Personal trainer consulting advice - JP Fitness Forums

von_Hayes · 04-09-2005, 03:36 PM

I am a personal trainer at the local gym on weekends. I am soliciting advice from the board on something which is irritating me as of late. Part of our job, and often overlooked and underdeveloped part of our job, is counseling. Recently I have had a rash of young people, almost exclusively young men interested in Steroids.our gym is heavy into steroid usage for some reason. It has gotten so bad that if anyone is found to be in possession, solicitation, or found to be using on gym property not only do you automatically lose your memebership for good, but the authorities are notified and the individuals are prosecuted to the full extend of the law. however, this still seems to be a minnimal deterrent. My counseling on this topic is in three areas when approached with the idea using them by someone.
1.the philosophical/moral issues such as no one respects a cheater etc. etc.
2.the legal ramifications it is a class III felony to possess, distribute, or use anabolic steroids and similiar compounds.
3.the physiological side effects scare tactic.

These three areas seems to not really affect an individual of the ages of 18-24 whom have this hubris about them that it will never happen to me scenario. Also, many indivudals whom have been training for a number of years are easily discouraged when a new member comes in starts "juicing" and makes gains in three months what took them almost three years to obtain. so the gist of my question is what are some other ways to steer young people away from this weight training/bodybuilding culture of steroids?
thanks.

Rev · 04-09-2005, 03:43 PM

How about trying a psychological approach to the issue. Yeah we all want to look good and reach our athletic goals, but at what price. It's all over the media, people getting these rediculous huge multi thousand dolloar plastic surgeries and etc. Maybe there is a deeply rooted reason why an individual is looking for a quick, artificial way to get bigger or perform better than they could have by natural means? Maybe there is a self esteem issue to be addressed, or a lack of pride and/or belief in themselves? Maybe the individual lacks confidence overall or has a self hatred complex? I think knowing how to address all these issues might help ya out. Maybe instead of saying you shouldn't do this or that, you might start off by asking why and what their motives are. Who knows, just trying to help here, good luck.

Irishdazza · 04-09-2005, 03:52 PM

Interesting question...

Some blow up pictures of negative side affects? Acne, man boobs - speedo wearing Probodybuilder who looks like he could be entered in the female event because of his lack of one particular bulge?

"Only cheating yourself" monologues.

What about the positive? Do you promote positive role models who are anti steroid? Can you use some novelty training sessions with strong man training to get their attention before delivering that message?

Failing that, random drug testing and make anyone who fails train with pink girlie dumbells from now on...

Irishdazza · 04-09-2005, 03:52 PM

What was I thinking.....Poop in their gym bags!!!

RipStone · 04-09-2005, 04:18 PM

I am 18 y/o and I dont mean to sound arogant, but I dont have that "its never gonna happen to me" attidtude. You know why, sh** has happened to me that I never thought would. I am talking about stuff that is out of my control however, like being diagnosed with type-1 diabetes at the age of two. I know bad stuff can happen. My point is maybe you should give these fellas some reading materal on peoples lives who have been negatively affected by steroids. There is a lot of materal out there. These kids are taking there healthy bodies and abusing them for some muscles that you can get without juicin. Sounds lazy as hell IMO. They do not respect their health and that is just sad.

Keith S. · 04-09-2005, 04:23 PM

von_Hayes would you mind if I PMed with you about this issue? I'm writing a paper on this and was wondering if you would be open for an "interview" type thing. it would be greatly appreciated.

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on another note, i'm with rip on this one. i would suggest giving them reading material. outside the lines on espn did an amazing piece about young athletes who took steroids and the negative effects of it. maybe you could get a copy of this somehow and show it at the gym...

von_Hayes · 04-09-2005, 04:32 PM

First of all, great points so far. keith feel free to pm me for an interview I would be more than happy to obligue. I can give you my email. wait (more than happy sounds like a psychological disorder). I would be happy too.
next, I do give them reading material. the problem is a few years ago before this steroid explosion medical doctors overhyped the steroid side effects like saying you will die real soon etc. ect. now did some die probably, but steroids are part of the culture of a lot of gym goers. this is the problem with drugs in general. in fact, this is where professionals think parents are making mistakes. as a parent you hype of the negative consequences of alcohol for instance, such as liver disease etc. then the teen goes out parties and guess what nothing happens. (that they can see anyway) in fact, it might be rather pleasureable. then all ethos is lost. teens most specifically live in the here an now, with no disrespect to ripstone. A majority do.
I also address the psychology of it. however, i'm not a psychiatrist nor do I possess the training to act like one. but, I do point out that if someone feels the need to use those perhaps they suffer from esteem issues. etc.

von_Hayes · 04-09-2005, 04:36 PM

another tactic I have recently been using is asking the individual if they can explain to their parents why they are using steroids. if they have a good home life or a good relationship/good upbringing this should be a deterrent, but if they do not it might be a slight consequence. any other ideas?

