Is it ok for personal trainers to be fat?

Are they fat like bodybuilders think powerlifters are fat, or fat like they've never trained fat?
 
Perhaps someone is just doing it for the job and paycheck. If they have the knowledge, work well with people, and are helping others be healthier then what does it matter how they look? I agree that I'd rather have a in shape trainer but does it really matter?
 
Sean1332 said:
Perhaps someone is just doing it for the job and paycheck. If they have the knowledge, work well with people, and are helping others be healthier then what does it matter how they look? I agree that I'd rather have a in shape trainer but does it really matter?
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I understand. Just sometimes it is easier to believe someone that practices what they preach. Out of shape trainers seem like hypocrites.
 
Here's my take; while I do agree to some extent on the "practice what you preach" angle, there are some variables.

I'll use myself as an example; while I currently don't actively train anyone, I'm certified (NSCA-CPT) to do so. Do I look like a trainer? No, but I have been ripped before, and I know what it takes. Why not now? Because I'm focusing on another path (powerlifting), and while I could stand to drop 20-25 pounds, I just don't want to.

That said, I feel (and I could be wrong) that I have credibility because I can be/have been lean, now I do compete and am fairly strong, and I've been a post-college competitive athlete. These things IMHO make me a credible source of training & diet knowledge.

Louie Simmons has fattened up, but would any if us question him? Dave Tate has been huge, ripped, now he's walking with a cane...would we question him?

Again, perspective. How you accept a trainer fully depends on where you've been. Would a soccer mom who needs to drop 25# be good with it? I'm certain she would, and I'm sure in most cases she'd do well. Would a dude who has worked with Skip Hill on diet and Brian Carroll on training gain anything? Not f'n likely.
 
Another thing-I do judge trainers based on who they have and who they still use as industry resources to expand their knowledge. I don't mean reading an article either, I mean been in the mix with someone as their coach, been to a seminar, etc.

If you tell me Shelby Starnes does your diet, you're working with John Meadows on your training, or you picked up a tip from the EliteFTS LTT seminar you attended...well you'll have my attention.

The best trainer/coach still has a coach of their own.
 
Entirely true man. It seems to me that all my fellow trainers in my area are completely content with where they are. By this I mean they passed whatever test they needed to take and take people on circuit strolls using every life fitness machine in the gym. Do you know that since I have been training at this particular gym I have not seen one trainer other than myself attempt to "teach" someone to squat deadlift bench ect. Work on hip mobility or even train specific movements. Its seems the common throught process is I lift I I run I'm fit. I'm here for me and listen to what I say because I look to be in better shape than you.
This is laughable and it is one of the few things that makes me irate in the gym (along with simple etiquette and cleanliness)

Bottom line is idgaf about how you look, how shredded or lean you are or how fast you can run a mile or even how much you bench.... to be honest as a trainer all of your personal accolades should mean Jack diddly squat.
You should be judged on your ability to help a client reach their specific goal and surpass their own expectations while simaltaneously broadening your horizons by networking with other knowledgeable trainers, physiologists, or simple literature.

Trainers should be judged and trusted on grounds of their knowledge and clients success.
 
^^^ Excellent post. However, I'm going to address one specific thought.

How will a potential trainee be able to assess your knowledge and it's relationship to their needs without knowing where you've been or what you've done? These are questions I have asked of others (assuming they're not well known) just to assess my compatibility.

I also have volunteered this information to trainees to let them evaluate MY qualifications in relation to their goals.

This is a very extreme example; if somebody came to me and wanted to compete in their first BB show, do I really have the knowledge and experience to help them? No, I legitimately do not because I've never dieted down for a show.

Now if a 16 y/o kid wanted to train to make the varsity football/baseball/whatever team, would my experience there be helpful? You bet, because I've DONE it. I've helped others do it.

