Fitness Instructors & Personal Trainers

[eMsta]

Just wondering, is there anyone on here who is a qualified personal trainer?

Just want opinions on how it has helped you both in your career and personal goals. Is it worth doing a level 3 and 4? What is the starting salary? What are the good and bad points of this profession? Is there any legal aspects that one has to consider when being a PT?

Being an accountant in the property industry, is a good area - specially cos it helps me follow my passion with property. However, I have been getting more and more into fitness, and the more i exercise, the greater i feel. So I am thinking, I can give something back to the community, by making people more aware of healthy eating and living. And since I got literally 2 months, before my next cpa module, I am thinking, maybe I should go ahead and do my certificate 3 and 4 and become a personal trainer (part time).

need opinions!

[WYTSKY]

why not just do it? looks nice on the resume anyway... and u'd be qualified no?

I was thinking of doing a Personal training course aswell... I have been body building for about 8 years now and I do agree with you, feels awsome!

maybe not getting into a jazz after though

P.S my dad has a jazz with the whole factory body kit and wing in black with the license plates HOT.00, when im working on my car and I cant drive mine and he's not using his, I have to take his.... very imbarresing getting in that infront of the good looking girls you just tried to impress lifiting heavy weights

[gtovr4]

Pay is crap unless you run your own business.

Course is a waste of time, you won't learn much, just get a piece of paper that makes you a PT.

Good points: You make money because people are stupid.

Bad point: You probably don't know enough to genuinely help others. (Assuming you are newish to training) Because most PTs I see have

really average bodies and use "commercial" style training, which doesn't get you too far.

[GTR-32U]

Pay is crap unless you run your own business.

Course is a waste of time, you won't learn much, just get a piece of paper that makes you a PT.

Good points: You make money because people are stupid.

Bad point: You probably don't know enough to genuinely help others. (Assuming you are newish to training) Because most PTs I see have

really average bodies and use "commercial" style training, which doesn't get you too far.

I see a lot of those PT's that you are referring to but those guys/gals are usually catered toward Physical rehab type work. Personal or work injury etc... I guess if you are going to do it to make decent money catering towards the Bodybuilding side of things then a fully loaded Physique is probably going to be a decent asset. In other words the huge freaky big guy will get more business than the thin type guy. Most of the guys I know who do it usually have it as a second job...So I dont really know how you would go relying on it as a prime source of income....

But Good luck with it

Hope it works out for you

Edited December 8, 2008 by GTR-32U

[gtovr4]

I see a lot of those PT's that you are referring to but those guys/gals are usually catered toward Physical rehab type work. Personal or work injury etc... I guess if you are going to do it to make decent money catering towards the Bodybuilding side of things then a fully loaded Physique is probably going to be a decent asset. In other words the huge freaky big guy will get more business than the thin type guy. Most of the guys I know who do it usually have it as a second job...So I dont really know how you would go relying on it as a prime source of income....

But Good luck with it

Hope it works out for you

yeah true, but i was mainly refering to the clowns you see in Fitness First etc, the 60-80kg guys that make 50kg guys do 10 sets of bicep curls to "get massive" haha and they say don't squat or deadlift because its bad for your back hehe.

[_Ryan_]

haha... i hate to say it, but M&M on NS.com pretty much OWNS the fitness sections, knows his shit, awesome trainer, his son is a f**kING MACHINE for his age, so sorta proves his methods there.

another trainer or two in there and a few naturopaths, so maybe have a look in there.

[eMsta]

why not just do it? looks nice on the resume anyway... and u'd be qualified no?

I was thinking of doing a Personal training course aswell... I have been body building for about 8 years now and I do agree with you, feels awsome!

maybe not getting into a jazz after though

P.S my dad has a jazz with the whole factory body kit and wing in black with the license plates HOT.00, when im working on my car and I cant drive mine and he's not using his, I have to take his.... very imbarresing getting in that infront of the good looking girls you just tried to impress lifiting heavy weights

haha...the jazz is my work car. Skyline is for weekend And my gf doesnt mind me driving the jazz....at the moment anyway

Pay is crap unless you run your own business.

