted which doesn't tend to happen at a lot of commercial gyms these days. Private studios mostly. But if you do find a commercial gym you like and want to someone to train you look for a place that contains a variety of equipment free weights, machines, bands, stability balls, med balls etc. and make sure it is all functioning properly.

As for the certification debate...

Experience does trump book smarts in a lot of instances, but these book smarts, degrees and certs cover your ass. Especially with today's business practice laws. But the opposite can be true as well. You can be self taught, but educating yourself will only get you so far, especially when it comes to exercise science, anatomy and physiology, exercise testing and biomechanics.

And I will argue for every trainer or student who has or is currently pursing a degree as well as a cert. We should feel proud of what we accomplished. It's not that we have a chip on our shoulder and feel better than anyone. It's merely the fact that we worked our asses off for what we wanted, in terms of a 4 year degree. Getting a degree isn't cake, you don't just pay your thousands of dollars and they hand you your diploma. You study and study and study some more. Most exercise science programs as well as kinesiology programs require practical and clinical experience in the forms of lab work using hands on approaches and internships where you are thrown into the mix where you are graded on your performance and expected to perform exceptionally as other professionals of the field.

When I read a lot of these posts some people are just under the assumption that people want a bodybuilder physique and from a certification standpoint they are all the same. Well for a general CPT this is true. Any 18 year old can study and get that. But if you want to get more advanced certs you must have further schooling and exceptional knowlege in all fields of exercise science. The certifications I truly respect and that a lot of companies look for these days are ones that require you to have a BS in an exercise related field to even sit for the exam. Now the people that have earned these certs deserve respect.

We also have to look at what certifications are necessary for the client base we work with and the goals of those clients. If you're working with clients that are already in descent shape that don't have extenuating health problems than a general cert may be all you need if you don't have much experience... A CPT will be fine

If you want to work with clients who are "Higher Risk" than you better know you stuff. This is where the course work, degrees, and advanced certs become necessary. Certs in the form of a certified Exercise Specialist, Clinical Exercise Physiologist or Corrective Exercise Specialist. These are the Certs that require the degree and vast array of knowledge of the human body and its functions.

Also, if you want to work with athletes, you need to know more than just the basics of exercise science, you need to become a specialist in the field of performance training. You need to know how energy systems and pathways opperate, how the body responds to plyometric, power, speed, agility and strength training and how to design programs with all the components based on individual athlete's needs and sports they participate in. These certs come in the form of a CSCS or PES, etc.

The above certs all show you are a specialist in the respected fields and have demonstrated such specialized skills and knowledge through clinical and practial experience as well as education.

So the next time you attempt to disrespect someones expertise and think that all certs are joke and unnecessary take a look at what certs they possess and what it required to get them to that point. School and certs aren't all about reading a book. There is more taken into account than you may think.

[ViperSlugg]

Here are some thing I did to myself in the gym:

1. I rounded by back while doing heavy shrugs and pulled a muscle in the center of my back. I couldn't lift for a month.

2. I got pain in my forearms when doing curls because my flexors got out of balance with my biceps. It took about a month to rehab.

3. I damaged my left AC joint by a combination of bad form and letting my back and delts get out of balance with my chest by benching like a fiend. I couldn't bench, do freeweight squats, or chins for 2 months while I rehabbed my rotator cuff.

After that last injury, I am a form and balance maniac. You have to be safe!

Ouch, like I been doing research on the basic form of the excercies and it feels like I am doing stuff properly ....

If I try to do heavy barbell bicep curls and dont pay attention - i also have forearm pains near the end of my set, but I've dealt with it to lift lighter and not do much to aggravate the condition until my forearms 'adapt' or get stronger so the pains subside more ....

I want to post the routine I am doing - and my strength has been shooting through the roof crazily .... in the last couple months .... but I can feel tiny aches every now and then of what it feels like in my joints .... but go away with a little rest ....

[FreddyKrueger]

Ouch, like I been doing research on the basic form of the excercies and it feels like I am doing stuff properly ....

If I try to do heavy barbell bicep curls and dont pay attention - i also have forearm pains near the end of my set, but I've dealt with it to lift lighter and not do much to aggravate the condition until my forearms 'adapt' or get stronger so the pains subside more ....

I want to post the routine I am doing - and my strength has been shooting through the roof crazily .... in the last couple months .... but I can feel tiny aches every now and then of what it feels like in my joints .... but go away with a little rest ....

Corrective exercises are important for all muscle imbalances. Generally you want to strenghten the underactives and stretch and SMFR the overactives. Every person I have met at the gym that did an assessment had some kind of issue. Once you get this evened out your joints will be back in most ideal place to lift weight. So, all in all a lot of people can benefit from a trainer.