Training Philosophy

I. The client gets results, or its MY fault.

“Here’s the biggest joke: If the client doesn’t get results, the trainer blames the client for not following his advice. That’s a cop-out. Maybe your advice is crap! Maybe you aren’t a good coach!”

-Alwyn Cosgrove

If you don’t get results, then its MY fault. Blaming your client for not making progress is a cop-out. Its means that you suck as a coach because:

1. your advice sucks (it just doesn’t get results), or
2. your advise is unrealistic and therefore just as worthless as #1

Bottom line: Get the client the fastest results possible within the constraints of THEIR life. YOU set a goal and you give me the realistic time budget you have for exercise and I will create a comprehensive program for success.

II. Results by Design, not by accident.

“This is your body.  It’s too important to leave up to improvisation.”

“A workout is just something that you do to take up free time.  A program takes you to where you want to go.  A workout is part of a program.

“It’s like a recipe.  A workout is like adding sugar.  A program is like the whole recipe to create the cake.  Without the program you have no idea how much sugar to add, when to add, or even what type of sugar you actually need.

“Just doing workouts is like going in your kitchen and just throwing stuff in a bowl and hoping to hell that its turns out good.  Every once in a while that will work, but most of the time you’ll end up eating garbage.”

-Alwyn Cosgrove

No “winging it.” Despite what seems to be the norm in my industry there actually is a science to getting results. You CAN’T just pull out random exercises, reps and sets over a series of sessions and expect results from that. Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING needs to be thought about in advance by the trainer (not the client).

I REALLY mean EVERYTHING – every exercise, the number of sets, the amount of rest, etc. ALL of that NEEDS to be decided upon and put into a LONG range plan BEFORE the FIRST workout.

You can take yourself through a random and haphazard workout for free. You don’t need to pay someone to count your reps and keep you company.

What you need is two fold:

1. A clear cut path to the fastest results possible on YOUR schedule (e.g. in 3hrs per week, NOT 7)
2. Accountability, coaching and reinforcement

My clients actually get programs that are printed on paper. The programs were actually thought about before our meetings based on the info I got from you at our assessment (there was a plan for the assessment).

I’ve thought about and systematized everything beforehand, all you have to do is show-up and get results.

III. Sustainability

The methods used to get results need to be something that your client can live with long term. If they can’t, then you are just an accomplice to “yo-yo dieting.”

If your client has to be hungry to get the results in the first place, then they will have to be hungry to keep them. Hunger is NOT in your head. Almost no one can be hungry forever, so the whole “eat less and exercise more” nonsense is out the window for sustainability.

Sure, you can lose weight in the short term with that advice, but virtually everyone will regain it (all long term studies agree by the way). The problem is that we blame the client for not being able to be hungry for life, not the stupid advice.

Deliver methods that will work now AND in the future.

IV. Empowerment

The role of the trainer is as a coach. its to empower your clients to get the results that they want ON THEIR OWN.

Traditional personal training is all about seeing how many times per week you can meet with a client and then taking them through some random workout.

Empowering your clients it about creating and delivering (PRINTED, NOT VERBAL) programs for success. In practice that would look like: you meet with me once a week, and you have a detailed plan for what to do the rest of the week. And the program actually fits your schedule, your ability and the equipment that you have access to.

Plus you get printed exercise instructions and nutrition guidelines that anyone can follow and get results with.

If you look good, then I look good.

V. One on One training is stupid

“When we first started doing semi-private training I expected results to go down a little bit.  But, results went up instead because of the group dynamic.  It’s a better service at a lower price. 1-on-1 training is dead.”

-Alwyn Cosgrove

American professional athletes have bodies that are literally worth millions of dollars. If they make a mistake and get injured, that means they miss out on millions of dollars in income. They can’t afford to play games with their bodies. How do they train?

In small groups (semi-private).

People in physical therapy have body parts that have broken down and are in serious need of repair. Messing something up in their rehab can destroy their quality of life, so no games here either. How do they train (do rehab)?

In small groups (semi-private).

WHY do normal, healthy people who just want to look better naked need a trainer to scrutinize every singe rep of every single set?

THEY DON’T!

The only person who needs it is the trainer because they ARE NOT PREPARED. They don’t have a true (written) training system, and they don’t create complete program in advance. They are WINGING IT, and its hard to wing it with more than one person and keep that straight in your head.

If you have a competent coach who delivers value then everyone in the group gets a customized program. The coach only has to teach the individuals their program, and then ensure that they are working hard and doing things correctly. A competent coach can do that with 3 people at a time.

Everyone has more fun in a group.

Everyone PAYS LESS MONEY in a group.

Everyone gets better results in a group.

The only person that small group training is harder for is the trainer. He can’t be text messaging during your session, or sitting down during your sets. He’s got to be on the move, focused and engaged constantly.

You pay less and get more value.