Counting reps for your clients? Your mind just drifts everywhere. You are doing this for 1 to 8 hours a day. Do you remind yourself you are earning 25 to 40 something bucks an hour to keep you motivated? (Which is around what I make after my cut, depending on my % for the week.) Do you use another means of motivation?
I appreciate anything and any responses. I love training my clients very much and just wonder if anyone has an alternative such as counting seconds per duration of effort or anything like that. Thanks anyone and everyone!
No.... Hasn't happened yet but I am relatively new. I don't really count reps. I teach them do that and them make them do it. My job is to watch them and make sure they have the right form, are breathing right, are safe in general and are feeling what they are supposed to be feeling. Once I am sure all that is fine, my job is to motivate them and push them beyond where they think they can go and still be safe. I can't count reps and do all that other stuff justice. So far each person has come to me with their own challenges and it is always a mindful and handful for me to watch them for all these other things while they are working out.
Honestly, I don't ever see me getting bored counting reps because that is when I cease to be teacher and then what is the point?
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I hear what you are saying. "Counting reps" should defintely not be something that makes or breaks your enjoyment in the profession. It reaelly is a question of exercise programming that requires you to count long, boring reps. If you pair up circuits or tri-sets, the need for "counting reps" can be modified to use RPE, timed sets, or simply have the client do the counting while you are paying attention to the form.
I'm with John. I let clients know that they should keep track of their own reps. I usually try to count, but if I start focusing on more important things - like figuring out how I can help them improve their form or giving them performance cues - I am going to get too focused to keep counting their reps.
"Counting reps" during a session is a sort of "odometer" of the exercise/session to me.
Let me tell you something...I know the "cool" thing to say is that trainers shouldn't have to count reps, but the pace and repetitions of an exercise need attention. I think the ones that don't count actually are more apt to "space out". Even strength coaches count aloud. It is a "ticker" of sorts during exercise execution.
It is the "rep counters" that are not "in-tuned" in the session or "distanced" that belong behind the counter at Blockbuster.
Thanks everybody again for the replies. I am still pretty new to training others professionally, (since Oct 09), even though I have trained myself and others for 15 years. I decided to go full time last year after getting my certification. I am still piecing my methodologies together. The trainers who do count out loud, one of which is the owner, my boss, do so loudly, so I may have just gotten into it subliminally.
Sometimes I am thinking to myself that I would rather not count reps that much and focus more on motivating the client, observing and correcting form, preparing for the next exercise, etc.
BTW, if you check my earlier posts, one was addressed by JP. He wanted to know what I would be doing after getting my certification. I moved to Atlanta and am working for a private training facility in an affluent part of the city. I am VERY thankful, and want to be the best I can for the client and my family.
Griff.
"Counting reps" during a session is a sort of "odometer" of the exercise/session to me.
Let me tell you something...I know the "cool" thing to say is that trainers shouldn't have to count reps, but the pace and repetitions of an exercise need attention. I think the ones that don't count actually are more apt to "space out". Even strength coaches count aloud. It is a "ticker" of sorts during exercise execution.
It is the "rep counters" that are not "in-tuned" in the session or "distanced" that belong behind the counter at Blockbuster.
It does not require an enormous amount of brain power for the client to count reps.... unless they are a total moron in which case they may have more important issues to deal with.
For a beginner trainer, counting reps my seem like the logical thing to do but there are far more important aspects of training to be concerned with. As you learn more your will realize there is much more to it.
For me it changes by the client. For some I actually count aloud on some sets. Often I'm silent and watching form; perhaps I've been at this long enough by now, but honestly I count reps subliminally... so I end up doing this, "Ok, one, two... (watching form until I come back in later in the set)... seven, eight... aaand you're done!"
My clients know to keep track of what they are doing, and they know that very often I'll tell them to stop or "keep going" if I feel like a set isn't progressing properly or if they hit a good groove.
Sets and reps are, to me, a guideline, something to give us an idea of when we should be wrapping things up. But it's elastic.
When a client is new, I'll count aloud most sets, because they need to be thinking about what their bodies are doing. Often they appreciate a definite stopping point on the reps too.
I find a great help is to come in speaking aloud for a countdown. If a client is grunting through 12 reps on squats - and their form is solid, no queues required, I'll jump in at the end, "3...2...1 !!!!" To give them that last burst of energy, "I'm almost done!"
Counting reps should be used to set parameters for clients. Let them know the value of the reps - sometimes it's more important than others. I'm not above counting aloud. I think it would be silly to always count aloud on every set as a rule... but it can be a helpful "tool" to guide clients.
Man, I. Kay...That was comforting and valuable to me because I do some of the same things by instinct, I guess. Great point well taken about the value of reps as well. Thank you thank you. Griff in the ATL.
I'm more focused giving the client certain cues as they go through the movement to even bother counting reps. I always decide on the weights they lift and know exactly how many reps they are going to get with a given weight and they keep going until I tell them they are done. So nobody counts the reps.
I was just thinking... I used to teach a circuit class at a community college.
Counting out seconds is worse than counting reps.
All you trainers who hate counting reps like me, when you're counting them, just think how much better it is than counting out seconds and staring at a stopwatch in a circuit class at a community college!
I was just thinking... I used to teach a circuit class at a community college.
Counting out seconds is worse than counting reps.
All you trainers who hate counting reps like me, when you're counting them, just think how much better it is than counting out seconds and staring at a stopwatch in a circuit class at a community college!
Well, I guess counting reps isn't that bad after all. Whoa. LOL.
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