Interview The Hand Stand Pro Rosie

Over the years spent in various gyms, field sessions, classrooms, seminars and other training events, I’ve had a fair share of exposure to different trainers. What’s fascinating about the service industry and it’s professionals is the individual styles that emerge. All trainers know the basics of how to train people, but the way they implement that knowledge varies from one person to the next, even if they received very similar schooling.

One of the things that I’ve always admired is the ability for a trainer to give a tough yet safe workout to a wide range of individual. It’s easy to give a tough workout, everyone can do it. On top of that, If the person you’re training is physically fit and has no injuries, it becomes even easier. But what happens when you have someone new to fitness, with an assortment of injuries? All of a sudden, a lot of trainers are put out of their comfort zones.

Today is an interview with Rosie, a trainer and friend that I've had the pleasure to work with for the past 3 years. After all this time watching other trainers, Rosie is one of the rare few that can give the perfect workout to anyone, doing so seamlessly. To help you understand exactly what I mean by that, just know that one day she went from training an older lady with sciatica, who received a great workout, to absolutely destroying my abs along with one of my friends. We were both guys in our mid 20s, avid gym goers and she totally destroyed us. Oh yea and we were both training for iron mans so our cardio was up there as well.

Rosie is one of the best trainers I know and I’m super excited to share with you a few questions I asked her over the weekend!

Clem

Can you describe your training style or philosophy?

Rosie

The first thing I do is help people master their own body weight. Make sure they have good muscular balance, go over basic mobility and stability before adding weights. I put a lot of importance on core stability because it will instantly help people not only in the gym but every activity you do in daily life. I then do strength training but more in a functional training way, prioritizing compound movement over isolation movements.

Clem

Can you elaborate on core stability

Rosie

So a lot of people focus on the superficial ab muscle, the one that make up your six pack. The core muscle are the deep, corset like muscles that wrap around whole torso. Strengthening them not only creates a great looking midsection but protects your spine and enhances your posture. It’s also important for injury prevention.

Clem

What is the most common mistake you see people make when trying to get fitter?