PTs - Is this a thing?

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firef1y72
firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
A self-employed personal trainer at the gym was instructing an older female client and I couldn't help but notice how hands on he was and how he was trying to get her to touch him. For example when they got to the leg extension, he got her to feel his thighs as he "performed" the exercise and then he got her to feel his back as he did the lat pull down. Now personally I found that really creepy and it made me feel uncomfortable just watching, I would have totally freaked if I was the poor woman and can't help but wonder what other muscles he got her to touch.

I'll freely admit I don't like the PT, he has a habit of removing plates from the rack while I'm in the middle of a lift (rather than walk an extra 10m, not even bothering to think I might actually need those bigger plates), acts as if he owns the gym and regularly "forgets" to unrack after himself.

But is it really a thing getting clients to feel your muscles? I don't have a huge amount of experience with PTs, but none those I've used over the last year have even hinted at me touching them.
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Replies

  • AngInCanada
    AngInCanada Posts: 947 Member
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    I've been to two PT's and I've never once layed my hands on either. ONE time the one put her hands on my back to show me where to tighten but that was it.
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
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    Personally, I would be super weirded out if a personal trainer touched me excessively.

    But his client might be into that....
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I couldn't imagine there is ever a reason a client would need to touch me. Touching them is ok only if you ask first, and only to provide a cue for them. Otherwise, what you described sounds inappropriate.
  • rnelson88
    rnelson88 Posts: 122 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Sounds inappropriate and unprofessional. Definitely not a normal thing for trainers.
  • leesagagliardi
    leesagagliardi Posts: 13 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Lol, maybe it wasn't the PT services she was paying for...just saying.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    No, there is no need to touch the trainer. Gym management should be stopping that like 5 minutes ago. In this day and age, no business, no matter how big or small, can afford that type of impropriety.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I've had a trainer since 2012. He has touched me one time in all those years and it was for my safety. What the trainer at your gym was doing was completely inappropriate.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited January 2017
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    i have seen trainers doing this in my rec centre. one in particular seems to use the tactile-feedback approach. and i actually have a plane on which it makes absolute sense to me. there are some muscles i really can't 'feel' - i can't tell if my lats are engaged or not, for instance. or they might say something like 'engage muscle x more' and i literally don't know which one of them muscle x is.

    so i get it. i understand the practical usefulness of it and sometimes even kind of long for it, as it would be such a fast way of resolving some of this stuff. i've asked my current phsyio (male) to do exactly that just to get me oriented within my own central nervous system so i can be certain what doing it 'right' should feel like. and if most compound lifts didn't tie up my hands, i'd be poking myself night and day to figure out what's going on.

    but i think it's partly just a matter of personal fit. some client-trainer pairs are mutually comfortable about it, and just think of it pragmatically. training is somehow already a little more personal to me than strictly medical stuff, it's not something i understand on a visceral level for that context. but i'm a little less cringey and judgey than i was about other people doing it when i first witnessed it.

    i personally would never hire someone with a touchy approach, but that's because that's the way that i am. my own trainer is someone i prefer to even a super-knowledgeable mechanics export, partly because we seem to be tacitly compatible in this way. we've had our struggles for sure with my proprioception issues, but i don't think he's ever once touched me or invited me to touch him, even in the most practical spirit. he'll show you and he'll poke or smack himself to demonstrate which body zone he's referring to, but i like it that he'd most probably rather lick the handrail in a public bus than touch someone who's not his own family.

    captain handsy at the local rec centre seems to have exclusively female clients too, which i admit does nothing for my own squick factor. but he honestly is very knowledgeable, and as far as touching ever is done in the 'professional' sense he's thoroughly pro about it.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited January 2017
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    accidental ebwop. /nm.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I think that's quite bizarre.

    When I trained clients in person I can't think of one instance where I asked them to touch me nor can I think of a logical reason to do this.

    I think trainer touching the client can be beneficial but as the trainer you need to be very cautious, professional, and I would always explain what I was going to do and ask permission before touching.

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    . . . to be more clear, what i have seen some trainers do is touch a specific area of the client's body, to cue them to activate it or position it right. for instance, touching the upper back to get them to draw their shoulderblades down or in. stuff like that seems okay enough, to me.

    but 'feel my [thing] while i do it myself' seems to me like sheer ego, if nothing else. more like he's just showing off 'look how impressive my muscles are'.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
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    While I can see how it can be considered creepy, the story brought to mind when I was taking riding lessons (horseback, English). The instructor would sometimes go to a rider and adjust the riders leg on the horse, help do a hip stretch, and touch the riders back in spots to help the rider understand where/which muscles to tighten or soften/relax to give cues to the horse.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I have never touched a trainer. I can't recall a specific incident but I think they've touched me but in a professional manner and no where inappropriate or even close to a questionable area.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Lets be clear here: we are talking about a situation where the client is being asked to touch the TRAINER, not trainer touching client.

    Trainer touching client----> appropriate under limited conditions and with permission

    Client told to touch trainer---> Creepy and inappropriate

    Carry on.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    canadianlbs wrote: »
    i have seen trainers doing this in my rec centre. one in particular seems to use the tactile-feedback approach. and i actually have a plane on which it makes absolute sense to me. there are some muscles i really can't 'feel' - i can't tell if my lats are engaged or not, for instance. or they might say something like 'engage muscle x more' and i literally don't know which one of them muscle x is.

    so i get it. i understand the practical usefulness of it and sometimes even kind of long for it, as it would be such a fast way of resolving some of this stuff. i've asked my current phsyio (male) to do exactly that just to get me oriented within my own central nervous system so i can be certain what doing it 'right' should feel like. and if most compound lifts didn't tie up my hands, i'd be poking myself night and day to figure out what's going on.

    but i think it's partly just a matter of personal fit. some client-trainer pairs are mutually comfortable about it, and just think of it pragmatically. training is somehow already a little more personal to me than strictly medical stuff, it's not something i understand on a visceral level for that context. but i'm a little less cringey and judgey than i was about other people doing it when i first witnessed it.

    i personally would never hire someone with a touchy approach, but that's because that's the way that i am. my own trainer is someone i prefer to even a super-knowledgeable mechanics export, partly because we seem to be tacitly compatible in this way. we've had our struggles for sure with my proprioception issues, but i don't think he's ever once touched me or invited me to touch him, even in the most practical spirit. he'll show you and he'll poke or smack himself to demonstrate which body zone he's referring to, but i like it that he'd most probably rather lick the handrail in a public bus than touch someone who's not his own family.

    captain handsy at the local rec centre seems to have exclusively female clients too, which i admit does nothing for my own squick factor. but he honestly is very knowledgeable, and as far as touching ever is done in the 'professional' sense he's thoroughly pro about it.

    I train with a male trainer. We're very comfortable with each other. He does touch me, but I've also assured him that if he ever touches me in a way that makes me uncomfortable, I will let him know. I see nothing wrong with a hand on my back or shoulders with the verbal cue "squeeze".

    In the 2.5 years I've trained with him, there have been a few times where he has accidentally touched me in a way that could be inappropriate, but we both knew it wasn't. He has also saved my *kitten* and my face countless times. If I'm squatting heavy and fail, I don't care if he accidentally touches my boobs while he's pulling me up out of the hole.
  • dmmfox
    dmmfox Posts: 45 Member
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    I suppose there's a possibility that the client is so out of touch with her body and unfamiliar with muscle groups that this is the best way for her to learn...BUT, since you already get a bad vibe from the guy he's probably just a massive narcissist.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    Yeah, not professional at all. I'm assuming this is at a gym like ANYTIME FITNESS where the trainers are all self employed? And if that's the case, then I can see why management hasn't done anything about it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    I have mixed feelings on this one. By allowing the client to touch him, he is giving her a choice. If he touched her, probably a greater liability. And I would think if a person was uncomfortable they simply would not do it.

    I could understand possibly doing it for muscle groups that aren't very well defined, but in many if not most cases it seems as if a trainer could find a close or alternate exercise movement and allow the client to feel there own (body part in question) until they are sure.


    And most importantly I think that is between the trainer and client as in the example given by @sarahrbraun The comfort level questions should be established before the fact to ensure no line is crossed. And I would think this discussion would go beyond physical touch, and into the verbal issues and what would offend vs motivate the client.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Yeah, not professional at all. I'm assuming this is at a gym like ANYTIME FITNESS where the trainers are all self employed? And if that's the case, then I can see why management hasn't done anything about it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Self-employed or not, I think they would still be included in any lawsuit, especially if they were aware of the behavior beforehand.

  • mlcollins89
    mlcollins89 Posts: 87 Member
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    I've never touched my trainer's muscles. There have been times where we've done an exercises where I've put force on their legs, but all with permission.

    I have let trainers touch me WITH PERMISSION to improve form (stabilizing arms during triceps exercises, tilting hips during squats, etc)

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