I enjoyed this because I happen to believe most personal trainers are a complete waste of money. You can get all the same information they charge you on YouTube. If you want to learn workouts, just observe other people in the gym. See somebody with a body shape you want? Replicate their workouts. Want to be big and… Read more

I miss my trainer. If nothing else, she motivated me to show up twice a week so that I didn't have to hear her mouth. I also liked being able to work out at her place, one on one, without having to deal with going to a gym. Her workout was challenging, weight-based, and got results. She also worked to develop plans… Read more

I used to be a trainer for a big national gym and you're absolutely right. Also, a lot of these gyms "feed" trainers to try and promote them so even if you're good you get shafted. So discouraging. It's all about being a good salesman. A guy who used to sell time shares was our top trainer. There are good trainers out… Read more

Trainers who actually know what they're doing are useful for technique coaching, and assessing any movement patterns that you're not doing correctly (which will eventually lead to injuries). If they're really good, they can help to program around movements that are dangerous (for instance, probably 9/10 people do… Read more

People who need to lose 50-100 pounds dont need a personal trainer and spending money on one is a complete waste. They need to get off the couch and walk for 30 minutes a day for 6-8 weeks. After that, if you are fit enough, spend the $100 on P90X or a program like that. Read more

HamNo neglected to mention the other archetype: Brent. Brent has a small ponytail, light hipster beard and sports Teva toe shoes at all times. Brent workout philosophy consists of: gluten is killing you, The Man is keeping you dependent on running shoes that are ruining your knees, and the reason you can't knock out… Read more

I really hate the way you write, it's fucking obnoxious and you seem like an obnoxious person, but I agree with you and I fucking hate that. Read more

If you have to have a trainer, it better be this guy:

Thank you for your timing on this. I decided over the weekend that I need to break up with my trainer. She was helpful for a few months to get me started on a workout plan but I think I can take it myself from here. I don't think she's a bad trainer but she's just too damned expensive. I'm dreading telling her… Read more

I can't get over how many trainers I observe teach improper technique on basic strength training exercises. If you do not know the proper form for a squat you should be disqualified from teaching strength training to others. Unfortunately, my 'keep your mouth shut and worry about your own workout' mantra overrides my… Read more

Damn, if #1 didn't sound exactly like the first meeting I had with the training staff at my gym... It was almost word for word that, and I won't even admit what I paid them per hour because it was sad and makes me cringe every time I think of it. Read more

Read The New Rules Of Lifting by Lou Shuler. It's fucking simple, easy, and makes a shit load of sense. Then like HamNo says, write down a workout on some paper and get your jello ass to the gym. Read more

There's a trainer at the gym I go to (flex) that literally takes these poor saps of human beings from one cable exercise to the next - usually starting with iso triceps extensions. It's the saddest - yet infuriating - thing I've seen at the gym. His clients are usually 30-50 lbs. overweight and you can see the… Read more

I trained for a few years after graduate school, before I found a "real job." It was tough in that economic climate (2008-2010). I had more success with people looking to lose some serious weight (50-100 pounds) than those looking to "get toned/jacked." It was rewarding, both intrinsically and extrinsically, and when… Read more

One further point. Guys, just know this, Coach Trent is clearly trying to fuck your girlfriend. Read more

Trying to think of historical fights that would have been altered by these proposed guidelines. The most obvious one is that Meldrick Taylor would have been stopped in his first fight with Julio Cesar Chavez (since Taylor did sustain a fractured orbital bone, in addition to other severe injuries.) Lennox Lewis broke… Read more

The match making and progression of contenders needs to be revamped to allow this. A loss can't be such a black mark on a fighters record as it is now. Read more

Most refs today are much better about stopping a fight than in decades past. Was watching Tyson Holyfield I the other day and it was a joke Tyson wasn't stopped in the 10th. Fights in the 70s and 80s were even worse (Foreman/Lyle). Read more

Boxing and MMA will forever be a mess, and it's all thanks to the state-by-state athletic commission system. Because you have to convince every separate commission to adopt any changes, it makes it impossible to change anything without years of arguing about it. And because nearly every state is going broke, they have… Read more

With respect to this specific fight, I do not hold anything against the referee. If anything, the call to end the fight should have come from Mago's corner. That said, having watched this fight, I never thought Mago was in danger. I'm not sure when his face broke, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the strong right… Read more