I have to say the more I hear about the death of Michael Jackson, the more perplexed I have become over who he was surrounding himself with.
This all started when I heard the now well-known 911 call recently. A man calls 911 and says something of the effect "we have a gentleman not breathing". Why didn’t anybody say "Michael Jackson isn't breathing"? Were the people surrounding him so afraid of added publicity that they would not say his name when he needed them most?
The other thing about the 911 call that jumped out at me was when I heard that they were doing chest compressions on Jackson when he was still in bed. Why were they not performing CPR when he was on the floor when the chest compressions would have been potentially more effective? I heard the 911 operator tell the person on the phone to move Jackson to the floor. It's my understanding that his personal physician is a cardiologist. Did this mean Jackson had a heart problem? if yes, was his staff CPR certified?
I have also read that Michael Jackson's had a "nutritionist" who it turns out is a nurse. Ok, so he had a nurse who was informing him about nutrition. Not to belittle nurses, but why would somebody to go a nurse for nutrition information? Everybody knows that it is the registered dietitians (RDs) who are the nutrition experts. If Jackson had a health problem he should have had a nurse AND a registered dietitian who specialized in his health issue. While I do not know about the laws in other states, here in PA, anybody can call themselves a "nutritionist". The word nutritionist is about as well regulated as the phrase 'All Natural".
I am just an outsider looking in to a very large and complicated story and I admit I am not paying particular attention to the headlines surrounding the death of Jackson. What I am getting is just bits and pieces. This story however brings to light two important facts:
1. Bad things can happen when we least expect it
2. Personal fitness trainers should be prepared when bad things do happen
So, what can personal fitness trainers learn from this? Well, while personal trainers usually don't think about it, the fact remains that ticking time bombs work out in every health club in the world. It's sometimes hard to pick them out (some visual signs are possible. You’ve heard me talk about some of them if you ever attended my certification seminars).
Just off the top of my head, here are some checklist items that personal trainers (and health club owners) should keep in the back of their minds, just in case they are ever faced with someone seriously injured or worse:
1. All personal trainers, group fitness instructors should have a current CPR certification and know how to use the AED (automated external defibrillator). The same goes for people who work at the front desk of health clubs.
2. All health clubs should have an emergency procedure in place and ALL staff should be familiar with that procedure. These procedures should be randomly tested with mock emergencies so that people do not get stale and forget what they have to do. These procedures should be written down and the general manager/fitness director should review the procedures with ALL new staff when they are hired.
3. In general, the first sign of an emergency at a health club is the front desk person making an announcement over the loudspeaker that goes like this: "Is there a doctor or nurse in the building?" Upon hearing this, fitness instructors should stop what they are doing and go to the site of the emergency. For example, if an emergency occurs in the ladies locker room, men should have no qualms about entering that locker room. The same goes for women, entering the men's locker room during an emergency.
4. If a personal trainer is self employed and traveling to the homes of people to do training, they should know the address of the people they train - and the addresses should be written down in their day planner/blackberry etc. If an emergency does occur and the trainer calls 911 from their cell phone, the 911 service may not immediately know where they are calling from (calling from a home phone will immediately give the location). People faced with an life threatening emergency may forget their current location so it's smart to have it written down somewhere just in case. Trainers should also have a first aid kit in their cars. I do not know of any personal trainers who have AEDs in their cars but as the prices of these devices drops, this may occur.
5. Personal trainers are often asked questions about nutrition. Knowing exercise does not necessarily mean the trainer knows about nutrition (even if they look buff!). This is especially true if the person asking the question has medical issues. This is why I often advise trainers to form an alliance with a registered dietitian.
If you work in a health club, don't assume that somebody else will go to help. You may be the best qualified person to help in an emergency situation. Will you make some mistakes? Possibly. Will you be afraid? Probably. most of us would and that’s ok. The important thing is to do something. Remember, in the US, fitness trainers cannot be sued if they are trying to save a person's life - if the person is unconscious, it’s a given that they want your help.
Very good article, Joe. I work in health care, and recently I had to recertify my CPR. In the class were two personal trainers who work at local 24 Hour Fitness clubs. When the teacher went over the AED, he asked them both, "where are the AEDs in your club?" NEITHER of them knew where they were! In addition, both women had serious flaws in their methods of practicing CPR, despite having been certified in the past.
I find it scary that people working in my health club don't even know where the AED is; it makes me just as suspicious that they won't know how to use it should they have to. The next time I went to work out, I looked around and found the AED, so at least I know where it is should anyone ever need it while I'm there.
One thing our CPR trainer also pointed out was that under good samaritan laws (I think almost everywhere, but certainly in CA) anyone who is trying in good faith to help a victim is exempt from being sued, not just trainers.
yes, anyone, but docs and health care professionals can be tricky, and I think he was just trying to point out to trainers that they're not in the tricky profession.
