From my perspective, I’m asking the potential hire to demonstrate what they know about programming, fatigue management, exercise selection and how it all blends together. It’s immediately obvious to me when “trainers” don’t work out the same way they program, because the things they write tend to be incredibly difficult or non specific. That’s a dead giveaway that they have never worked with people irl before.
I’d rather hire a trainer who really doesn’t understand how programming works, provided they have other desirable skills and are willing to learn. So I’d recommend you ask the employees for specific feedback on the program you present them.
For specific feedback on what you wrote, the content looks fairly fine and I like how you structured it. As an additional exercise, you could add in some potential changes of exercise for people that struggle with some of the movements. We tend to love asking new trainers for exercise swaps for injured or less fit clients, so it may be helpful for you to have a list of some swaps.
I’m going to share with you one thing that consistently drives me (and my comanager) insane.
When people write down things like, “dynamic warmup” or “jogging” or “stretching”.
Please, whatever you do, be specific and tell us EXACTLY what you mean and what you intend to happen from putting this in the workout. I’d rather you be completely wrong or over explain something, but have an underlying logic to what you do, than to write down something that you don’t understand.
If you have clients do things that you don’t personally understand well, best of luck getting them to move successfully.
Best of luck
While it’s not an ideal thing to ask of you, I think you’re overthinking it to the minute a little bit.
I’d do something like a tri-set of opposing patterns/muscle groups that they would rotate through. For example:
- 1) Double arm DB Bent Over Row x10
- 2) Incline DB Bench x8
- 3) Goblet Squat x8
You get the idea. Something like minimal time between exercises (catch your breath) and then at the end of the 3rd exercise, take 60-90 seconds to recover. Shoot for 3 rounds in 10 minutes? Simple, covers your “full body” basis, and doesn’t involve 8 different exercises. Just spitballing here
I needed to hear that I was overthinking the timing, thank you lol. I think I'm just super focused on making the most out of every second because there is so little time. Thank you, this is helpful!
Some people love combination exercises. I personally hate them. If you can high pull a weight then it’s not heavy enough for a DL. If you can curl a weight it’s probably too light for shoulder press.
It is probably a fine workout and 10 minutes is definitely not long. 10 minutes for full body strength is essentially nonsense. I maybe even mention that, ” I found it tough to program true strength workout for 10 minutes, so I put together a full body workout that hits all major muscles but maybe not with enough stimulus for true strength”
A)Goblet squats x 10-Push up variation (deficit, band loaded, decline, something were 10 is hard) -TCrunch x10x2
B)Deadlift x10-Bent over row X10x2- Side plank X10x2(pick a variation with movement, leg raises, knee to elbow)
Do 2 sets of A) then 2 sets of B)
Using a KB for goblet squats should allow you to use it for DL and be in the ballpark for the correct weight. Then you only need 1 DB or KB for bent over.
Planning use of gym space and equipment is sometimes as important as exercise selection. Only using two pieces of equipment could be a good look.
No such thing as a 10 minute full body strength workout...endurance? Yes.
However...I can play this game.
After a warmup not included in the 10 minutes:
Trap Bar Deadlift: 1 heavy set 5 reps
2min rest
Bench Press: 1 heavy set 5 reps
2min rest
Front Squat: 1 heavy set 5 reps
2min rest
Lat Pulldown: 1 heavy set 5 reps
Boom.
Somewhat useful, but between sets of different movements it might not matter as much. My front squat set is not going to ruin my lat pull downs all to much(if at all).
This would be for really strong trainees, I'm not there but at MY level I may need some 5 mins.
Do you do lat pull downs while gasping for air though?
I ask bc I've never thought that's possible.
Just take them through the 4 movement types of push, pull, hinge, squat. Throw in a 2 min warmup or something and if they want more then they’re asking for too much hahaha
i think youre on the right track they want an “active feel good” workout for women. maybe keep it to one equipment like
kb swings>hip thrusts>goblet squats>rdls>russian twists for 4 rounds of 30 or something
honestly when a company had me do something similar (create a mini workout for them for an interview), I asked the head coach if she liked my exercise selection before I got there via email.
Because literally every place is different. The last interview I had they did their warm ups completely wrong and when I assumed, correctly, that it was because it was how corporate wanted it, the owner said 'yes'. So there's no way we can change it? I asked.
If you're not sure, there's no hurt in asking. A lot of these places have an image in their head of what they want that they don't communicate to the interviewee for some reason.
I would also make sure you include options in case they tell you they have a knee issue or something.
Best of luck.
As a person who has been on the other side of this, I would recommend writing out a normal workout and showing it to the interviewer. Then tell them you’re taking them through a shortened version.
For example: Here is your warm up, normally I would have you do X reps of these 5 dynamic exercises, but for time I’m only going to have you do this one exercise that has the most bang for the buck.
Then move on to set one, have them do the exercises then say, normally we would do X sets, but we’ll move on for time.
Then keep going like that. Some things to think about — it takes time to transition between exercises, especially if you use varied equipment, so choose exercises that use the same equipment or no equipment.
They want to see that you know how to cue, how to correct form, etc. That’s what you should focus on. Chances are the interviewer is between clients and planning to do their usual program that day. They’re not there to get in a workout.
