Is your Personal Trainer utilizing VIDEO capabilities within your Sessions? If not, they should be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting the purchase or use of professional grade movie cameras mounted on tripods or being held by an assistant, but rather something as simple as the use of the VIDEO feature on my IPhone 3GS that I’ll often utilize in-session in two different ways…..
First, I’ll often use video to help correct each Client’s form when they are struggling with a particular exercise, if both front facing and side mirrors may not be available. I’ll have my Client perform the exercise, and I’ll take 20 second clips of them, which we’ll review immediately upon completion and discuss where they are doing well, or not hitting the points/angles/flexion/etc. that I want. You’d be amazed at how different a point of view you can get when you’re seeing yourself from a different angle on camera. This has been great aide in helping Clients maximize the form I want when they have a moment to see themselves, in a relaxed state, while we work to correct the exercise together.
Second, I keep an array of exercises saved on my phone of myself, or some of my best Clients, that I’ll have Client’s review before we start a new or difficult exercise. This way, instead of using myself as the guinea pig all the time, I have the option of reviewing the clip with my Client together, and we can see what parts of the exercise are most important to focus on and how it’ll be performed properly at resting, flexion, and exertion points. It really doesn’t take much, just some simple ‘home video’ style clips that give you an entirely different point of view.
Additionally, utilizing the internet features of my IPhone has been a part of it as well. In the past, I’ve been able to quickly bring up a few trusted sites that have excellent clips of difficult exercises, or I’ve even gone to YouTube to bring up some clips that I’ve liked to have on hand. The possibilities are endless when you have a palm sized video camera and computer all in one!!
You can find a sample of videos, both of some basic and more advanced exercises, on our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE