"Let me start off by saying that most personal trainers are good guys. They like what they do, they want their clients to get results, and they have a strong interest in exercise science. They also love dispensing and sharing their knowledge, as awful as it might be sometimes. But I'm not writing this article to criticize the misguided disinformation that personal trainers believe. I'm writing because I think many personal trainers have an arrogant and cynical view of society.
Just as some police officers see everyone as a potential criminal that's about to commit a crime, personal trainers think that all their potential clients are lazy. They see an overweight and unhealthy society everywhere they go. And here's what I mean. If you asked a personal trainer why society is so overweight and fat, he would say something like, ""because people are lazy."" I hear this at least once a day. Society is lazy. People don't want to exercise.
They also have the same view when they talk about nutrition. If you ask a personal trainer why society is fat, he might also say, ""because people eat too much junk food."" Often the answer will be more vulgar and vehement such as, ""because people are fat slobs who just eat all day.""
I dare any personal trainer to tell that to their clients. Most people who hire personal trainers are trying to lose fat. Would anybody ever say, ""so you're coming to me because up until now you've been a lazy, fat slob who eats junk food all day. Is that right?"" Nobody would have the audacity to say that, but privately that's how many personal trainers feel.
By having this cynical view of society, personal trainers are indirectly criticizing their clients. The client is part of the sedentary society, and they've come to the trainer for help. If a trainer is going to say that people are fat and lazy, then the trainer needs to have the gall to say that to the client
They also are very critical of modern society's way of living. They'll refer to ""computer guys"" or ""desk jockeys"" or ""Joe-sixpacks"" who drive to work, sit on computers, and watch television, eat fast food, and then down several beers at happy hour on Fridays.
Trainers need to accept what modern society is and then learn how to be fit, functional, and healthy within those confines. As much as trainers sometimes wish, society is not going to be hunter-gatherer society anymore. That lifestyle was very active, but also very short. Modern society is characterized by convenience, labor-saving technology, and fast communications. Overall, people are healthier for that, but society also has to deal with the potential, but not inevitable consequences.
Personal trainers live in the same society and they need to act that way. One benefit of being a trainer is that they're constantly moving. They're demonstrating exercises, passing weights to the clients, and walking back and forth across the training floor. It would be interesting to see how many steps trainers take during the course of a day. A personal trainer with a packed schedule could easily exceed the 10,000 recommended steps.
But personal trainers for the most part have the same sedentary existence that their ""fat"" and ""lazy"" clients have. They drive cars for the most part. They go to restaurants. They don't grow their own food. They use power tools around the house. They more than likely spend plenty of hours on the internet or watching television. The only thing separating a fit personal trainer and his clients is his knowledge of good nutrition, dedication to physical fitness, and a more active job. But outside of the training studio, his life resembles his clients' almost exactly.
This implies that personal trainers are fit themselves and lead by example. There are many personal trainers, especially at the big-box gyms, who look nothing like what their clients what to look like. While not obese, they are slightly overweight, and many could use a personal trainer themselves. They aren't practicing what they're preaching. What could be worse than a hypocritical and arrogant personal trainer?
There are trainers whose nutrition is almost as poor as most peoples'. They'll eat fast and processed foods. Their poor knowledge of nutrition is evident, and one hopes they aren't dispensing advice, or worse, entire meal plans, to their clients. How many trainers have you seen with take out food? I bet more than several. If they're eating take-out, that means they don't plan either.
Why are people overweight then? It's probably not because they want to be, or because they are indolent. It's because they're victims of the society we live in, including personal trainers. Nobody ever commits to gaining weight.
Here's an example of how someone becomes overweight. The hypothetical man is Jimmy. He might have played basketball, football, or maybe even ran for the track team. He might have continued these activities during college. After college, he stopped athletic pursuits as he tried to start his career.
Even if he had the time, the opportunities for adult sports were limited. Sports leagues for adults weren't as available as they are kids. He couldn't benefit from free coaching like he did in high school and college.
As he worked more and more, he likely spent long hours in front of a computer or answering phones. He spent long hours sitting in an unnatural position at a desk. Hisbreathing pattern and posture deteriorates, as well as his metabolism.
Throughout his 20s, he still benefited from a young and active metabolism, despite a drop in physical activity. But as everyone knows, that metabolism begins to slow down, and weight gain becomes easier if it is not monitored.
Nutrition likewise played a fundamental role in unexpected fat gain. Long hours meant that food preparation became less of a priority, while vending machines, restaurants, and worse, fast food, became more tempting, but not necessarily because they are fattening, but because they offer convenience over nutrition. Time was money at this stage of life.
As Jimmy entered his 30s, he started to form a family with his spouse. This led to further demands on his time. Metabolism continued to decline while income continued to soar. He was looking to buy a home, invest in the future, and try to save for education and retirement. Reading about nutrition and exercise science was not one of his priorities.
So a declining metabolism, fewer and fewer opportunities for physical activity, voluntary or involuntary, stress, demands on time, and a general unawareness of what good nutrition is, all led to fat gain that crept up over the course of 20 years or so.