Course is a waste of time, you won't learn much, just get a piece of paper that makes you a PT.

Good points: You make money because people are stupid.

Bad point: You probably don't know enough to genuinely help others. (Assuming you are newish to training) Because most PTs I see have

really average bodies and use "commercial" style training, which doesn't get you too far.

Yeah, i know what you mean. The trainers at monash are not the big type - but they are more for rehab, and losing weight type. i am currently going to a personal trainer, and him and his brother are huge motherfckers......and the mass gain has been pretty good, like almost 2 kilos in 8 weeks. But they were saying that it takes experience. Like for them, what they did to lose weight and pack on muscle, they use for clients. Same goes with food etc.

I see a lot of those PT's that you are referring to but those guys/gals are usually catered toward Physical rehab type work. Personal or work injury etc... I guess if you are going to do it to make decent money catering towards the Bodybuilding side of things then a fully loaded Physique is probably going to be a decent asset. In other words the huge freaky big guy will get more business than the thin type guy. Most of the guys I know who do it usually have it as a second job...So I dont really know how you would go relying on it as a prime source of income....

But Good luck with it

Hope it works out for you

yeah thats what i wanted to know - how most people do it (main income stream or secondary/hobby income stream)

haha... i hate to say it, but M&M on NS.com pretty much OWNS the fitness sections, knows his shit, awesome trainer, his son is a f**kING MACHINE for his age, so sorta proves his methods there.

another trainer or two in there and a few naturopaths, so maybe have a look in there.

will have to go incognito and get some info from this dude on ns.com

thanks for your replies guys!

[RBJ3T]

As a soldier in the reserves for over 4 years I see the difference between Civi PT's and Army PTI's All the football clubs and sporting teams normally mimic a lot of there Pre seaon training on Army models.

My recomendation. Join the reserves as a PTI get smashed in fitness and learn how to inflict hell on people. THen when you start your own business you are different from the rest of the PT's out there. You have military experience and that goes a long way.

Negatives: You will be put through a very gruelling few months of courses and training, You get beasted by crazy PTI's, blah blah blah

Posatives: You are serving your country and doing something honerable, You get an awesome life experience, you get tax free pay, see the country, People respect your training

This is just my thoughts and the PTI's that I know who are army have an awesome clientel. They run boot camp style training and people love it......

Peace out

[some_cs_student]

will have to go incognito and get some info from this dude on ns.com

thanks for your replies guys!

Nissan Silvia's body building section is excellent, read the stickies, read the again

And then ask questions much later, there is excellent info on that forum.

[SS8_Gohan]

and the mass gain has been pretty good, like almost 2 kilos in 8 weeks. But they were saying that it takes experience. Like for them, what they did to lose weight and pack on muscle, they use for clients. Same goes with food etc.

almost 2kgs in 8 weeks? i've gone 11kgs in 5 months. And that's on the slowish side.

It does not take experience at all!! that's just utter BS. Just lift heavy, eat alot and if you're more concerned about physique, just eat a bit cleaner (this is if you're bulking). Once someone has taught you how to squat/deadlift/military press/bench press/bent row, etc... you're sorted. Then it's just a matter of effort. I know i sound like m, but it's that simple.

if you're bulking, a rough program to follow to would be heavy compound lifts and lots of milk and peanut butter sandwiches. easy. That's what i've done.

i'd say PT training would be about as useful as a tits on a bull. The whole industry if being FLOODED at the moment, and it doesn't take a genius to see what the outcome will be. There are only so many clients out there and if you jump into bed with one of the frachises (FF, re-creation, etc) you've got a lot of bills to pay first before you start making any money from competing with the other pt fools.

the new PT that started at my gym is THE biggest fantasy presser i have ever see, and that's saying something considering i go to a franchise gym.

emsta, what's your gym program and diet like at the moment? and what are your goals? (personally)

and to the girls, do weights

[eMsta]

almost 2kgs in 8 weeks? i've gone 11kgs in 5 months. And that's on the slowish side.

