[Allerious]

The good news: From a training perspective, you are right on the money with everything you are doing and whomever is telling you to "add variety" is full of shit and doesn't know anything about training

The bad news: The types of people described above run this industry and if you work for them, you run a real risk of losing your job if you don't subscribe to their bullshit ways and put all of your clients on a bosu ball or some other crap.

Originally Posted by John Izzo

but in the end, it is about getting results for your clients.

Really? People who do "functional training" don't get any noticeable results, ever. Because it is physically impossible. One cannot create a sufficient stimulus for physique change using inflatable balls and other toys. By definition, this type of training is all about targetting the stabilizers and there is no way for the prime movers to be overloaded. The people who do it get to look "cool" and "have fun" while they work out. They are paying for an expensive adult babysitter.

It's pretty simple:
Machines improve hypertrophy and aesthetics
Compound lifts with free weights improve performance

And everything else is a gimmick. I will give the standard disclaimer that some of these tools have an occasional use but everyone with half a brain knows that the marketing hype does not reflect the training necessity.

Originally Posted by Dan Fanelli

I agree with everything said. But ive been told that I should basically never have a client do the same workout twice. I would agree basically with this statement, in that they need to progress in some way, but it was stated to me more that they shouldn't do the same exercises or sequence of exercises twice.

Great way of making sure that a beginner stays a beginner and doesn't improve on anything. From a marketing and client retention standpoint, it obviously works. If you're so pathetic that you can't get people to continue paying you, then force them to do it by making every workout different. Reading this kind of garbage makes me ill. Because the people who push it are trying to pass themselves off as knowledgeable trainers, when they are nothing more than marketers.

Originally Posted by Dan Fanelli

Why does the personal training industry have this notion that basic exercises will get basic results?

It has no such notion. The PT industry doesn't care about results, it cares about publicity, marketing and gimmicks. PT's have no idea what true results look like. The only thing that an average PT can do is to babysit someone through their beginner's gains.

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Having a monthly (or so) repeat workout that you use to test progress will also be a more dramatic example to him about how much stronger he is.

...Just imagine how much stronger he would be on that very workout if he did it 3 times a week, not once a month, lol.

The laws of exercise and specificity to the rescue. law of exercise: Information from Answers.com

I know that you know this. I don't think anyone on here should be attempting to defend this ridiculous dogma.

Originally Posted by Dan Fanelli

I guess this is just a side of the business im going to have to get used to

Only for as long as it takes for you to go independent. After that, it's clear skies and no more BS.