Nice article posted. I have question does he overdose himself with the use of any medicines? Medicines of course is a sort of drug right. So you think he passed some drug test? How come he died of any cardiac arrest?
I find it scary that people working in my health club don't even know where the AED is; it makes me just as suspicious that they won't know how to use it should they have to. The next time I went to work out, I looked around and found the AED, so at least I know where it is should anyone ever need it while I'm there.
HA HA HA
How can anyone NOT know how to use the AED? You push the ON button and follow directions. If your victim doesn't need the shock, it won't happen. Pretty idiot proof. The very fact that they give out a certification on this device cracks me up.
Sorry, I get your point and am surprised that a trainer wouldn't know where it is... but it is funny to think that anyone might not remember how to use it who has been in the class.
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I wish it were that simple. I was (randomly) selected for an emergency drill when I worked at a gym, the day after we'd ALL had CPR/AED recert... I had to deal with a victim (actually a dummy) on the track. The security guard who came up with me and brought the AED could NOT figure it out, even though he'd been certified the day before. While I lined up the pads, he kept hitting the damn red "fire" button over and over, without letting it read the rhythm or letting me get clear - good thing it was a fake kit!
How can anyone NOT know how to use the AED? You push the ON button and follow directions. If your victim doesn't need the shock, it won't happen. Pretty idiot proof. The very fact that they give out a certification on this device cracks me up.
Sorry, I get your point and am surprised that a trainer wouldn't know where it is... but it is funny to think that anyone might not remember how to use it who has been in the class.
you're right, it's idiot proof for the general public. But the way it works for them is, turn on, wait until it tells you to check the airway, check for breathing, check for pulse. . . . blah blah. . . . .then finally analyzes. People who have not the first idea what to do, it leads them through basic CPR. But anyone who has been trained in CPR knows those things right off the bat. So, you turn it on, slap on the pads, and clear the body. You don't have to wait for it to tell you to do that.
These women had just been given a scenario: "you have been doing CPR for 5 minutes when someone brings the AED. What do you do?" And they went through the whole thing: check breathing, check. . . . .but you're ALREADY DOING CPR! You KNOW there's no breathing/pulse! Just slap on the pads and clear! They couldn't connect those ideas in their heads under pressure. That's what I find scary. They would stop breathing and chest compressions for the minute or so it takes for the machine to go through all the steps to find out if breathing and compressions are needed.
People lose it under stress. That's what the training is for.
This is going to stir the pot a bit, but the lesson I take away as a trainer from this is pick and choose the clients you're associated with.
Jackson was pretty bizarre by all accounts and he may have had professionals working with him, but did he do what they advised? Considering the state he was in, perhaps the answer is "no."
I've only had brief brushes with them but celebrities and other big shots often expect the world to cater to them, meaning they may not do what you advise then taint your reputation when they crash and burn or at worst die.
The qualifications of the docs and trainers around Jackson (didn't I hear Lou Ferrigno was training him?) will all now be called into question because of his death. Was it worth it to work for him? I don't know.
It was worth working with him because he paid extremely well to be their only client. The cardiologist was being paid 300K to follow Jackson around. That tends to be a decent amount of motivation.
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Past performance is not indicative of future success.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Educating and providing training about AED and AEDs products is a vital rople in today world where 100000 people die yearly due to heart attack. AED is an electronic device that intellect the heart beat of a person and automatically applies an electric shock if an abnormality is sensed. It is built with smarter intelligence that while sensing the rhythm of the heart it checks weather there is a need of a shock.
Educating and providing training about AED and AEDs products is a vital rople in today world where 100000 people die yearly due to heart attack. AED is an electronic device that intellect the heart beat of a person and automatically applies an electric shock if an abnormality is sensed. It is built with smarter intelligence that while sensing the rhythm of the heart it checks weather there is a need of a shock.
WTFarglensot!?!?!?
You had my attention at "vital rople", but truly, the use of the word intellect as a verb won me over... Weather or not you intended it
x2
you would think that when you sign up at, like or example [sic] www.helpmepimpmysite.com they'd provide you a correct paragraph to use in your spamming.
I still want to join the anti-monkey butt team. More importantly, who's on the monkey butt team?
Hey Ninja,
The AMBP team is a lot of people working together to fight Monkey Butt! We're doing some cool things, we sponsor a race car drive, Darryl Basham and we've made some great videos trying to explain what monkey butt is all about.
The AMBP team is a lot of people working together to fight Monkey Butt! We're doing some cool things, we sponsor a race car drive, Darryl Basham and we've made some great videos trying to explain what monkey butt is all about.
I applied to be his hauler driver.
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It's not a beer belly. It's a gas tank for a sax machine.
Michael Jackson - What Can Personal Trainers Learn from This?
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