What to Expect From Your Fitness Professional

I cannot tell you how many individuals I have met that have been injured from exercising improperly (i.e., bad form, technique), exercising beyond capability, or failure to ask questions about what they should be feeling and why, therefore resulting in an injury. What never ceases to amaze me is quite often the individual will construe the injury as, “I just couldn’t do the exercise” versus “I SHOULDN’T have been doing the exercise” or “I should have spoken up.”

Trainers and small group fitness instructors serve an important function. They are there to keep you motivated and watch for bad form to keep you from injuring yourself. There is much value to having a live trainer or instructor there with you constantly pushing you to work harder, do that extra rep, correct your form to prevent injuries and teach you proper breathing.

However, YOU are your best advocate! The individual (trainer, instructor) you are working with SHOULD be able to explain why you are doing an exercise, what muscle(s) it is working, what you should be feeling, as well as the ability to modify an exercise based on client feedback. Never assume this is the case – make sure of it! You have every right to protect yourself!

Plyometrics, for example, are great for building explosive power, but only in a highly trained and fit athlete using perfect form. When performed by a beginner with limited skill or fitness, plyometrics may result in injury. Should an individual with a history of knee pain be performing plyometric box jumps? I would think no, however, I’ve seen it happen!

Don’t misunderstand. If you are attending a group fitness class with 50 other participants it is impossible for the instructor to watch your every movement. This type of individualized attention is limited to SMALL group settings and personal training sessions.

Also, assuming you are performing an exercise of the appropriate fitness level and with appropriate technique, it would not be the fault of the fitness professional if you were feeling something you were unsure of and didn’t speak up only to find later it brought you a great deal of discomfort! We may be fitness professionals, but we are not mind-readers! Don't ever be afraid to speak up. We love to talk about this stuff and look forward to answering your questions!