Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and how do they differ from a personal trainer?
A: A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist must be University Qualified (3 Year Degree), must sit a closed book exam detailing multiple areas and undertake practical and scientific assessments with a scaled score of 70% in order to ascertain the certification. The qualifications to become a personal trainer vary, I have heard there are some personal trainer courses that can be completed on the internet within 2 days and a person can keep trying until they pass. Click here to read the vital things you must know before hiring a coach or trainer.
Q: What does a Strength and Conditioning Specialist do and how can they help me?
A: A Strength and Conditioning Specialist has Two main roles: Preventing Injury and Enhancing Sports Performance. They help you by providing individualised training programs, nutritional guidelines, recovery information and other educational components designed to allow you to become a better athlete which then allows you to play your sport at a higher level.
Q: What age do you recommend young athletes begin weight training/strength and conditioning?
A: Babies are performing resistance training the very moment they are born. Yes, they are crawling like a push up or squatting when they pick stuff up. As a rule of thumb there is no specific age which an athlete should or shouldn’t begin resistance training. Young gymnasts are performing bodyweight training from a very early age with no negative side effects. The scientific research by Faugenbaum suggests there are many benefits of resistance training for youth athletes. 1. It allows the preferential development of Fast Twitch Muscle Fibres and allows the junior athletes to transfer their muscle fibres to as fast twitch as genetically possible. 2. Athletes that begin resistance training earlier tend to have a higher peak power outputs which is advantageous to the young athlete. 3. It helps with joint stabilisation and integrity and reduces the chance of injury. Hence the majority of athletes can and should be performing strength and conditioning/resistance training. Obviously, under the supervision of a qualified expert.
Q: What age do you accept athletes into your program?
A: We accept athletes of any age providing they have the mental and emotional maturity to be able to train and follow instructions. We’ve trained 88 year old female marathon record holders and have trained athletes as young as 8 years of age. Rather than performing structured strength and conditioning training we usually recommend that athletes below 12 years of age engage in activities that are fun and develop multiple physical qualities. Sports such as track and field, martial arts, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, basketball are all good choices. Following this methodology usually allows the athlete to reach higher levels of performance later during their development. However, if the athlete is physically and mentally mature enough we may accept the athlete into our training program. This is done on case by case scenario.
Q: Do you train females?
A: Yes, we train females, although we generally train more males. The females that do train in THE PIT usually achieve results they never thought were possible!
Q: Do you only train AFL players?
A: No, take a a look at the testimonials section-we train athletes of all sports. When you walk into THE PIT you will see swimmers, track and field athletes, rugby league, rugby union and soccer players, Mixed Martial Artists, basketballers, netballers, surfers and numerous other sports.
Q: Do you only do strength training with your athletes?
A: Take a look at the articles section on the website and you will see articles on many topics other than strength training. So No we Don’t Only do Strength Training with our Athletes! We develop an individualised training program incorporating all facets relevant to Elite Physical performance. We focus on keeping the athlete injury free and enhancing their performance. We use our knowledge, experience and judgement to give the athlete whatever they requires in order to become a better athlete to improve their sport. This may involve any combination of flexibility, strength, speed and agility or endurance-the actual percentage of each physical quality will depend upon the individual needs and requirements of the athlete and their sport as well as their individual strength and weaknesses.
Q: My son/daughter already trains at school, club, rep level, will your training program benefit them-I’m worried about over-training or burning my son/daughter out.
A: This is a great question and is a common concern I have from parents whose son or daughter is entering the program. In short this is a serious concern as many junior athletes are playing and training for a sport at school, playing and training for their club and possibly representative teams as well, they may also be doing Physical Education and a Sports Excellence Program at school as well and are most probably playing sport and being active at lunch times and on the weekend as well. So yes it is very easy for young athletes to overtrain, burn out and get injured! This is precisely why training in our program is vitally important! When you get accepted into the In Joe We Trust Training Program you get your very own high performance manager that monitors your training and playing loads at school and club level, the programming and scheduling is reflective of this and hence the results you receive are world class and precisely why the athletes that we train DONT BURN OUT and DO NOT GET INJURED! This is why almost 30% of the athletes in our program become professional athletes. The education and coaching our athletes receive is on par with or exceeds what they would receive at the elite level or any professional sporting club. It’s also what makes them ideal candidates to become professional athletes as they are intimately aware of their bodies, are educated, are well trained and disciplined and don’t require a lot of learning once they become elite. Its also a key reason why many junior In Joe We Trust athletes that are procured by professional teams make their professional debuts within 2 years of being on the team. By undertaking our program your son or daughter is guaranteed to get better as they are performing specific training their team mates or competitors are not. I’d highly doubt the training your son or daughter performs at school or club level includes any specific strength or flexibility training-which is great as these are the 2 key areas that will enhance your son or daughters performance and greatly reduce chance of injury almost instantly!
Q: How many athletes do you work with in your program?
A: The number of athletes in our program is capped at 25 during any one training cycle. This ensures our programming quality is kept high and our athletes results are guaranteed! We’re not interested in catering to the masses or having 300 athletes in our programs. From what I’ve seen from other training organisations whose focus is on profit, volume and sheer numbers of athletes through the door, rather than quality and results-it’s a recipe for disaster and not the model In Joe We Trust was built upon!
Q: I live overseas, interstate can you design a training program for me?
A: Yes, we do provide this service for a limited number of athletes. Click here to find out more.
Q: I’m not interested in improving my sports performance, I only want to go gain muscle do you offer any programs that specialize in Muscle Building?
A: Yes, we do have a program that focuses exclusively on Muscle Building. its called Scrawny to Brawny. Click here for more information.
Q: What Physical Assessment and Performance Tests do you Conduct?
A: Click here to View The Physical Assessment and Performance Tests we conduct.
Q: What is Biosignature Modulation and How Can it help me?
A: Click here to read what Biosignature Modulation is and how you may benefit from it.
Q: What are the laboratory assessments, functional medicine and nutrient profile testing you conduct?
A: Click here to read about these tests.
Q: What is included in your training program?
A: The question is whats not included in the training program? You receive the highest quality instruction, monitoring and performance coaching methodogologies and techniques as well as the most comprehensive and in depth program design package available in Australia. Click here to read whats included in your training program.
Q: Do you provide nutrition and supplement information?
A: Yes we do.
Q: Are you available for Seminars, Clinics Presentations?
A: Yes, Click here to contact us to determine availability.
Q: Can you train my sporting club/team/school?
A: Yes we do, click here for more information.
Q: Do you Provide Recovery Information?
A: Yes, we do.
Q: Do you do sports specific rehabilitation with athletes?
A: Yes We do Click here for more information.
Q: Do you only train professional athletes and do I have to be the best at my sport to be accepted?
A: We train a wide variety of athletes both elite professional and junior athletes in many sports. You don’t necessarily have to be the best although you must have a strong desire to be YOUR BEST! You can read more about acceptance into out programs here.
Q: I’ve heard Strength training can make you slower, muscle will turn to fat when you stop training and will make females look like a men.
A: Read this to have a more educated and informed opinion.
Q: I’m a Strength and Conditioning Coach/Personal Trainer can I work for you?
A: Yes, we do employ coaches. If you have a passion for coaching and display consistently high levels of excellence Contact Us and briefly state your qualifications, experience and contact details. If a position is available and you meet our pre-requisites we’ll contact you for more information.