Can not believe a trainer last night - JP Fitness Forums

dmw · 02-13-2008, 09:12 AM

A guy at my Y was helping this really young kid workout last night. He had him do squats. He had the kid do squats with about 20% - and I'm not kidding - knee flex. His feet were about 9 inches apart. He had a bar with a ten pound plate on each side.

Why not just have him use bodyweight and try to get down in a deep squat position until he could have weight on his back?

I know that you have to pay to have a Y personal trainer and this kid got ripped off big time. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

liftintexas · 02-13-2008, 09:21 AM

At least he wasn't on a smith machine doing the knee flex thing with the 10 lbs on eah side. I see that almost every week - however, not under the advice of a trainer. at least I hope that's not per trainer's advice ...

Phaedrus49er · 02-13-2008, 10:40 AM

There was a serious hottie squatting wide and deep the other day... in a Smith machine

At least she looked good doing it

Mahler · 02-13-2008, 10:52 AM

So, you go to the "Y" and ask yourself "WHY?"

rem1956 · 02-13-2008, 10:52 AM

Depending on the age and overall general health of the kid, you need to be careful when doing weight training with children. Their bone structures and joint development are not as fully developed as they become in teen or later years. It has something to do with the growth plates of developing kids.

I believe that the NSCA does not recommend strength training with weights for anyone under the age of 12, but I could be wrong.

I would tend to think that perhaps the trainer was being super careful about training this kid?

Trainers in here....what's your take on this?

Chrisatc · 02-13-2008, 11:31 AM

If he had done a complete review of injury history, done a proper assessment of this kids abilities and condition, and explained to the kid what weight training is exactly for and how it is to be done mechanically correct...and everything checked out ok and the kid was completely compliant, then I would ask why he was doing this too.

ninja · 02-13-2008, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem1956

Depending on the age and overall general health of the kid, you need to be careful when doing weight training with children. Their bone structures and joint development are not as fully developed as they become in teen or later years. It has something to do with the growth plates of developing kids.

I believe that the NSCA does not recommend strength training with weights for anyone under the age of 12, but I could be wrong.

I would tend to think that perhaps the trainer was being super careful about training this kid?

Trainers in here....what's your take on this?

Or the kid could have been learning to squat his own bodyweight because that's very close to a movement that he may be doing playing on the playground. I don't think that natural movements were growth debilitating.

dmw · 02-13-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem1956

Depending on the age and overall general health of the kid, you need to be careful when doing weight training with children. Their bone structures and joint development are not as fully developed as they become in teen or later years. It has something to do with the growth plates of developing kids.

I believe that the NSCA does not recommend strength training with weights for anyone under the age of 12, but I could be wrong.

I would tend to think that perhaps the trainer was being super careful about training this kid?

Trainers in here....what's your take on this?

He did seem very, very young. But, older than 12. I would argue that he was stopping where he was stopping because the weight on his shoulders was too much for him. It just didn't look good at all and part of it had to be that he was very new to lifting.

I couldn't believe the horrible form advocated by his trainer.

dmw · 02-13-2008, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahler

So, you go to the "Y" and ask yourself "WHY?"

Ha. It's got great equipment and is convenient to me, but not the greatest training environment for what I'm looking for just because there's not much of a "strength" environment.

Willie · 02-13-2008, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem1956

Depending on the age and overall general health of the kid, you need to be careful when doing weight training with children. Their bone structures and joint development are not as fully developed as they become in teen or later years. It has something to do with the growth plates of developing kids.

I believe that the NSCA does not recommend strength training with weights for anyone under the age of 12, but I could be wrong.

I would tend to think that perhaps the trainer was being super careful about training this kid?

Trainers in here....what's your take on this?

All the better reason to have him begin with deep, body weight squats, or goblet squats, so as not to (incorrectly, I assume) load the spine.

It's this kind of thing that makes me have little faith in most trainers out there... some of the stuff I see at my gym is laughable. But then again, people pay for it so...?

Tom@foresight · 02-14-2008, 06:46 AM

In my view what is the management doing? They should be ensuring all trainers know what they are talking about and what they are instructing!

TOM

ark · 02-14-2008, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liftintexas

At least he wasn't on a smith machine doing the knee flex thing with the 10 lbs on eah side. I see that almost every week - however, not under the advice of a trainer. at least I hope that's not per trainer's advice ...

I see trainers w/ clients on the smith machine all the time...... it's entertaining.........

tonester · 02-14-2008, 06:59 AM

I once saw something similar but it turned out that the person had teflon achilles tendon replacement and couldn't do much more, and would never be able to. I couldn't tell just by watching the person moving around.

Sometimes it's bad instruction and sometimes it's appropriate instruction.

Jean-Paul · 02-14-2008, 08:30 AM

In my gym that trainer would have never passed the initial screening process. If he somehow snuck in he would be fired though.

ark · 02-14-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul

In my gym that trainer would have never passed the initial screening process. If he somehow snuck in he would be fired though.

do you know of any great trainers in Houston?

I am really interested in shadowing someone... to gain more knowledge and to pick a brain... the trainers at my gym have not impressed me...

jvernacchio · 02-14-2008, 10:56 AM

There are about 10 trainers at my gym and only 1 of them is worth talking to about anything in the fitness field. The rest don't know there head from thier.... welll you get my point!

GqArtguy · 02-14-2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem1956

Depending on the age and overall general health of the kid, you need to be careful when doing weight training with children. Their bone structures and joint development are not as fully developed as they become in teen or later years. It has something to do with the growth plates of developing kids.

So no weights, but we can let them run, jump, play contact sports, etc. which produce more impact on the joints and structure than controlled free weight movements?