Like I said, probably fringe examples because a large portion of people just "want to get into shape"...basically look good naked. :D
 
would you go to a dentist that has bad teeth?
get a tatoo from someone with no tats themselves?
or use a financial adviser that is personally broke?

it is just hard not to judge a book by it's cover.
 
your job as a trainer is to sell "fitness" to people.

if that trainer isn't in shape themselves, it's like they don't even buy into the very product they themselves are selling to others.

there are only 3 reasons why a trainer could be out of shape.
1. they lack the knowledge to get in and stay in shape.
2. they lack motivation.
3. they are injured or have a medical condition.

only #3 is an acceptable option for someone who's profession is fixing others #1 and #2.

but i also understand the argument that a good coach doesn't necessarily need to play the sport.
just look at professional sports coaches that are some of the most unfit individuals, but they are amazing motivators and can get the athletes they train into amazing shape.
 
Yeah I follow you, in my circumstance you could say I am lucky. My gym has each trainer"s profile on the wall with our accolades and areas of specific interest. So the majority of my newer clients are all like minded. I also have a fairly untarnished reputation and am a well respected athlete in this area. As it is the place I grew up and I was blessed to compete at a high level.

As others have said, an average consumer(gym member) is unable to keep from forming an opinion based on your image. Especially in business based on just that, which is why I am eager to advance my career and work solely with athletes.
 
Its funny you know, having played a sport in college I looked up to our strength and conditioning guys a great deal and having the opportunity is surreal.

I have already begun to get my feet wet with my younger brother and our local high schools baseball team. Not only do these kids really want to get better they can actually perform the movements required to take steps in the right direction. And also at their age I'm their buddy not their personal shrink. As I listen to way too much bs as a CPT
 
lamonster14 said:
Its funny you know, having played a sport in college I looked up to our strength and conditioning guys a great deal and having the opportunity is surreal.

I have already begun to get my feet wet with my younger brother and our local high schools baseball team. Not only do these kids really want to get better they can actually perform the movements required to take steps in the right direction. And also at their age I'm their buddy not their personal shrink. As I listen to way too much bs as a CPT
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You summed it up pretty accurately.

To be fair, many of these athletes don't have a lifetime of bad habits to break, don't have many of the job/work/kids/life stressors, and typically have an abundance of time. That said, I so much prefer working with secondary school athletes for all the reasons you listed.

I equate it to being either a blacksmith or a potter. The blacksmith has to work to reshape metal that has already been once forged by fire and taken its form. The potter gets a malleable, fresh lump of soft clay that they can form, mold and shape very easily.

The difference is, the metal doesn't bitch at the blacksmith about results, while it has been eating ice cream before bed every night because it's boyfriend left. :D
 
Ummmmm... No! I saw a fat trainer train a fit chick one time and was like wtf?!
 
Reminds me of the fat trainer at my gym that trains two very good looking Bengals cheerleaders.

The worst part is he has all of his clients doing the same routine. Irregardless of their age, gender, or fitness level. Smh.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Reminds me of the fat trainer at my gym that trains two very good looking Bengals cheerleaders.

The worst part is he has all of his clients doing the same routine. Irregardless of their age, gender, or fitness level. Smh.
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I've seen that before
 
There are definitely some out of shape trainers who know their shyt. Sometimes disease or injury hinders their ability due to old age etc...now to the other end the steroid junkie trainer having an all natty guy doing his routine, horrible form...I mean the worst and just relying on food and steroids to do the work. Oh but he looks good so he must know what he's doing...bull fukking shyt lol
 
Or the in shape guy who barely pushes his client..instead he texts and flirts and his client barely breaks a sweat
 
yeai id rather be trained by an old fat dude thats been round and knows his shyt instead of beach body trainer using gear and ****ty work ethics to look good. id be paying for knowledge on form, work ethic, body mechanics, all the stuff that comes with a lifetime of experience. not how to superset chest flys with cable crossovers and stay below 160lbs my whole life like a douchebag
 
I find it humorous that people equate aesthetics to knowledge and/or ability in terms of training and educating.

Pretty narrow worldview if your presupposition is that a trainer's effectiveness is only related to their current body composition.
 
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Not the most aesthetic physique. Would you let this guy train you? I sure as hell would.
 
