Annoying Habits Your Trainer Wishes You’d Avoid
What are you doing that really gets under the skin of your trainer? No, not you? You may think you’re the best client, but how many of these bad behaviours are you guilty of? These are personal trainer pet peeves.
Working with a personal trainer can be key to reaching your fitness goals, They can be a tremendous source of knowledge and encouragement. We got to thinking though, that trainers probably filter out a lot of the things we and other people at the gym do; things they bite their tongue about but really wish we knew. Yes, not wiping down machines after using them is a common pet peeve, but a lot of these gripes are ones that opened up our eyes. Noted, and let’s work on being better clients, both for our trainers and ourselves.
“Sitting on equipment and texting. I consider the gym a no-text zone to be utilized by those interested in actually working out and not using it for a lounge.”
Shortchanging Your Gym Time
“When people don’t prioritize the short time that they are at the gym. They can’t disconnect from social media or work and just put in the effort to train for 45 minutes. If they would just put in the intensity for that period of time they would see the results they want.”
“What bothers me most when working with clients in the gym is when they get distracted by what others are doing around them. They lose focus, start asking about the workout they are currently doing, and give excuses as to why they might not look like the others around them.
Keeping clients engaged while in session is sometimes difficult, but absolutely critical. It is our job to dial clients back into why they are in the gym and get them to focus on the immediate exercise they are performing. It’s frustrating as a personal trainer to have clients compare themselves to others because everyone’s journey is different and as much as we want our clients to be successful, we want them to also realize it takes time and a consistent effort. There is no quick fix.”
The Pitfalls of Overdoing It
“The only thing I really hate that my clients do at the gym is straying away from their program; doing more cardio and lifting heavier than they should, thinking it’s going to give them faster results. Really, they are just setting themselves up for a plateau sooner and potentially an injury.”
Nurturing Positive Self-Esteem
“This isn’t so much a pet peeve but a common occurrence I witness on a daily basis: negative self-talk from clients. Body image and improving our self-esteem start with ourselves. As trainers, it’s important to encourage this on a daily and give our clients tools to improve this!”
“One of my biggest pet peeves is when people come to me asking for a quick fix. Some sort of magical shake or fad diet that will transform them into a fitness model for their upcoming tropical beach vacation. They don’t want to hear that losing weight the right way takes time and is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise.
Most people are unwilling to learn that they can’t out-train a bad diet or get upset when they give it a try for a month and then give up because the number on the scale isn’t moving fast enough. So many people expect immediate results after years or sometimes a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits and a nonexistent exercise regimen and they don’t have the patience to stick with it.”
“My only pet peeve is that they don’t take advantage of everything—both nutrition and training-wise—that they have learned from me, outside of the gym.”
Committing to Health
“I am always impressed when people make a big push to change their habits and appreciate that it takes time to embrace a healthier lifestyle. However, I cannot get on board with dipping my toe in the water when it comes to quitting smoking. I had a client who always had a cigarette right before her training session. Not only was the smell completely overwhelming and disgusting, but also it was a reminder to me the whole hour that she didn’t value my advice and was not making a genuine effort to better her health.” 
“As an online coach, looking at videos that clients send to me I would say not reading the program right (missing out on rep tempo, rest period adherence, intensity) are the big things. Although poor execution of a lift is also right up there. All of these things are vital to getting great results, so of course, I want the client to really maximize each training session. As long as they are learning and trying to improve, it’s all part of the process. But when a client insists on being careless with their reading and execution of the programming, then my job starts to become impossible.”
Valuing Health Over Appointments
“Scheduling hair or nail or car repair appointments when it’s their training time. Your workout is a direct correlation to your health and should take priority over skipping workouts. Also, stopping for too many water breaks. You don’t need to drink water every 10 minutes! Most people should be able to work out for 30 minutes without rehydrating.”
“Use the elliptical but not work. They talk to a friend or read a magazine. It drives me crazy when my clients are not at the gym to work. Taking a walk with a friend is great—outside— but in the gym, it’s time to work. It bothers me because I really want people to make the most of their time in the gym. I want them to take their health seriously. I don’t want them to wait to work harder. I want them to know they can radically change the way they feel and look by how they work in the gym.”.