It does not take experience at all!! that's just utter BS. Just lift heavy, eat alot and if you're more concerned about physique, just eat a bit cleaner (this is if you're bulking). Once someone has taught you how to squat/deadlift/military press/bench press/bent row, etc... you're sorted. Then it's just a matter of effort. I know i sound like m, but it's that simple.

if you're bulking, a rough program to follow to would be heavy compound lifts and lots of milk and peanut butter sandwiches. easy. That's what i've done.

i'd say PT training would be about as useful as a tits on a bull. The whole industry if being FLOODED at the moment, and it doesn't take a genius to see what the outcome will be. There are only so many clients out there and if you jump into bed with one of the frachises (FF, re-creation, etc) you've got a lot of bills to pay first before you start making any money from competing with the other pt fools.

the new PT that started at my gym is THE biggest fantasy presser i have ever see, and that's saying something considering i go to a franchise gym.

emsta, what's your gym program and diet like at the moment? and what are your goals? (personally)

and to the girls, do weights

hey daniel - thanks for the reply. 11kg in 5 weeks??? must be my diet - its better now, but still needs tweaking . However, when I was going to the gym before I wasnt seeing much gains, because I wasnt eating or training right, so yeah the 2kg gain was like "WOW!!!" hehe.....

right now, i have stopped bulking, cos i am training for a triathalon - but once this is over, im going to go back to bulking. Was concentrating on the major muscle groups 3 - 4 times a week, and then on the smaller ones (arms) 2 times in the week. Plus cardio every day (running/basketball/swimming)

[NickR33]

why not do it on the side, sounds like a good idea... big difference between bodybuilding and PT though, most of your clients will be looking to improve their health and fitness not become huge lol

most of the guys who want to be big reckon they know it all and are in the gym trying to lift twice what they should with bad form and no control lol

My old man is heavily involved in the PCYC in St Kilda and they are always looking for volunteers etc... you could do a few shifts there to get experience etc... he quit advertising after 30yrs and is now a personal trainer, mostly training clients over 50 as that's his niche...

great way to get out of the office tho... and learn some new skills at the same time... I wouldn't go quitting your day job just yet but as a side project its great... most clients would want to train before or after work anyways so you could still work your 9-5

Edit: oh and come play basketball with the SAU team! we need someone who is fit lol

[jay1]

just go heavy and 4-6reps 3 sets works best for me

[DNGRUS]

send a pm to KIRAS , shes a personal trainer

[WYTSKY]

super sets, pyramid sets, compounds, isolations, circuits, low rep, high sets, visa versa, bulking, cutting, the list can go on, but emsta, I didnt think you were after that? thought you were thinking about PTing? or are you trying to get the bod first to show you know what your doing?

if you are, dont take only one person's advice on here, everyone is different as im sure you know and everyone will react differently to various techniques and diets.

people making HUGE amounts of weight gains in short amount of times will more likely be larger blokes to begin with, who find it easy to put on bulk, but also easy to put on fat, regardless if fat is 1/2 the weight of muscle or whatever the ratio is. Also, explosive weight gains of muscle can be achieved by "scaring/tricking" the body and completly changing around routines, exersises and regimes. it can also be obtained using supplements such as createn, protien, but I wouldnt reccommend createn as it basiclly sucks the water out of your organs and puts it into your muscles, so you have to drink i think about double the normal amount of water your meant to...12 glasses? also, that can contribute to a large amount of weight gain as it is water weight, if someone is using it, then gets sick for a few weeks, they will come back quite a few kgs lighter

Also, people who just begin weight training find it the easiest to put on bulk as their body is not used to it, which normally starts slowing down after about 3 months.

2kg extra on you may look more then 8kg on a large bloke. also, if you want to bulk, cut out or cut down almost all of your cardio for a time.

finally, mass eating is fine, but of the right food as already mentioned, or a controlled intake of foods is a better option and a sure way to the results you aim for as there is almost more importance in the food you eat and how well you recover, compared to the excersises you perform at gym.

happy to talk with you further over the phone if this is what your aiming for. PM me.

Gl with it!

