Ok, more ranting.
First and foremost, one of my clients told me something that has been bothering me now for a couple of days. One of her friends decided to go to a trainer at a big gym, so she decided she will go with her for a few weeks, to keep her company and to get some variation on her workout days on her own. Unfortunately, this trainer seems to be like so many others I have seen in my fitness journey.
She starts off by asking my client her goals. . Good! Everyone needs goals, we preach it all the time here at The Studio. But when my client tells this trainer her goals, the trainer begins to break them down. She asks her what her weight was, and of course my client tells her. This is where the mathematics genius comes out in this trainer.
"So, you want to be about 20 pounds less?"
"Well, to start that would be good, but ultimately, I would like to be down about 30-35."
"Oh, ok.. Well, based on your age (over 35) and your fitness level, expect to lose 20 in about 6 months. Then to get down that last 10, it's going to take another 6 or so."
.. . . That's a full year for 30 pounds - equalling about half a pound lost per week.
Where do these figures come from? Is it a strategy put forth by the facility to make clients sign up for at least a year? Really now. What's the point of a client having goals, if you TELL them it's going to take forever and and just throw out random numbers. I guess all of our clients are genetic freaks, as I have seen so much more than that lost in so much less time. Maybe it's the thermogenics we lace our water cooler with.. hmmm.
This brings me to my next point. Why do people assume that being a trainer is a stepping stone into a "real" job? At few parties in the last month, I have met quite a few new people. On 2 separate occasions, I have been talking to people about my profession and 1 of them said, "Oh yeah? I used to be a trainer when I was younger, now I'm a Phys. Ed teacher. What does your position lead into?"
Me - "Ummm. .This is it."
Her - "Really? You just want to be a trainer?"
Is there something wrong with that? You see, it's the trainers like the one I explained above that give us all a bad name. To people like her, it's her job. To me, this is a career choice, that I very much enjoy, and am constantly learning. I heard a statement recently that made me really think about certifications.
It takes more much more schooling to become a hairdresser, then it does to become a personal trainer.
Unfortunately, this is very true. Any idiot with 500 dollars and a week of free time can take the Can-Fit Pro course and be certified. This, of course, does not guarantee employment, but that is the main certification that gyms are looking for.
Also, personal training is the only situation in which a customer pays for a specific result and service, and even if the customer leaves injured, and more out of shape then when they first came in, they blame themselves and the gym's get to keep their money. How does that make sense? If you buy a shirt at a store, but as you are leaving the mall, the shirt spontaneously combusts.
Do you,
A) Go back to the store with the flaming bag, asking for your money back, or at the very least a new, less charred shirt.
Or
B) Stomp out the flames, and tell yourself it's your fault, you shouldn't have bought that shirt anyway because it made you look fat. You will try to buy another shirt next week and hope the same thing doesn't happen.
Ridiculous.