In this view of the innocent victim, did Jimmy deliberately get fat? Do he wake up one morning with that goal? Unlikely. The realization that he needed to do something probably happened like this: he woke up one morning and noticed his pants did't fit like they used to. He was probably 30 or 35 at this point.
A few weeks or maybe a few months later he noticed again that his pants didn't fit at all and he now needed a larger size. Still, there was no cause for alarm. Everybody gains a few pounds, right? Then one day while standing in front of the mirror, he saw a body that he didn't recognize anymore. He couldn't see his toes when he looked down. He could pinch two inches of skin on his arms and legs. He had a huge pot belly. This was the tipping point, and this was the impetus for getting professional help.
Was this guy a fat lazy slob who knew he was being unhealthy? Not at all. He knew he was gaining weight, although less than he thought. He knew he could've been making better food choices, but he wasn't eating bad all the time. He knew he should've been training more, but it was just never a priority. Instead, he placed investments, his financial future, his family, and his career at the top of his list of priorities.
A good personal trainer has empathy, not sympathy. Empathy means you understand where your client is coming from. He understands how the client feels. He understands his situation. He also needs to understand the rest of society, that same one he's supposed to be serving.
Same Society, Different World
Personal trainers, at least good ones, constantly read about exercise science, anatomy, training protocols, and nutrition. They attend seminars, read articles, download e-books, and exchange information with other trainers. They talk with PTs, chiropractors, nutritionists, kinesiologists, and other professionals. They live and breath this kind of information.
This is why people pay thousands of dollars for trainers. They're paying for their specialized knowledge, their accountability, or ability to design programs to help them achieve physical success. They don't know how to design programs, or how to eat right (subject of my next article). If they knew everything we do, personal trainers would be out of a job!
When they call someone fat and lazy, they're judging them based solely on what they choose to eat and how they live. People are much more dynamic than that, and should be judged based on their complete character. Calling someone lazy is judgemental and bigoted. If someone is judged based on one characteristic, then their lifestyle is a poor choice since they're harming no one but themselves.
And calling people lazy because they don't have the physiques that a personal trainer has is wrong. Can you call the CEO of a large company lazy, when he works 10-12 hours per day, travels weekly, deals with dozens of people each day, is constantly on the phone, and hardly has a break? Perhaps he's overweight because he has little choice but to eat something that is convenient, and to forgo exercise because it's difficult (although not impossible) to fit into his day. People might not move much during the day, but most people do not sit around and do unproductive tasks all day. Personal trainers have this idea that fat people watch television and eat frozen desserts all day. These are misguided preconceptions. Modern society doesn't require a lot of movement. Most jobs are sedentary in this day and age. Overweight people can be productive without using their bodies physically.
It's almost like trainers live in a different world. Just because they place fitness and health at the top of their priorities, doesn't mean the rest of society does. While it should be at the top of everyone's list, they can't expect everyone to be experts on nutrition and fitness. If they were, they'd be out of a job! People have other interests, and it's hard to argue that job security and a strong investment portfolio are not top priorities. This doesn't mention political issues that will ultimately affect everyone: health care, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change, unemployment, and a spiraling economy. Seeking a personal trainer, or trying to design your ultimate training plan isn't a priority when you could lose your house and job tomorrow.
Personal trainers need to accept that health, nutrition, and exercise science is not on the top of the minds of most people. They eat when they're hungry, and put little thought into what they eat. They view food and nutrition as something to sustain them, or something that they are supposed to do. It's just a part of life. In some ways, they're healthier because they don't count or track every mouthful of food. They don't count calories, know nothing about macronutrients, and only have a general idea of what's healthy and what's not.
At least consider this world view. If a personal trainer still feels that people are lazy and sloppy, then they should tell that to their clients, or even a friend or neighbor of yours that you really like. They should tell him he's a slob because he can't deadlift 300 pounds and run a 6:00-minute mile. They should tell a factory worker who logs long hours to provide for his family that he's lazy because a beer gut.
Many personal trainers were once out of shape. In fact, that's why they became personal trainers in the first place. They took action, started training, found that they really enjoyed the progress, the techniques, and the gym atmosphere.
I can personally recall a time in high school when I was at least 40 pounds overweight. I have pictures to prove it. I drank five or six cans of soda each day, ate junk food, knew nothing about portion sizes, ate at restaurants and didn't think twice about the extra serving of rice or potatoes. I never trained because it never occurred to me. Then I weighted myself one day and started training. I cut out the soft drinks, the snacks, the junk food, and started reading more and more about healthier ways of living. I even started using that gym membership I always had.
I got fat because I had no idea how much sugar was in that one can of Sprite. I didn't realize how much food restaurants actually served. I didn't know how bad sugary cereal really is. I had no one to drive me to the gym, and I had no equipment to train with. I was just unaware, and the pounds slowly accumulated.
This is what happens to most people. Fat gain is consequence of modern society if fitness isn't a priority. You can see how fat gain is easy if you don't monitor your body on a consistent basis, or at least an annual basis
Trainers should keep this in mind when they're training their next client. They're not training a fat slob, they're training someone who needs help and is paying a trainer to help them. Neighbors, friends, doctors, and family might be overweight and in need of help. Instead of denigrating them, why don't trainers offer their services and make society a healthier place one person at a time?"
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