Able825 said:
your job as a trainer is to sell "fitness" to people.

if that trainer isn't in shape themselves, it's like they don't even buy into the very product they themselves are selling to others.

there are only 3 reasons why a trainer could be out of shape.
1. they lack the knowledge to get in and stay in shape.
2. they lack motivation.
3. they are injured or have a medical condition.

only #3 is an acceptable option for someone who's profession is fixing others #1 and #2.

but i also understand the argument that a good coach doesn't necessarily need to play the sport.
just look at professional sports coaches that are some of the most unfit individuals, but they are amazing motivators and can get the athletes they train into amazing shape.
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What if they put in 10-12 hours per day, then head home to a family or another job to support a family?

Check this guy out on the right:

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Not exactly in tip-top shape but one of the most brilliant minds in the field of strength and conditioning.

I have seen more bad trainers that are ripped than bad trainers who are overweight.

But yes, looking the part does help.
 
From a marketing standpoint, I imagine the in shape trainer is going to get more clients and given more respect as a trainer whether or not he deserves it.
 
toddgranit said:
From a marketing standpoint, I imagine the in shape trainer is going to get more clients and given more respect as a trainer whether or not he deserves it.
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oh definately. but then again, the masses are very ridiculously ignorant when it comes to fitness
 
My initial thought is "No, absoultely not". But, I know there are a lot of trainers out there who may be overweight, but they are very educated and have a ton of experience. From what I have seen, some personal trainers (usually the best ones) have a lot of clients that book up their schedule. Since they are so busy, their training, nutrition, sleep etc. all go down hill. This made me think of the overweight doctors who tell us all to be healthy haha
 
Didn't read thread but only way a PT could be fat is if he/she is loosing weight.... If there happy being 250 and female or short, no way. The only people I could see train ing with them would be fat people but even then I would want to look like my trainer... So I would want them to be in shape, not getting into shape.

When I used to PT there where 2 overweight girls that where PT and I never understood how or why they picked that as a profession. Maybe cuz if you get a **** cert you only need to read the book and not have any real life experience with workin out. < in that case I wouldn't want you to be training me any way....

Sorry kinda on a rant there...
 
I asked people on my PT Facebook page whether they would prefer to be trained by someone who looked good but didn't necessarily have any knowledge or something who was extremely knowledgeable but had a poor physique.

The overwhelming majority went with the former. Only three people went with the latter, one being JudoJosh and another being Celorza.

I was surprised how few people cared about knowledge, most implied they need to be inspired to train and this came from someone with an admirable physique.
 
bdcc said:
I asked people on my PT Facebook page whether they would prefer to be trained by someone who looked good but didn't necessarily have any knowledge or something who was extremely knowledgeable but had a poor physique.

The overwhelming majority went with the former. Only three people went with the latter, one being JudoJosh and another being Celorza.

I was surprised how few people cared about knowledge, most implied they need to be inspired to train and this came from someone with an admirable physique.
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thats just ignorance again. im gonnna go and guess you got a lot of female votes

should of followed up qith "would you rather have a nice sports car with **** gas milage or a nice crossover or sedan with great gas milage?"
 
bdcc said:
I asked people on my PT Facebook page whether they would prefer to be trained by someone who looked good but didn't necessarily have any knowledge or something who was extremely knowledgeable but had a poor physique.

The overwhelming majority went with the former. Only three people went with the latter, one being JudoJosh and another being Celorza.

I was surprised how few people cared about knowledge, most implied they need to be inspired to train and this came from someone with an admirable physique.
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:sly:
 
bdcc said:
I asked people on my PT Facebook page whether they would prefer to be trained by someone who looked good but didn't necessarily have any knowledge or something who was extremely knowledgeable but had a poor physique.

The overwhelming majority went with the former. Only three people went with the latter, one being JudoJosh and another being Celorza.

I was surprised how few people cared about knowledge, most implied they need to be inspired to train and this came from someone with an admirable physique.
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In my opinion the third option should be a personal trainer with training knowledge and the demonstrable ability to achieve client training goals, and I believe this is where the argument sits. Lead from the front.