Adam

[some_cs_student]

super sets, pyramid sets, compounds, isolations, circuits, low rep, high sets, visa versa, bulking, cutting, the list can go on, but emsta, I didnt think you were after that? thought you were thinking about PTing? or are you trying to get the bod first to show you know what your doing?

Agreed on above, there is more than one technique, and depending on how long you've been training and what your goals are, techniques will vary.

I don't have a personnel trainer, but the biggest gain I got was when I asked for a spotter on the bench, without one you don't push yourself hard enough, or you drop a bar on yourself (not fun).

They also taught me how to do drop sets / strip sets after doing very heavy lifts...

Furthermore, the guy's at Genesis create a plan every couple of months roughly.

if you are, dont take only one person's advice on here, everyone is different as im sure you know and everyone will react differently to various techniques and diets.

Agreed.

people making HUGE amounts of weight gains in short amount of times will more likely be larger blokes to begin with, who find it easy to put on bulk, but also easy to put on fat, regardless if fat is 1/2 the weight of muscle or whatever the ratio is.

Very true.

Also, explosive weight gains of muscle can be achieved by "scaring/tricking" the body and completly changing around routines, exersises and regimes. it can also be obtained using supplements such as createn, protien, but I wouldnt reccommend createn as it basiclly sucks the water out of your organs and puts it into your muscles, so you have to drink i think about double the normal amount of water your meant to...12 glasses? also, that can contribute to a large amount of weight gain as it is water weight, if someone is using it, then gets sick for a few weeks, they will come back quite a few kgs lighter

I believe your referring to Creatine (L-creatine the amino acid) and I disagree with the above, although I'm only on a fraction of the dose that some recommend, but I'm trying to maintain fairly lean muscle, not huge bulk.

I also use glutamine (l-glutamine, another amino acid), I don't use protein powder often, I do recommend researching anything you take, I also use Purple Wraath...

Also, people who just begin weight training find it the easiest to put on bulk as their body is not used to it, which normally starts slowing down after about 3 months.

2kg extra on you may look more then 8kg on a large bloke. also, if you want to bulk, cut out or cut down almost all of your cardio for a time.

finally, mass eating is fine, but of the right food as already mentioned, or a controlled intake of foods is a better option and a sure way to the results you aim for as there is almost more importance in the food you eat and how well you recover, compared to the excersises you perform at gym.

I agree about diet in general, its all about the goals.

The kg/month of gain isn't the best comparison, but I don't remember the first post asking how to bulk up, not sure how we got to this discussion.

Interesting discussion though, are you a personal trainer Adam?

[WYTSKY]

I have always been interested in doing it because I like going over to people and helping them or giving them advice how to improve their technique. but to answer your question, no, I am not, I have simply been body building for the past 8 years at re-creation armadale, i started there at the age of 13 because I was always fasinated about muscle growth, my dad and I had to fight them to let me go there in my early years

Because of this I have spent alot of time talking to ex mr olympia's/professional body builders/etc to get inspirations and ideas.

im a small bloke, found it hard to put on muscle, but over the past 4 years when I got serious about it(3-4 times religiously, always have 6th or 7th week off for pure recovery), I have steadily gained about 20kgs of pure muscle while keeping a general fat percentage of somewhere between 5-8% overall, depending on uni and keept the weight on.

you may know a bit more then me about supplements as I tried them and didnt see any results and decided a healthy diet was a better option, but once again, everyone is different. the reason I base my results of creatine's water weight is because a mate of mine wanted to get big real quick, used creatine, even drank all the water required each day, put on a mass of weight in a matter of weeks, got injured in footy, took 10 days off, came back almost 4kgs lighter and weaker... I regularly have a week off as mentioned above, and normally come back heavier ( about .4- 1kgs heavier) due to the muscle fully recovering instead of still being half broken down from the previous training, so you can go harder and build, etc etc..

