What can personal trainers learn from the death of Michael Jackson? This is actually a reposting of something I wrote last year, after Michael Jackson passed. This is worth reading because it concerns a topic that most fitness trainers – unfortunately -don’t think too much about.
The 911 Call
Most people remember the now well-known 911 call that occurred in the minutes after Michael Jackson died. A man calls 911 and says something of the effect “we have a gentleman not breathing”. When I heard this, I thought to myself “Why didn’t anybody say Michael Jackson isn’t breathing”? Were the people surrounding him so afraid of added publicity that they would not say his name when he needed them most? Fitness trainers should think ahead of time what they might say on the phone if they ever have to make an emergency 911 call.
The other thing about the 911 call that jumped out at me was when I heard that they were doing chest compressions on Jackson when he was still in bed. Why were they not performing CPR when he was on the floor – when the chest compressions would have potentially been more effective? 
I heard the 911 operator tell the person on the phone to move Jackson to the floor. Why didn’t people know to do this?
I have also read that Michael Jackson’s had a “nutritionist” who was a nurse. Ok, a nurse was informing him about nutrition. Not to belittle nurses, everybody knows that it is the registered dietitians (RDs) who are the nutrition experts. If Jackson had a health problem he should have had a nurse AND a registered dietitian who specialized in his health issue. Also the word nutritionist is about as well regulated as the phrase ‘All Natural” .
This unfortunate passing of Michael Jackson brings to light two important facts:
- Bad things can happen when we least expect it
- Personal trainers should be prepared when bad things happen
What can personal fitness trainers learn from this?
While personal trainers usually don’t think about it, the fact remains that ticking time bombs work out in every health club in the world. It’s sometimes hard to pick them out (some visual signs are possible. You’ve heard me talk about some of them if you ever attended my certification seminars).
Here are some checklist items that personal trainers (and health club owners) should keep in the back of their minds, just in case they are ever faced with someone seriously injured or worse:
1. All personal trainers and group fitness instructors should have a current CPR certification and know how to use the AED . 
The same goes for people who work at the front desk.
2. All health clubs should have an emergency procedure and ALL staff should be familiar with it. These procedures should be randomly tested with mock emergencies so that the staff do not get stale and forget what they have to do. These procedures should be written down and the general manager/fitness director should review the procedures with ALL new staff when they are hired.
3. When an emergency occurs, fitness instructors should stop what they are doing and go to the site of the emergency. For example, if an emergency occurs in the ladies locker room, men should have no qualms about entering that locker room. The same goes for women, entering the men’s locker room during an emergency. Managers - your novice fitness staff are embarrassed to do this! They have been told since childhood not to enter the other genders locker-room /rest room. You need to tell them its OK – or they won’t do it!
Self Employed Personal Trainers
Personal trainers who are self employed and traveling to the homes of people should know the address of the people they train – and the addresses should be written down in their day planner/blackberry etc. If an emergency occurs and the trainer calls 911 from their cell phone, the 911 service may not immediately know where they are calling from (calling from a home phone will immediately give the location). People faced with a serious emergency may forget their current location, so have it written down just in case. Trainers should also have a first aid kit in their cars. I do not know of any personal trainers who have AEDs in their cars but as the prices of these devices drops, this may occur.
Personal Trainers and Nutrition
Personal trainers are often asked questions about nutrition. Knowing about exercise does not necessarily mean the trainer knows about nutrition (even if they look buff!). This is especially true if the person asking the question has health. This is why I often advise trainers to form an alliance with a registered dietitian.
I highly recommend that all personal trainers read my books, Nutrition Essentials and Nutritional Supplements. Nutrition Essentials gives you the scoop on nutrition and sports nutrition in a way that’s geared for people in the fitness field. Nutritional Supplements: What Works and Why is a “tell all” book that gives you the clinical evidence for 119 vitamins, herbs, minerals, hormones and other products WITHOUT the hype you often hear about. Also read my Supplement blog, Supplement-Geek.com
If you work in a health club, don’t assume that somebody else will go to help. You may be the best qualified person to help in an emergency situation. Will you make some mistakes? Possibly. Will you be afraid? Probably. Most would and that’s ok.
The important thing is to do something.
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Excellent article–insightful & informative!