Not dogging you but in the hypothetical scenario, I would have a hard time believing someone with an amazing physique didn't have any training knowledge anyways.
 
TexasGuy said:
In my opinion the third option should be a personal trainer with training knowledge and the demonstrable ability to achieve client training goals, and I believe this is where the argument sits. Lead from the front.

Not dogging you but in the hypothetical scenario, I would have a hard time believing someone with an amazing physique didn't have any training knowledge anyways.
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It was a forced black and white scenario, nobody could use the word 'depends'.

I.e. if you had to pick a trainer who was in great shape but no formal qualifications or someone who was very highly qualified who was in terrible shape who would you pick.

Most picked the first. Most were male views as well. It surprised me but was certainly interesting.

Keep in mind this was for one on one personal training. I assume if it was for someone to design them programmes or simple consultations it may be a different answer.
 
TexasGuy said:
In my opinion the third option should be a personal trainer with training knowledge and the demonstrable ability to achieve client training goals, and I believe this is where the argument sits. Lead from the front.

Not dogging you but in the hypothetical scenario, I would have a hard time believing someone with an amazing physique didn't have any training knowledge anyways.
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I think a lot of people assumed this, yes.

Even though in the real world we all know someone can be in great shape and have terrible knowledge.
 
bdcc said:
I think a lot of people assumed this, yes.

Even though in the real world we all know someone can be in great shape and have terrible knowledge.
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I think the psychology of hiring a trainer to get "beach ready" though tells people that the in shape trainer has enough knowledge to get them in the shape they want, and getting in shape is why people hire trainers. Maybe a fat dude who read a book can explain technical theories better than the particular in shape guy in question but the in shape guy can get in shape and demonstrate it, even if he can't necessarily explain all the bio-mechanics of a proper squat in essay detail with ten referenced sources. He can step in to a squat rack, perform a proper squat and teach you how to do it though.

The essence of a trainer is a salesman whose product is technically himself. A nutritionist might know all about diet manipulation but will have a hell of a time selling moldy apples. Fat trainers are moldy apples in my view.

PL performance, sport specific training et cetera may be viewed differently but then you are hiring a coach, not a "body by_____".

Maybe I'm mis-reading your example though. How ignorant is this in shape guy and how did he get in shape? Or is it just a topical curiosity to gauge surface level response?
 
TexasGuy said:
I think the psychology of hiring a trainer to get "beach ready" though tells people that the in shape trainer has enough knowledge to get them in the shape they want, and getting in shape is why people hire trainers. Maybe a fat dude who read a book can explain technical theories better than the particular in shape guy in question but the in shape guy can get in shape and demonstrate it, even if he can't necessarily explain all the bio-mechanics of a proper squat in essay detail with ten referenced sources. He can step in to a squat rack, perform a proper squat and teach you how to do it though.

The essence of a trainer is a salesman whose product is technically himself. A nutritionist might know all about diet manipulation but will have a hell of a time selling moldy apples. Fat trainers are moldy apples in my view.

PL performance, sport specific training et cetera may be viewed differently but then you are hiring a coach, not a "body by_____".

Maybe I'm mis-reading your example though. How ignorant is this in shape guy and how did he get in shape? Or is it just a topical curiosity to gauge surface level response?
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Yes, it was purely hypothetical.

Essentially someone in the gym approached me and said how nice it was to see a PT who was in great shape as so many look like they don't train. I asked him if he would be more likely to pay a PT who had great knowledge but a terrible physique or someone who looks great but doesn't necessarily have any qualifications and he said the latter.

I found people's responses really interesting because it reveals psychology. For example many people commented that a PT has to motivate them and someone with a poor physique wouldn't do that. There was also an assumption that if someone was in great shape they probably have a degree of hands on knowledge even if they have no qualifications.

Of course, this isn't actually true in a lot of cases. There are guys who look great and their programme design or nutritional advice is terrible.

Interestingly, the three guys who all said science first were people who were very science minded themselves i.e. appreciate the validity of data to support their theory whereas most others seemed to assume a great physique would have some implied knowledge in itself.

