I cant stay here

Foxer · December 1st, 2008, 04:32 PM

My current living situation and location wont allow me to have the career i want to. I want to become a personal fitness trainer and/or work in a gym. But i cant take online courses, and the closest place to go to school for it is in seattle, and it would be impossible for me to afford living there while going to school. And commuting there isnt an option. I am 18 years old, graduated at Rochester High School june of 2008. My courses were mainly Weight training, health and biology. But since school got out i dont have time to workout. so ive lost alot of muscle. Not having the body i did then is slowly making me depressed. I guess what im trying to get at here is that im looking for someone willing to take me in as an apprentice, so i can finally make a career out of fitness, and get into the best shape of my life. Financially im willing to go as far as south california. Im pretty sure personal training is more popular on the coastal states. So anyone willing to take someone in and train them, please respond and send me a msg and/or pictures.

**mooshue** · December 1st, 2008, 05:05 PM

well bro, you don't have to have a degree to be a trainer. Look into the ACE certification. Its probably the least accepted but it is the easiest to acquire from what i understand and would get your foot in the door somewhere.

I have to say your request is quite odd, it sounds like you are asking someone to let you move in with them and train them. Quite frankly i don't understand it at all.

I have to tell you also that if you are out of shape yourself, then you are going to have one hell of a time convincing others that you know what you are talking about as a trainer. You have to walk the walk. There is no such thing as not enough time. If you can't take an hour a day to lift weights and jog, then you truly aren't that dedicated.

**JoeBAR** · December 1st, 2008, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mooshue

well bro, you don't have to have a degree to be a trainer. Look into the ACE certification. Its probably the least accepted but it is the easiest to acquire from what i understand and would get your foot in the door somewhere.

I have to say your request is quite odd, it sounds like you are asking someone to let you move in with them and train them. Quite frankly i don't understand it at all.

I have to tell you also that if you are out of shape yourself, then you are going to have one hell of a time convincing others that you know what you are talking about as a trainer. You have to walk the walk. There is no such thing as not enough time. If you can't take an hour a day to lift weights and jog, then you truly aren't that dedicated.

Well ... Out of the 10 or so idlers at my gym, only 2 are really in shape so I wouldn't worry too much about that. they all make a reasonable living, regardless of how crap some really are!

**wil** · December 1st, 2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeBAR

Well ... Out of the 10 or so idlers at my gym, only 2 are really in shape so I wouldn't worry too much about that. they all make a reasonable living, regardless of how crap some really are!

Wow... maybe I should look into becoming a trainer.

**mooshue** · December 2nd, 2008, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wil

Wow... maybe I should look into becoming a trainer.

same here man, must be different in vegas. Ive only seen 1 set of trainers that are huge as in fat and out of shape, and they only train other huge people.

I do feel that most trainers are crap, they only apply whatever principals that worked for them regardless of the clients body or blood type. Either that or some new crap they learned using a huge bouncy ball that looks hard

**helpmespock** · December 2nd, 2008, 03:56 PM

lol many trainers i see here are not in great shape either! They aren't fat, but rarely have a lot of quality muscle. They are usually skinny and look more like swimmers or runners than bodybuilders.

My favorite pairing is this 70+ year old dude who is being "trained" by some 20 something toothpick at my gym....i suspect the old guy was referred by some orthopeadic doc or something, cause i can't imagine he made this choice himself.

the client is this grizzled old guy with a bunch of navy tatoos on his leathery brown skin...tatoos over considerable bis and tris for an old guy, as well as a pretty good chest and a very strong neck. i suspect this guy was training balls to the wall in some hardcore gym that would make Reg Park proud, back when his "trainer's" daddy was in diapers.....

It just looks hilarious, this skin and bones 20 year old "training" this 70 something badass showing him the virtues of the big beach ball thing, or doing bicep curls while standing on some balance beam.....

Foxer · December 2nd, 2008, 04:03 PM

well im not out of shape like you guys may think, im just not what i was 6 months ago. when i graduated i was 5'9 185 8% body fat, and 17 in biceps. My bench was 245, and my back squat was 340. Im just not working out like i was then. Now i dont think i could put up 200

and im down to 170lbs. I just need to live really close to a gym so i can be able to workout every day. Where i live, i would have to drive an hour round trip to get to the closest gym. And thats too much gas. kinda gettin my problem?

**wil** · December 2nd, 2008, 04:50 PM

Is there anything you could do at home? Could you afford a set of weights? I see cheap ones on Craigslist all the time - maybe there is some semi-near you. If nothing else start cranking out pushups until your arms give out.

**wildstang** · December 2nd, 2008, 11:47 PM

even just your basic kettle bell would be a hell of a workout if used properly. you dont need weights at all if theres plenty of hard yard work or ranch work or you get the idea. grab a pick and dig a drainage trench or shovel some sand even filling sand bags and stacking them and i guarantee you will be sore or offer to cut someones firewood. all of what i mentioned i do occasionally and still weight lift. i can even afford to miss a weeks worth of gym and not be out of shape what so ever.

