If a client threw up in a session, would you feel good about yourself or bad?
It is never, ever, my goal to make a client vomit during a workout. Never. Not my style at all.
That said, I did have a client once who ran to the bathroom and threw up. His mother-in-law is my long-term client and she brought her daughter and son-in-law to my small-group workout. He’d bragged about how he does _____ and _____ (2 popular apocalyptic-style workouts). I don’t know whether he was trying to impress me or his motherinlaw more, but he overworked and had to run to the rest-room. Came back very pale.
His mother-in-law and my other clients got through the workout just fine.
Hi Jonathan
a) I would NOT feel good-clients who vomit are not a badge of honor. A trainer should be able to monitor clients and determine when to increase the intensity or stop the activity (if necessary).
b) I would be concerned about WHY the client vomited. The session may have been too intense but (as Harris and others mentioned), the client may have eaten an hour or less before the session.
A is in the trainer’s court- you should be able to tell if someone looks ill and act accordingly.
B is not directly in the trainer’s ability to control. You can say when to eat and why you leave time between exercise and meals but you will not be with your clients before each session.
Keep your clients (and yourself) safe!
If your exercising a client to the point of puking…um…well your an idiot! It fulfills the basic needs of a Neanderthal to feel macho about themselves. It’s outdated, dinosaur training. I would like to know at what point tearing down the nervous system is a smart way to train? Somebody please tell me, scientifically, why this is a good thing, other than macho, narcissistic stupidity!
It depends on what the client ate or drank before the workout. It has happened to a few clients throughout my training career, but I can’t say it made me feel good about it. I have learned to read my clients well and know where their limits are. Throwing up is not a pleasant feeling for them and if I see the signs of that happening then I take appropriate steps to avoid it. But, sometimes it happens and there is really not much I can do.