Business & Clients
PT Manager Counts The Reps, So Your Eyes Stay On The Lockout
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in PT Manager, free with any FASTER course →
In short: Today's first post gave the method for finding which muscles a shoulder press trains, including why the core has to hold the ribcage still through the lockout. The second explained why a wave set moves one exercise through four different rep counts in the same session, twelve, then six, then four, then twenty-four. PT Manager's Live Analyser tags every rep good, partial or lost on its own, counting through all four changing targets, so a trainer's attention stays on whether that lockout is landing rather than on a running mental tally.
Two posts, one gap in the middle
Today's first post named the muscles working through a shoulder press, and why the core's job is holding the ribcage still so the effort doesn't escape through an arched lower back. The second explained why a wave set moves one exercise through four different rep counts in a single session, twelve reps, then six, then four, then twenty-four, the weight changing each time. Neither post, on its own, tells a trainer how to run that fourth set without losing count of where they are in it.
The rep count that doesn't need holding in your head
PT Manager's Live Analyser carries a rep counter built for exactly this. Set it going and it tags every rep good, partial or lost on its own, working through a wave set's changing targets, twelve counted, then a fresh count of six, then four, then twenty-four, without a trainer needing to keep a running tally alongside everything else happening in the session.
Watching the lockout while the numbers run themselves
The same screen carries the live skeleton alongside the tally, reading joint angle in real time. On a shoulder press, that's the readout that answers today's first post's question, whether the lockout overhead is complete or the client's stopped short of it. With the counting handled automatically, a trainer's attention is free to watch that line rather than split between the client and a number in their head.
Signing up and passing are still different moments
PT Manager doesn't wait for a certificate before a trainer can open the Live Analyser and get familiar with it. That starts the day someone signs up with FASTER. What passing a course adds is real clients, so the same rep counter that's free to practise with today is the one running in a paying session once Movement Trainer (AFT), covered in today's second post, is passed.
What to do next
Today's first post covered reading a shoulder press. The second covered why one exercise gets run through four different rep counts. PT Manager is where both get coached in real time, open the moment you sign up, with the full toolset switching on the day you pass a course.
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Also worth a look: Movement Trainer (AFT), today's second post in full.
See what the course covers →Frequently asked
Does the rep counter work on an exercise that isn't a squat, a press or a hinge?
Yes, alongside those three presets there's a skeleton-only tracking mode that follows the joints on any exercise, which is what a wave set needs across four different rep counts on the same lift.
Does it replace watching the client altogether?
No, it's built to free attention up rather than replace it — the tally and the live skeleton run themselves, so a trainer's eyes are free for the thing that needs judgement, whether that lockout is real.
Do I need to have passed a course to use it?
PT Manager opens the moment you sign up. Adding real clients, the part that matters for coaching a paying session, unlocks once a course is passed.
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