I have been trying to figure out a way to frame this story for a long time. Part of me feels obligated to give you the inside scoop on the fitness industry but in doing so I have to talk about certain people I think are bad for the industry. The other part of me wants to stay away from the negative and focus on the positive.
The problem here is that a lot of you are wasting money chasing the latest trends so let me throw this out. Sometimes to focus on the positive you do need to shine a light on the sneaky underside of weight loss. So let’s do it.
A common assumption is that a personal trainer is a personal trainer and nothing could be farther from the truth. There are personal trainers and there are marketers posing as coaches. There are big differences between the two. A personal trainer has a primary goal of getting you results. A marketer has the primary purpose of building a following and selling them stuff. If you make any temporary progress with them, it is good thing because you will want to buy more stuff.
Here is an example
Let me start by saying, do you have friends on Facebook and you have no idea why? I have a number of personal trainer people that either I talked to a long time ago, they wanted to be friends or we were going to network together. The reason I know them is that they are now in my Facebook feed.
But for the last five or so years one particular trainer pops up on my page quite often.
When I first started seeing her posts she posted a before/ after picture of herself showing how unhappy she was before and how happy she is now that she started using ( insert Multi-level marketing product here.) In fact she was so excited with her weight loss she wanted to share it with me along with a way I could start my own business.
About a year or two later there is another before / after picture. Guess what? She was unhappy and gained a bunch of weight. Bad news. Not really because with the help of a revolutionary detox program she lost a bunch of weight and feels great. Better yet, she is excited to show me how I can get the same results.
18 months later guess who is depressed and gained a lot of weight? Well don’t feel bad for her because she is now on the Paleo eating program and happier than ever. In fact you didn’t get results from the detox program, try this…if you have money to buy the program.
18 months later guess who is losing weight and feeling great with a ketogenic diet? You guessed it.
Let’s jump to the present day. Somebody has been unhappy with the keto diet and misses eating fruits and carbs. Yep, she gained a lot of weight and has now lost it with the ultra revolutionary carb cycling program.
So if you have any disposable income left, she would like it to show you how cycling carbs is the fastest, easiest way to lose weight. Now and forever.
Caveat Emptor
That is Latin for ” buyer beware”.
Usually these marketers are very pleasant and nice. They show a lot of pictures of their family and what a great life they lead. You might think, “why she has the same problems I do, I can really relate to her”.
Or, ” wow, I can imagine myself looking like her. I mean she doesn’t have all those muscles and stuff.”
Here is my problem with this. I follow a number of people on Instagram that have a passion for fitness. Amateurs that are either on a weight loss journey, runners, lifters, hikers, etc… I love those accounts because they are sharing their journey in an open and honest way…and they are not trying to sell me anything.
I love those posts and am 100% behind anyone who wants to change and document their life. I “Like” their posts and give them encouraging comments because I am interested in their success.
The moment you start calling yourself a trainer or coach the game changes.
It has to. You are implying that you have training and knowledge in this field. With that training comes an obligation to help people.
I know a number of credible coaches in this field that I respect and trust. None of them have ever stooped to
- before / after photos of themselves.
- They are never chasing the latest fad.
- They don’t have to make you feel sorry for them to buy their services.
What they offer is knowledge and experience which is very unsexy and unappealing to anyone who wants a quick fix.
A marketer, on the other hand, will always use stories and emotion to sell. Even if they have to put on a bathing suit and stick out their gut and embarrass themselves, it is all fair game . And it is extremely effective.
The stories she runs will make you laugh cry and give you hope all within a few paragraphs. Magnificent selling technique. She understands you want to be entertained and not be informed.
Is that so bad?
That is a good question. Obviously, I think so. When clients come to me they are at a stage in their life where they know they need to make a change. They are frustrated and vulnerable. They are looking for a solution to a problem and that problem hurts.
I always use the “Golden Rule”.
If I were in that position, how would I want to be treated? In the fitness industry, we know what works and what doesn’t. Don’t listen to all these infomercials because well…they are trying to sell you something.
Fitness professionals know how to get you in shape and it doesn’t involve detoxes, special diets or hundreds of dollars of supplements. It takes common sense, hard work and commitment. That is hard to sell these days and that is why I respect coaches that follow that path.
It is ok to judge us.
No, really. if you are a personal trainer, then you are your own billboard. If you believe in what you are doing, then you should look the part.
For example, my clients are 40-70 years old. They don’t want to be bodybuilders or fitness models. They are also tired of chasing fad diets and failing. I coach them on how to lose weight, fix aches and pains, get strong and get flexible. This allows them to live a better quality of life and do the things they want to do. At 55, I am in the best shape of my life because I follow the same principles I teach.
Now if you want to be a bodybuilder, I would be a bad choice for you. I wouldn’t be hardcore enough. If you like jazzercise, don’t pick me for that. Not that it is bad it is just not my thing.
Maybe that is the point of all this. We live in strange times and there are a lot of good coaches out here who are ready to help you. Most of the time we get drowned out by marketers with slickly crafted messages. If anything, hopefully this blog can help you make a better decision on who you can trust your fitness to.
