My injury in my gluteus came about because of a lack of knowledge, I ask myself, is it possible to learn something wrong at a young age, keep practicing a wrong technique and thereafter perfect it at a later stage only relying on your bodies flexibility from a young age? Yes it is very possible and it is also common, your body will only accommodate your incorrect technique until age becomes a factor. I have used incorrect muscles to execute a kick correctly for a long time on my right hand side, im now paying the price.

The Gluteal muscle is divided in the maximus, the minimus and the medius. The gluteus maximus is one of the biggest muscles in the human body.

My weakness in this muscle caused poor stabilizing of the pelvis. My back is also described as a Sway back posture( this is a clinical term), in other words I have question mark back possibly caused by the way I sleep, on my stomach.
My Pelvis and hips are forward of my bodies midline, the hips fall forward and causes my bum to stick out like a bushman. My Hamstrings have become too strong and too dominant and have taken over the role that the glutes are meant to do.

To fix this problem I have to do glute strengthening exercises, which requires me to recruit isolate and contract my muscle, I now have to find a way to keep my back in a neutral position without the assistance of a kidney belt and in addition to my glute rehabilitation exercise I must also strengthen my core, my abdominal and lower back

Here is some advice when choosing a personal trainer.

1. When choosing a instructor it is in your own interest to find out the knowledge an instructor has acquired from his/her years of experience.
2. What knowledge of physiology does the instructor have?
3. Does the instructor have an in-depth knowledge of rehabilitation should an injury occur under his mentorship?
4. Does the instructor have any insurance in place should you incur any injury during his personal training.
5. Is your Personal Trainer qualified in basic first aid and cpr?
6. What nutritional advice can the Personal trainer/ Instructor offer to you for you to advance in your chosen sport?
7. What is the frequency of classes offered for you to improve and achieve your goal?
8. What is his success rate and how well does he come recommended from past clients
9. Is the professional affiliation of a personal trainer enough to entice you to join 
10. Determine what it is you want to achieve before you consult a personal trainer this will lessen the amount of consultations and allow you to reach your goal faster.
11. And last but not least, Does he have a good business sense, Does he realize that you are the customer and it is in his best interest to make you feel comfortable

In April/ May of next year 2010, I will enter my first bodybuilding competition in the IFBB league, I have chosen this specific league as I have become very well acquainted with what is required of me and the manner in which I will be judged. In my preparation for this competition I sought out the assistance a professional personal trainer as I believe the assistance  of an experienced bodybuilder will help me achieve my goals with fewer mistakes, on paper, my personal trainer is well qualified and meets most of the above requirements I have outlined, unfortunately he has no interest in what my goals are and there is a huge gap in communication and in our expectations, although he is able to give me detailed information about my current body condition, this is something I can do by myself. The guidance that I expected is not forthcoming. The methodology of the training programme provided to achieve my goals are in parts wasteful and in other parts merely insufficient,  I attribute this imbalance to a lack of careful thought during the compilation of the information gathered from my only one consultation. The knowledge that I have acquired over the years has served me well so far in achieving my goals.

I am approximately 4 and half months out now to my first competition. Ive decided that I want my competition weight to be 73 to 75kg roughly 7kg away from my lean body mass, I think if I compete at 70kg, I will be sacrificing the loss of too much muscle with the little that I have gained and so much I have already lost experimenting.

My years of experience have given me great insight into the sport. I have learnt that understanding my body type and its specific needs can only be understood by me and it is my responsibility to learn more about my strength and my limitations which are unique to me. I cannot blindly accept any information from any source that does not know my genetics, what my blood type responds too and overall what my limitations are.

(*side note – my gluteus injury was not caused by my bodybuilding)

For the Last three years that I have decided to take training more seriously I have only
been using supplements from Muscle Science. At the very beginning I was using Muscle
Sciences Grow Extreme, a mass builder that helped me move from my puny 52.2kg to a muscular 74.6kg.

Up until four months ago the Optimum Anabolic was sold in a quantity of 5kg at R350-00 in a plastic bucket. In October the price went up to R480-00 and in November the very same product has gone up to R500-00 but they now sell it in a quantity of 4kg and in a refill pack as part of their new brand.I was really dissappointed at this, particularly at the fact that there was no notice of price increase.

I have also to come to the conclusion that in South Africa there are no consumer watches or protective laws that govern such increases, furthermore to what standards does the supplement industry in South Africa adhere to in terms of quality assurance to justify such ridiculous increases. What justifies Muscle Sciences price increase,  is it the consumer price index? if so, how do they justify inflating the price of the product by decreasing its quantity.

So I have made an informed decision based on extensive research that I will no longer support any Muscle Science products as their price increase is unjustifiable. I have decided to take my loyalty to SSN which is a brand recently started by the founding members of Muscle Science who are marketing a similar product to the Muscle Science Optimum Anabolic, "SSN Anabolic" in a quantity of 4kg at a price of R250-00, THATS HALF THE PRICE for the almost the same product.

The results from this changeover can only be determined after 3 months but I stress the importance of brand loyalty and understand that Muscle Science has realised that there is a broader base of recreational bodybuilders to take advantage off now that bodybuilding in South Africa has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 3 year with more people taking the sport more seriously and the with the advent of the recreational gym rat now looking at supplements to improve his/her physique.

Training knowledge has become more accessible to the average gym goer through magazines like Muscle Evolution who promote the success strories of  local bodybuilders who acknowledge their success to brands like Muscle Science, SSN, USN, Biogen etc. There is now a greater awareness of supplements and a bigger platform from which to market it. If we dont educate ourselves to the finer details of this new industry we can see ourselves burn deep holes in our pockets and even worse damage our health over the long term.