Do Trainers Need To Be Ripped Trainers?
There’s a great many misconceptions and fitness myths circulating through the gym world. There’s a seemingly endless supply of misinformation regarding nutrition, techniques, body imaging, etc. A long time personal training client of mine, who is a physician, as well as a top level, nationally ranked, swimmer, told me of a friend of hers who just recently decided to go to the gym and get fit. She has hired a personal trainer with less than a year of experience. When my client inquired why she, as a woman with great means, would want to work with such an inexperienced trainer, she responded, “because she’s super fit, so she must be good”. Apparently, ripped trainers are the most knowledgeable.
In the 20 or so years that I’ve been an Austin personal trainer, I’ve seen a bunch of my colleagues come and go. I’ve also seen a great many rely upon their physiques to sell people sessions as well. They will parade around the gym in tight clothes, and surely, because they look good, they must be good, knowledgeable, expert trainers, right? Surely the ripped trainers know something the rest of them don’t, right?
If I was in an entirely different profession, and was seeking to employ a personal trainer, I believe that I would have a different approach than my client’s friend.
Common sense dictates that a personal trainer should be at the very least, moderately fit. After all, if they are in a gym environment, and have a self professed passion for all things fitness and health, but can’t seem to get themselves into decent shape, that is a big red flag. At what point, however, does being an in shape trainer necessitate being a fitness model in order to attract clientele?
If someone is fit, as in ripped trainers, it is because they have good genetics, they work hard at it, and in some cases, have a good pharmaceutical connection. That doesn’t mean that they have any ability to diagnose any physical maladies on themselves, or anyone else, for that matter. We can assume they have a basic understanding of nutrition, but does that mean they truly understand the uptake of every macro nutrient, etc and how it affects YOUR body? No, it doesn’t. There’s no reason to assume that someone who looks like a million bucks, is a competent trainer, or otherwise.
Knowledge is everything in this business. Furthermore, the trainer that posses the knowledge, and is able to parlay said knowledge and experience to your individual needs, is the trainer of choice. It doesn’t matter if they wear a size medium shirt or a muscle filled XXL. Rushing to judgement is more often than not, a bad idea, however, brains, knowledge, and intuitive abilities aren’t measured by the size of one’s biceps. If a prospective trainer uses them as a business card or resume, as opposed to a lengthy history of results, and a conveyance of a very in depth knowledge of nutrition, physiology, kinesiology, etc, then you need to keep looking.
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Andy
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