**AbbyMarie** · December 3rd, 2008, 03:46 PM

ACE or NSCA certifications are the way to go. I'm going for my NSCA certification this winter. The book is about 70 bucks, the test is 300ish. I asked my parents to pay for the book AND my test for Christmas so it doesn't come out of pocket for me.

RE: training. As mentioned, you can get a cheap weight set on Craigslist or do plyometric stuff.

And I mean this part as GENTLY as possible only because I've been there before MANY times: At this point, sounds like you need to dig in deep and kick yourself in the ass to stop complaining/feeling bad for yourself and get up and DO something about it. If you want to get back in shape, do what you can with your current time and money availability to DO something about it. Not just for your PHYSICAL self, but for your MENTAL/EMOTIONAL self. So do it!

Now... do NOT get discouraged about not getting into the field you want quite yet. Holy crap you're young. I'm 26 right now. I graduated from high school in 2000 with the plan to be a teacher. Got two years into college, realized I HATED kids. Oops. There went teaching! Graduated with a worthless BA in English Lit. A year later, enrolled in night school for cosmetology. I did 17 hour days M-Thurs with Friday/Sundays off and 8 hours of school on Saturdays. EXHAUSTED!!! 2 weeks before finishing that hell, a freak accident resulted in a permanent right hand injury that prevented me from EVER working in a salon.

So at 25 years old, I was having to find a plan C. My plan C now is fitness modeling/figure competitions/personal training.

What's the point of telling you this?

Don't get discouraged. You'll get where you want to be and where you BELONG once the time is right and you put in the work required to get there. It will come together as long as you do the work. If plans change, do not freak about it. You'll find your path. But for now... get your booty moving and look into ACE/NSCA certification.

Good luck!

**mooshue** · December 3rd, 2008, 04:18 PM

NSCA, thats the other one i was thinking of. Thanks abbymarie.

It sounds like the excuse of the hour away from the gym cant workout excuse like those people who drive for 30 minutes to walk on the treadmill

Better off just walking around your house, at least you'd get some calf work from the inclines hah

Foxer · December 4th, 2008, 01:08 AM

i couldnt careless about cardio and such, well, its just not as important to me as pure strength. Id rather be able to bench 350 once, then 150 50 times. lol im not a ninja, i dont need blinding speed. and im not a runner or sprinter or even want a body like one.

**helpmespock** · December 4th, 2008, 03:20 AM

wow! You may want to consider a different field. not too many successful personal trainers that have that attitude about cardio...or travel time to the gym as an excuse. I have an hour round trip to my gym. make it 4-5 times a week, and wouldn't even consider personal training as i don't feel i am motivated enough in my own training, though i have more then a 350 bench, and think cardio is key to bodybuilding....you really may want to reconsider

**ckn** · December 4th, 2008, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxer

i couldnt careless about cardio and such, well, its just not as important to me as pure strength. Id rather be able to bench 350 once, then 150 50 times. lol im not a ninja, i dont need blinding speed. and im not a runner or sprinter or even want a body like one.

You can get a moderate build without doing much cardio but you'll be a tired, physical wreck by the time you're 30 if all you do is pure strength work. As helpmespock says, cardio is the baseline of all good fitness work.

Going from your posts, it doesn't sound like this is something you REALLY want to do. Try an exercise, imagine getting up at 6am every day to be at the gym by 7 to do 2 hrs exercise before your first client, then working through the day helping others then fitting in another 2hrs of exercise at the end of a LONG day before you get home. Of that exercise, at least 1hr should be cardio work. Then imagine doing that for 20 years.

If you cringe at that thought or are put off in the slightest, go speak to a career advisor and consider other options. If you can't do the 2-4 hours or so a day for yourself to keep yourself in absolute top shape then how ever will you be able to convince your clients that you have the slightest clue what you're talking about?

I'm not trying to put you off but trying to get you to consider whether this is REALLY what you want to do. Life can be very shitty if you pigeon-hole yourself in a career that you find you hate.

**mooshue** · December 4th, 2008, 11:42 AM

i agree with ckn and helpmespock, hell probably 90% of the people reading that post you just made about cardio.
You sound like those guys/gals who see those huge bodybuilders walking around lifting heavy as hell. The lazy uneducated guys/gals say, "i don't want to look like that so i wont lift heavy weights" as they pump out 20 reps with their 5lb dumbbells.
You say you don't want a body like a sprinter, then don't fucking sprint for hours on end. You dont even have the dedication to make it to the gym i seriously doubt you have the dedication to become a sprinter.
Cardio isnt about pumping out 50 reps, its about staying lean, keeping bloodflow strong and thus brining oxygen to the working parts more efficiently. Whats the point of having muscle if its just covered by layers of fat? Why lift heavy and not be able to recover your torn fibers more efficiently? Flush out lactic acid more quickly?
These are all things a trainer should, and i believe must know to even pass the crappy cert test.