Here is the post if you are interested. I hope your Facebook arranges the comments in chronological order otherwise some of the replies won't make sense.
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first impressions are important.
it is natural to think "if they can't even get in shape themselves, how can they get me in shape".
i know a lot of you say, you would read their resume first then decide.
but in real life, we subconsciously make judgments/decisions within seconds of seeing someone........whether you want to or not.
 
bdcc said:
Yes, it was purely hypothetical.

Essentially someone in the gym approached me and said how nice it was to see a PT who was in great shape as so many look like they don't train. I asked him if he would be more likely to pay a PT who had great knowledge but a terrible physique or someone who looks great but doesn't necessarily have any qualifications and he said the latter.

I found people's responses really interesting because it reveals psychology. For example many people commented that a PT has to motivate them and someone with a poor physique wouldn't do that. There was also an assumption that if someone was in great shape they probably have a degree of hands on knowledge even if they have no qualifications.

Of course, this isn't actually true in a lot of cases. There are guys who look great and their programme design or nutritional advice is terrible.

Interestingly, the three guys who all said science first were people who were very science minded themselves i.e. appreciate the validity of data to support their theory whereas most others seemed to assume a great physique would have some implied knowledge in itself.

Here is the post if you are interested. I hope your Facebook arranges the comments in chronological order otherwise some of the replies won't make sense.
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I think the motivation factor is just it though. Virtually anybody in this day and age can seek out tried and true programs from legitimate coaches with fantastic reputations and do them, with maybe a little technical help initially on a few lifts. But they don't.

PTs have to be able to take a leadership role and demonstrate to clients they can do what their clients want. I suppose a client testimonial sheet with before and after photos could help a fat guy out but he will still be a moldy apple with a slight shine psychologically. I'm in sales of another kind myself and find psychology interesting as well, I'll have to check the FB responses.

My thoughts are that, in your hypothetical scenario, knowledge trumps the genetically blessed idiot.

In a real world application though, I don't see too many people who don't know their way around the kitchen and weight room with respectable physiques. Every now and then there is a genetic freak with a born six pack and striated shoulders but even playing D1 college football, surrounded by natural athletes and physical specimens, muscle and strength required concentrated effort along with agility, experience and all the rest. It makes it hard for me to really look at a black and white scenario.

In another light, say I bought a book outlining a beach body strategy and later discovered the author was an obese man with a library of exercise books, articles and studies. I would appreciate the info for what it is but would absolutely feel conned by a fraud. If I were in the market for a trainer, I'd find one that preaches truth AND practices it, though I know this is against the rules.

Anyways, long winded response from me as usual but I'll be checking your link out. Thanks for the discussion!
 
lol dude that post was a lot more in depth than you described. i thought most answers were point blank: fuk fat trainers

and to texasmethod.i think where you two difffer is your ideas of "knowing their way around the gym." no doubt the in shape guy knows how to exercise, otherwise he wouldnt be in shape. but ive seen far too many PT's in great shape that dont squat or teach partial squats. or dont bench and do dumbell flys, or even worse, teach flat back benching. in my mind, that equates to bad training because im into strength training. in the real world tho, majority of people dont wanna squat because its shunned for knee and back issues, and strong arches = broken back. most people would rather chest press a machine or do leg extensions lol

hope i helped you two a ittle

btw, those were examples of the general population's thoughts on those exercises. squats armt bad for knee/back and strong arch is healthy.
 
I hate to say it, but when I see an out of shape personal trainer making some middle aged fat guy crab walk all over the gym I face palm. And, while I understand the argument that an out of shaper personal trainer might still have great knowledge, as a paying customer, you've sure to take quite the leap of faith if your trainer cannot practice what they preach.
 
trn450 said:
I hate to say it, but when I see an out of shape personal trainer making some middle aged fat guy crab walk all over the gym I face palm. And, while I understand the argument that an out of shaper personal trainer might still have great knowledge, as a paying customer, you've sure to take quite the leap of faith if your trainer cannot practice what they preach.
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I see this at LA all the time and I agree. I will say if it is an older guy who looks like they know what they are talking about I wouldn't care though.
 
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