So I like helping others that want to help themselves

finally.. I believe we got onto this topic because one bloke in a post above was comparing weight gains vs time

Adam

[SS8_Gohan]

finally.. I believe we got onto this topic because one bloke in a post above was comparing weight gains vs time

Adam

i brought that up because emsta was told by his mates that it's something that takes "experience" which is utter BS. Eat lots and lift heavy (compound, not isolation stuff). IMO that doesn't take "experience" to do both of those. Just a bit of commitment.

the trainer some of us have been talking about over at ns.com - his son has gone +13kg in 12 weeks!! and he's as lean as they come. But he also trains INCREDIBLY hard.

and it was also to point out that there is a lot bs that floats around in gyms these days, mainly coming out from these PT courses, especially the franchise gyms. No one is getting slimmer, hardly anyone is getting stronger. The girls stay on the treadmills, and the guys are in the weights room trying to find some sort of machine or cable system that replicates a certain exercise. 95% of the PT's are weak, have shite physiques, poor technique and write shite programs.

If gym memberships are growing, if franchise gyms are expanding, if we have a new army of PT's due to current advertising campaigns then why have we just recently become the fattest nation on the planet??

IMO, PT will be flooded soon, something will give/crash. I guess it's like web design. Everyone jumped in at one stage thinking they'd make good money, but if EVERYONE jumped in, then the good old rules of supply and demand followed and websites are cheap as chups to get made these days, and you have 11ty billion people to choose from and mostly shite.

/end rant

[WYTSKY]

agree with everything you said mate, well spotted with everything you said. I was at recreation before it was "cool" im sure alot of people say that, but i have seen alot of trainers come and go over the years and the new bunch that have come in are as you pointed out, thin, weak, dont know a bar bell from a dumb bell, are complete arrogant w*nkers and WORST of all, what i HATE the most is they dont help people clearly in need of some advice!

I have gone off at a few of these guys as I have stopped what I was doing to help a poor 70 year old lady trying to use the leg machine because her doctor advised her she needs to increase leg strength and cant even release the lock on the machine. I have run to people's aids while they are struggling to do a bench press and these "trainers" are standing around talking.

so your not wrong with anything you have said, the only thing is I dont like is comparing weight gains vs time, I prefer strength gains vs weight (power to weight ratio). but it is point of preference.

IMO growing 10kgs in 20 weeks is fantastic, but unless you do a couple of back to back fat tests, low fluid tests(to show its not just alot of water), etc, to show you have gained bascily only muscle, not just muscle + fat + other crap.

I dont count that as single way to measure weight lifting progress, because how much has the strength increased over that period of time? therefore I believe something along the lines of :

10 reps of 3 sets of bench at 70kg and body weight at 60kg, then a few weeks later your at 10 reps of 3 sets of bench at 80kg and body weight at 62kg. etc...

but then again, I think its because I only weigh 65kg atm, and am 5 foot 4 and do almost all of my weights at about my own body weight or alot over.

gl with your training bud!

Adam

[some_cs_student]

im a small bloke, found it hard to put on muscle, but over the past 4 years when I got serious about it(3-4 times religiously, always have 6th or 7th week off for pure recovery), I have steadily gained about 20kgs of pure muscle while keeping a general fat percentage of somewhere between 5-8% overall, depending on uni and keept the weight on.

I wish I could get my body fat level that low

I had a bit of difficulty putting on muscle but I've put on a bit recently and made some strength gains, still have a lot to learn as I've only been training "properly" (or what I think is proper) for about a year or less.

you may know a bit more then me about supplements as I tried them and didnt see any results and decided a healthy diet was a better option, but once again, everyone is different. the reason I base my results of creatine's water weight is because a mate of mine wanted to get big real quick, used creatine, even drank all the water required each day, put on a mass of weight in a matter of weeks, got injured in footy, took 10 days off, came back almost 4kgs lighter and weaker... I regularly have a week off as mentioned above, and normally come back heavier ( about .4- 1kgs heavier) due to the muscle fully recovering instead of still being half broken down from the previous training, so you can go harder and build, etc etc..

I haven't started doing recovery weeks, I really should...

Not 100% sure on the creatine, but I haven't had that kind of issue (yet) with it, but as mentioned I'm not taking it daily, 3 times a week and very small doses, so its probably not doing much but it *seems* to help, I should probably just improve my diet and stop using those supplements

So I like helping others that want to help themselves

Great, so do I