Here is a fun fact for you: Anyone can call themselves a personal trainer.
There is technically no law that says someone must go through formal education or certification process in order to call themselves a personal trainer in the US.
So when you look for fitness advise, tips, guidance, and workout programs it is best to look for a certified personal trainer (CPT).
There are several major certification bodies, with NASM (national academy of sports medicine) being the most popular certification body.
Why is NASM the most popular amongst others?
Well, all certification bodies will teach you how to properly put together a workout plan for your client based on their goals. However, NASM’s focus on starting out clients in what they call “stabilization endurance” phase which is aimed at correcting any muscular imbalances that the client has.
Everyone has muscular imbalances. Everyone. It is part of human nature and it is only getting worse over time due to new technology (no one spends 10 minutes looking for the remote anymore or changing channels by hand), sedentary jobs, and now most of the world being in some level of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to normalcy of muscular imbalances, NASM teaches their trainers to perform movements assessments which will help us determine what is particularly tight/overactive or needs to be strengthened.
This allows us, NASM CPTs, to create 100% tailored plans for our clients.
Let’s take knee valgus as an example. Knee valgus is when your knee caves in while you squat. You likely hear over and over to keep the knees in track with the knee but for some people this can feel impossible. If you have knee valgus, a coach that simply tells you to keep your knee in track with your knees is not the best personal trainer for you.
A good personal trainer, with proper training, would help you in understanding that in order to prevent the knees from caving in towards one another while you squat, you want to lengthen (by foam rolling and static stretching) your adductor complex (inner thighs) as they are overactive/shortened and causing your knees to cave towards one another. They would also add abduction exercises to help strengthen the outer thigh muscles, as well as strengthen your glutes to create the strength required in the hip flexor complex.
NASM teaches us how to do this from the very beginning, while other organizations do not. This means that when a client comes to us, we will perform a movement assessment to see how they are moving at this very moment, create a 4-6 week workout program then re-assess them to see how they have progressed.
With a personal trainer certified from another organization, you are likely just going to walk into a gym, tell them your goals, and they’ll pick a bunch of exercises that should help you reach your goals. Nowhere in that was a movement assessment to determine what specific about YOU needs to be addressed.
This is where the difference comes in between NASM vs other certifying bodies.
I would have seen knee valgus from the first interaction with you and we would have addressed that before I had you squatting under load, while simply telling you to keep your knees in line with your toes as you lower down.
This is great news for anyone who struggles with low back pain, shoulder pain, tight hamstrings, etc. If that is you, you likely feel even more achy after your workouts because you “did something.” You aren’t sure what that something is but working with a trainer that has gone through the proper training can help you prevent this from happening, and making it go away over time.
So what’s next in our fitness programing that sets us, as NASM trainers, apart?
Most clients I have worked with only need these 4-6 weeks in order to address most of their imbalances and particular need for strength gain to then progress them to the next phase. NASM calls the next phase strength endurance. This is a cross over between the stabilization endurance phase and what is traditionally thought of as strength training. I personally think this is the most challenging of all the phases. You are still addressing corrective work and core stabilization to cement the foundation you built in phase 1, but now you are also adding tough strength training components that create greater caloric burns (metabolic stress) and mechanical tension.
Again, after a 4-6 week period, the client would have their movement assessment re-done in order to determine their progression. Based on their goals, it is then determined which phase is best for them next. Below you can see the NASM training model.
Does everyone need to go through all 5 phases? No. After phase 2, there are several options.
Phase 3, hypertrophy, is the style in which most people train when they hit a weight room. Hypertrophy training is training for aesthetics, or as some like to call in looking “toned” or “chiseled”. Look at how high up this is in the pyramid though. If you haven’t worked out in a while, and you get back into it and hit the gym hard, you are likely going to spend the next week on the couch from soreness. Working against your goal to workout more. You might even pull something as you try to perform a particular exercise your body is not primed for yet. This is why working with a trainer that knows this training style to build you up is so important. You do not need to go through this training phase if you do not enjoy weight lifting.
Phase 4, maximal strength, is most appropriate for those who are trying to become their strongest self. That is, they want to increase their 1 rep max week after week, month after month. This is of course, not for everyone.
Phase 5, power, is perfectly suited for everyone who plays sports, both as hobbies or professionally. This is a great phase for anyone into crossfit or plyometrics as well. For fat loss and weight loss clients, this can be a very suitable phase as well due to the high caloric expenditure, but it is up to the client preferences. If I was working with a client whose goal was fat loss but they hated jumping or explosive exercises, I wouldn’t take them through this phase.
You are now probably wondering what happens when you complete all the phases? Are you done? Graduated? Retired?? Nope, none of those.
It is time to undulate your programming. This is also known as periodization. It is the concept of switching things up to keep you progressing.
For example, a program could be written that alternates between phases 1 and 2 throughout the year. Another example is a client who begins at phase 1 for 1 month, moves to phase 2 for 1 month, followed by phase 5 for another month, and their 4th month has 3 workout days with phase 2 on Monday, phase 1 on Wednesday, and phase 5 on Friday.
A client can also stay at a particular phase for longer than just 4-6 weeks, this is completely okay! The exercises and movement assessment however should be reprogrammed every couple of weeks in order to ensure the client is progressing. There is nothing wrong with making it to phase 2 and deciding as a client that you love this style of workout, so you would like to spend the next 12 weeks in this format.
The beauty of all of this is how customizable it is for everyone. It is even better when it is created as a truly tailored program for you.
As you know, I am an NASM certified personal trainer. I currently offer one on one coaching and self-guided programs.
One on one coaching is for those who need accountability, want access to ask me questions daily, need form checks, would like to workout with me virtually to ensure that they are doing it correctly, and want to stay connected to ensure they accomplish their goals with my daily help.
Self-guided programming is for those who have a strong knowledge when it comes to exercise and can take themselves through the work-out I have written for them based on their movement assessment and goals. They do not need form checks, can watch my how-to exercise videos to learn any exercises they do not know, and can push themselves to progressively overload every week on their own.
This can currently be purchased in my store as a one-time option, or 3 or 6 times to be used within 6 or 12 months, respectively. I am however going to be getting rid of the one-time option in December. If you’ve made it this far, you realize how important the movement assessment is and that redoing it every 4-6 weeks is key to measure individualized progress. With the one-time program, you do not get access to a re-assessment with me unless you purchase another one-time program, bundle, or one on one coaching, so there is no follow up for you.
If you are reading this and think you might want to try out personalized programing with me just one time, this is your nudge to go purchase now before it is taken away as an option from my store.
If you have any questions about this, or anything else, do not hesitate to comment below or email me at contact@fitnessxd.com.
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