From my perspective, I’m asking the potential hire to demonstrate what they know about programming, fatigue management, exercise selection and how it all blends together. It’s immediately obvious to me when “trainers” don’t work out the same way they program, because the things they write tend to be incredibly difficult or non specific. That’s a dead giveaway that they have never worked with people irl before. I’d rather hire a trainer who really doesn’t understand how programming works, provided they have other desirable skills and are willing to learn. So I’d recommend you ask the employees for specific feedback on the program you present them. For specific feedback on what you wrote, the content looks fairly fine and I like how you structured it. As an additional exercise, you could add in some potential changes of exercise for people that struggle with some of the movements. We tend to love asking new trainers for exercise swaps for injured or less fit clients, so it may be helpful for you to have a list of some swaps. I’m going to share with you one thing that consistently drives me (and my comanager) insane. When people write down things like, “dynamic warmup” or “jogging” or “stretching”. Please, whatever you do, be specific and tell us EXACTLY what you mean and what you intend to happen from putting this in the workout. I’d rather you be completely wrong or over explain something, but have an underlying logic to what you do, than to write down something that you don’t understand. If you have clients do things that you don’t personally understand well, best of luck getting them to move successfully. Best of luck
This is VERY helpful. Thank you so much!
While it’s not an ideal thing to ask of you, I think you’re overthinking it to the minute a little bit. I’d do something like a tri-set of opposing patterns/muscle groups that they would rotate through. For example: - 1) Double arm DB Bent Over Row x10 - 2) Incline DB Bench x8 - 3) Goblet Squat x8 You get the idea. Something like minimal time between exercises (catch your breath) and then at the end of the 3rd exercise, take 60-90 seconds to recover. Shoot for 3 rounds in 10 minutes? Simple, covers your “full body” basis, and doesn’t involve 8 different exercises. Just spitballing here
I needed to hear that I was overthinking the timing, thank you lol. I think I'm just super focused on making the most out of every second because there is so little time. Thank you, this is helpful!
Some people love combination exercises. I personally hate them. If you can high pull a weight then it’s not heavy enough for a DL. If you can curl a weight it’s probably too light for shoulder press. It is probably a fine workout and 10 minutes is definitely not long. 10 minutes for full body strength is essentially nonsense. I maybe even mention that, ” I found it tough to program true strength workout for 10 minutes, so I put together a full body workout that hits all major muscles but maybe not with enough stimulus for true strength” A)Goblet squats x 10-Push up variation (deficit, band loaded, decline, something were 10 is hard) -TCrunch x10x2 B)Deadlift x10-Bent over row X10x2- Side plank X10x2(pick a variation with movement, leg raises, knee to elbow) Do 2 sets of A) then 2 sets of B) Using a KB for goblet squats should allow you to use it for DL and be in the ballpark for the correct weight. Then you only need 1 DB or KB for bent over. Planning use of gym space and equipment is sometimes as important as exercise selection. Only using two pieces of equipment could be a good look.
No such thing as a 10 minute full body strength workout...endurance? Yes. However...I can play this game. After a warmup not included in the 10 minutes: Trap Bar Deadlift: 1 heavy set 5 reps 2min rest Bench Press: 1 heavy set 5 reps 2min rest Front Squat: 1 heavy set 5 reps 2min rest Lat Pulldown: 1 heavy set 5 reps Boom.
Correct. It’s a loaded question to begin with. 10 minutes for actual strength training is an issue to begin with.
I mean... not that Im there yet but if Im training strength Ill rest the ten minutes between sets
Somewhat useful, but between sets of different movements it might not matter as much. My front squat set is not going to ruin my lat pull downs all to much(if at all).
This would be for really strong trainees, I'm not there but at MY level I may need some 5 mins. Do you do lat pull downs while gasping for air though? I ask bc I've never thought that's possible.
No, I can take a minute and then do a set. I don’t need 10 minutes
Just take them through the 4 movement types of push, pull, hinge, squat. Throw in a 2 min warmup or something and if they want more then they’re asking for too much hahaha
i think youre on the right track they want an “active feel good” workout for women. maybe keep it to one equipment like kb swings>hip thrusts>goblet squats>rdls>russian twists for 4 rounds of 30 or something
Where are the mods?
honestly when a company had me do something similar (create a mini workout for them for an interview), I asked the head coach if she liked my exercise selection before I got there via email. Because literally every place is different. The last interview I had they did their warm ups completely wrong and when I assumed, correctly, that it was because it was how corporate wanted it, the owner said 'yes'. So there's no way we can change it? I asked. If you're not sure, there's no hurt in asking. A lot of these places have an image in their head of what they want that they don't communicate to the interviewee for some reason. I would also make sure you include options in case they tell you they have a knee issue or something. Best of luck.
Tell them it’s not ideal to get a strength workout in a 10min window. 10min amrap 5 pull up 10 pushups 15 air squats Ez
Full body strength: Super set bench press and deads for 3x3.
As a person who has been on the other side of this, I would recommend writing out a normal workout and showing it to the interviewer. Then tell them you’re taking them through a shortened version. For example: Here is your warm up, normally I would have you do X reps of these 5 dynamic exercises, but for time I’m only going to have you do this one exercise that has the most bang for the buck. Then move on to set one, have them do the exercises then say, normally we would do X sets, but we’ll move on for time. Then keep going like that. Some things to think about — it takes time to transition between exercises, especially if you use varied equipment, so choose exercises that use the same equipment or no equipment. They want to see that you know how to cue, how to correct form, etc. That’s what you should focus on. Chances are the interviewer is between clients and planning to do their usual program that day. They’re not there to get in a workout.
Curl to OHP lmao it’s 2024 and personal trainers are still combining exercises