Bodybuilders. These are the guys who make up the majority of trainees in the gym. Convinced that a bigger muscle is the answer to: strength, athletic performance, impressing friends and getting girls. Usually employing some form of split which targets different muscle groups each day, and performing high amounts of volume to ensure there is a 'muscle pump' at the end of the workout. The sad thing is, they feel their training methodology is applicable to sport. Mad respect for the discipline and effort that it takes to sculpt your body to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the training philosophy to get there ends in the weightroom. Once you step in the ring, on the track or on the field, a big muscle doesn't mean much, and your opposition doesn't care about the symmetry and proportions you have spent so much time developing.
Exercise Physiologists (EP's). All our trainers at RT have undergone Exercise Physiology degrees, so don't think we're biased. Everyone knows those who enrolled in Exercise Physiology/Sports Science/Health and Exercise Science didn't get the required UAI (or ATAR) for Physiotherapy or Medicine. EP's are like Crossfit practitioners - they know their stuff when it comes to nutrition, rehabilitation and performance training, but they aren't experts in any.
Personal Trainers. You can now get your Cert III and IV in Fitness by correspondence in about 2-3months. There are minimal practical requirements, and you are given the power to take somebody under your wing and train them. There is no regulating body which can be a good and bad thing. Bad because there is no one to penalize a personal trainer describing a kettlebell swing as squat and front raise, but good that it gives you flexibility to broaden your training methodology and develop your own training system. The fitness industry needs bad personal trainers because it makes those who know their stuff so much better!
Physiotherapists and Chiropractors. Technically labelled 'allied health professionals', they are more like the alliance between Nazi Germany and the Japanese. Let's use this analogy to describe how their roles differ. A broken table has a vase sitting on top of it holding flowers. The faulty table keeps causing the vase to fall of the table and break. The flowers need to live. The chiropractor keeps getting a new vase to keep the flower alive. Week after week, a new vase is purchased and the flower lives. The physiotherapist tries to fix the leg of the table so the vase never falls off. One method isn't better than the other, but both use different methods for the same end goal - a functioning body.
Yoga and Pilates. The hippies of the fitness industry. Most likely a vegan and looking for spiritual enlightenment. Practitioners are convinced that Yoga is the answer to flexibility and 'core strength' (whatever that really is). Nothing against Yoga, but if you are stretching for one hour a day, five days a week you should be able to touch your toes and bend backwards.
