Prep coach review

[Gym rat]

That's very unprofessional by the pt not to show for the show to watch there client compete in the show.

[HarryB]

That's very unprofessional by the pt not to show for the show to watch there client compete in the show.

I hardly ever watch people I prep compete.

[trainlikeafreak]

OK, well here's a story about a negative experience. I'm not going to name the trainer, because it happened to a friend of mine, not to me, and I'm not sure I can remember all the details now. But I will say this was an elite bodybuilder (possibly pro?) who was definitely trading on his past successes on stage to promote his PT career.

 

My friend started dieting for his comp with plenty of time for where he was currently sitting. This was his first competition, and his goal was not necessarily to come in insanely shredded, but simply to come in looking good. It should have been perfectly achievable.

 

Unfortunately, although this PT was good for training tips, he sucked when it came to diet.

 

The weeks went by, and my mate just wasn't getting any leaner. And no wonder - because his diet included a shitload of calories. I don't know why this PT insisted on keeping them so high, but he kept increasing the cardio instead. Eventually, my mate was running for 3 hours every day and he STILL wasn't losing the weight.

 

At this point, I should say my mate was absolutely religious about following his prescribed diet and training. You could not ask for a more devoted client.

 

With no further progress, and a looming competition deadline, the PT started to tell him it was all just water retention. (Such clear bullshit, it really got my blood boiling.) So he made my mate stop drinking water for a couple of days. No change. I think at this point he might have then cut the carbs out (because carbs make you hold water, you know), then dehydrated him again. Still no change.

 

By now it was obvious that PT was totally lost and just fishing for excuses.

 

My mate competed, did not look good, and took a huge knock to his confidence. He hasn't been back on stage.

 

As for the PT, he didn't turn up to the show... No word from him until he eventually sent a text asking how my mate went... a full fortnight later.

 

 

I'm not sure what the moral to this story is. But perhaps it's that not all pros are good trainers, and not all good trainers are pros.

Man thats just idiotic plain and simple. I don't understand how someone with that background can be that clueless. I've heard a few interesting and amusing stories about a few pros lol. One ate a bunch of watermelon during his water load/carb depletion cause it's the same as drinking water apparently. Hey maybe im the dumb one I mean what Have I acheived.

Someone I knew was getting prepped by a bikini pro.. She was way off condition wise for where she was. 6 weeks out still "fat" so gets her watermelon with her oats swapped to berries. (Take them out completely you moron she's still fat lol). Oh and she was low energy apparently so the PT added a carb meal. Lmao. Yeah she didn't end up doing the show

[Matrix]

One of the most basic but still relative ways to approach this is FITNESS 101,something most learn in their first few weeks of studying SMART goals

 

S.M.A.R.T Goals are a basic tool for the trainer and client to agree on during their initial converstaion and measurments, just as relative to BBuilders as anyone else wanting to achieve a goal.

 

Its also a great way for a trainer to access whether they want to work with the client e.g.(are they compatable, can they be pushed, do they have the discipline to stay the course, are the mentally tough or do they quit easily etc) these people make workable clients. If they have attitude and work ethic issuses, too much going on in their private life, a history of eating issues or inabiliy to control their eating, a low tolerance to pain/discomfort, big commitments outside of training then they may not be worth taking on. This is probably the single best time to solve any potential issues by screening the client and by the client screening the trainer (asking for testimonials, references etc).

 

If they do work together then:

 

SPECIFIC -e.g I want to compete in this CLASS in 16 weeks, currently I am 101kg and need to get to 85 to make my class etc. SPECIFIC GOAL

 

MEASURABLE - e.g are the skin folds reducing each week SUPER IMPORTANT- more than actual bodyfat calculations/readings from skin folds as these are notoriously inaccurate in lean populations, are the photos showing more definition each week given the same lighting/time of day/food/water consumed etc Ideally both photos and skin folds every 2 weeks or so. MEASURABLE

 

ACHIEVABLE - e.g I have plenty of muscle and am 11% and want to a do a show in 14 weeks and have time and money set aside for the show- ACHIEVABLE. or I am 113kg at (Estimated 15% but actually 23%) and want to do a show and look great/win in 7 weeks being super full and shredded - PROBABLY NOT ACHIEVABLE IN THE TIME AVAILABLE

 

REALISTIC - e.g. Should a novice generally expect to beat a top amateur unless they have stellar genes or are already super muscular/ripped, occasionally but most often not NOT REALISTIC

 

TIMED - e.g a realistic time frame agreed on by the trainer and client before starting the process. This is where a good trainer will cut the BS and should be honest with their client. If there isnt enough time they need to be told even if it bruises their ego, This IMO is where most competitors believe they are BIGGER/LEANER than they actually are.

 

The person in Pseudo's story should have been accessing and making the changes required - As the old saying goes if you aint accessing  then your guessing.

In this guys instance I would agree that the client was very poorly looked after given all the information from Pseudo is correct.

[Gym rat]

That's a bad contest prep plan by the trainer especially the three hours of cardio each day which seems obsive and going overbord as well. Wonder what the eating plan looked like

[HarryB]

I was going to write everything matrix wrote and in exactly the same way.... but ummmm inarticulate..

I'm glad someone's summing things up so succinctly and I agree

[Boosting]

Do you actually mean 'accessing' or 'assessing'?

[Realtalk]

Saw this and thought of this thread lol.

[maccaz]

Saw this and thought of this thread lol.

lol!!

brandon lilly is the man imo, his videos and shit are always humble as real talk

[Gym rat]

Haven't herd of Brendon Lilly before might have to check out his videos

[HumanPerformance]

As others have said excellent post Matrix.

 

I think its an important skill for a "Prep coach" to be able to ascertain whether or not a person is ready to compete (primarily on a psychological level) before they agree to prepare them and take their money. Ive had many people over the years whom have come to me thinking they want to compete and the first thing I do is sit them down and go through everything they are going to experience. I explain to them that is going to be the hardest thing they have ever done, and for every person you see up on the stage at any given competition there are five  more that crashed and burned weeks before the show, after dieting and training (and spending a lot of money) for months.

 

It is also important for the prep coach to " let the client go"  if they know the client is not following their instructions (diet,cardio, what have you) to the letter. You have to weigh up the fact that it is not worth the money if you end up with bad looking or disgruntled competitor whom is going to blame you all over social media (as Matrix said) for them not adhering to the plan.

 

The main problem with all these people that call themselves "prep coaches" these days is just lack of experience with dealing with anything other than their own bodies. We are now in the situation where we have young people doing a couple of shows and then calling themselves prep coaches, and then wondering why what works on them is not working with there latest client. It takes years of experience working with numerous different body types to have even the slightest chance of getting it right with someone you haven't prepped before.

 

My advice to people looking for a prep coach is to choose someone that has prepared numerous different champions in their career not just someone who has won a few titles themselves.    

[Skeletor]

Of course in saying that if you were to only choose the guys with years of experience then the younger ones would never get a chance to prep anyone and eventually ween out all prep coaches. The best way to gain knowledge is with hands on experience. Would you say beginner prep coaches would be best suited to first time competitors and gradually progress to advanced athletes over the years? Also is it truly that hard to compete and that for every 1 you see on stage there are 5 that crashed out? Id definitely be one of those 5 if thats the case lol, I could never diet like that.

[Michael Knight]

Always best to choose a "coach" that is also a judge.

Even if they don't get you in tip top shape, they will make up for it by completely disregarding ethics and fairness and gift you a placing much higher than you deserve. (otherwise known as doing a Joe Daniel)