Keith S. · 04-09-2005, 04:51 PM

one reason is that people may feel like they're not good enough to be "number one". it may actually be body dismorphate disorder which is basically they think they're body is flawed (not perfect). i would ask them why they want to take steroids, and then ask if they know all the side effects since it is a powerful drug. i mean there are so many side effects, and if they're considering it they obviously still have questions about it. a couple questions you could ask are:

why do you want to take steroids? what do you hope to accomplish that you couldn't "naturally"?

do you know about all the side effects known? are you willing to risk that?

etc...

Will Haskell · 04-09-2005, 05:17 PM

You guys are all on the right track but there is something else that hasn't been touched on yet.

Coaches and parents don't understand that kids aren't taking steroids for the sake of taking steroids. It doesn't come down to peer pressure, it doesn't hold up because as many negative effects they see...there are just as many positive effects (professional baseball contract).
What you guys are missing is that kids are taking steroids to get the results!! If I told a kid that Flinstone vitamins would make you big and strong...the kid would take Flinstone vitamins.
Scare tactics don't work!! Everywhere you look you see ads and information geared at frightening kids when it comes to drugs or even cigarettes. So why are kids still using them? For the effects!!
The method you might want to pursue is something that Brian Grasso and our group of trainers have had success with. Educate the kids about the alternatives to steroids. How can we get the same results without taking steroids? A major problem that revolves around a young kids (not just athletes!!)is the desire to get big quickly. Parents and coaches want their kids to be good NOW as opposed to developing them. The result is a bunch of kids that are poorly developed that turn to steroids for a quick remedy to counteract years of developmental ignorance. I could keep going for days on this but, I'll have those that are interested go out and buy my book when it's finished. Better alternatives do exist to taking steroids and through education we can end this problem.
I hope you guys have gotten a better understanding of the other side of the steroid issue. I don't necessarily think that I'm right but it's an approach that myself and other athletic development specialists have had success with. Thanks for the input guys!!

Will Haskell
Athletic Development Specialist

millsz · 04-09-2005, 06:11 PM

hmmm...aren't those things expensive too? I don't know the current price for a cycle but I would have to believe it is pretty pricey. How can they afford them? They also can't be sure that they are indeed getting steroids and not something totally different.

Jerry Hill · 04-09-2005, 08:24 PM

Von, you are talking about your average gym rat here right?
IMO, the use of steriods, as is most decisions based on a personal emotion. Get to know these kids, find their emotion, their pain - and let that be your point of attack.

On a side note - it would be interesting to see a study detailing what percentage of first time users continue to use and for how long.

In Health,
Jerry Hill
http://fitforcecamp.com/

gobbla · 04-09-2005, 09:03 PM

would it be possible to find someone that did steroids and have them talk about their experiance? Short of that I think you're going to be in for a hard, hard time. You can surf even these boards and see a certain sect of people that want results NOW!!! The "I've been working out for 2 months. Why don't I look like Arnold?!!" mentallity is just impossible. People want advice but don't want to hear the truth about it all or do what they really need to do to improve. You've got a whole gym full of guys working against you.

Could you let us know if you find something that works?

bobby · 04-09-2005, 09:09 PM

Diary of a Steroid User This is Part 6 0f 6, there are links to the rest of them at the top of the article. I don't think this will discourage anyone from using steroids, but it's an interesting article nonetheless.

GqArtguy · 04-10-2005, 01:00 PM

Here are some of my ramblings:

Athletic kids will take them because soooooooo much is on the line if they can "make it." The only problem is that despite steroids, the odds of being in the pros are very slim and determined by genetics and skill. Scare tactics wont work because frankly, theyre willing to take the risk. For the less genetically gifted, training is very important butmost of these kids have crappy training and diet.

For regular kids, they want to get huge because they arent seeing any results. Ive made results in 3 months that take regular rats 3 years, naturally, because I know how to eat and how to train. Most teenage boys grossly undereat, but I bet if you got their diet up to par and non-flex-magazine routines, they would GFH.

Kids are taking them either as a quick fix (lazinees) or because theyre a last result (brough about by crappy diet and training).