personal trainer pissed off!
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Everyone can get offended over everything.
I'm honestly wondering... for those who do use a personal trainer and take their advice, put the work in, and get results honestly be offended by your trainer saying something that has nothing to do with you? Chances are you would realize that they aren't talking about you and probably not be offended....
Do you never complain about your customers, coworkers, etc in any realm?
Do you really think doctors, nurses, dietitians etc don't get frustrated in the same manner with patients who do not listen to their advice? If your Dr sees a patient who does not follow his or her instructions and their health is declining because of it and they mention in a general way that they are frustrated when people don't follow advice and don't give specifics that you would really not want to go to that Dr?
We are all human. People can rant. People can react. It's how things work.
I have driven to the gym to walk on the treadmill since it's the only activity I can do. I could walk outside but not knowing if I will need to stop suddenly or make it back home I don't. Even more so, it's cold and wet and I don't want to eb cold and wet. I'm a sissy. I know. I'm fine with it! Rather be a sissy and walk on a treadmill than be cold and wet which makes me crabby!
I'm an instructional designer; I write training for employees out in the field. We also have a message board on our company intranet. I would never think to go online there and post a rant about team members not taking my training as I instructed them. I totally get needing to rant, but doing so in an environment where current or possible clients would see it is still unprofessional in my opinion.
Put in this context I can understand your point as this would be a direct forum where clients may be. Point taken - it's different from someone venting to a friend in a completely unrelated field.
As a side note - I was actually in school to get my master's in instructional design. I chose a different career path (i'm back for a dietetics degree) but I was absolutely loving the instructional design stuff!!0 -
The people I know who use PTs are fat and lazy and never improve because they think spending money means they don't have to put the work in.
Well, that is the people you know, and I must say, just how well do you know them? I see no reason to have posted such a spiteful and unhelpful comment.
I, for one, have never in my life been overweight, and I got myself down to a low bodyfat % with my OWN hard work and determination.
It is not just overweight people who take up with a personal trainer, but also those wishing to compete in competitions, improve their current fitness, reach different sporting goals, or simply to give them some new insight into how they can improve their performance.0 -
A poor teacher blames their students just a a poor tradesman blames their tools.
Yes there are always going to be people who fail, but you must also be willing to adjust your methods to get the most out of individuals.
Oh and having a rant is ok, but pick your place and audience. This is probably not the best forum for a 'professional' to go on about their clients who may well also be here.
Just some food for thought.0 -
Wow.....apparently no one ever has a moment where they are frustrated with their "vocation"
This place just never fails to come through on entertainment + butthurt.0 -
Yeah...I get this. Try being an Elementary School teacher though...those little turds rarely do what you want them to!
I have never laughed so loud at reading a post!0 -
Try being in medicine, where people who dont follow instructions and are non compliant do crazy things like die.0
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They are coming to you because they need help. They didn't get the way they are overnight and you wont help them overnight either. You should know there will be bumps in the road and help them push through them.0
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Wow.....apparently no one ever has a moment where they are frustrated with their "vocation"
This place just never fails to come through on entertainment + butthurt.
Its the butthurt that always surprises me..0 -
It sounds like you need to train athletes. Athletes are used to pushing themselves and are competitive, so you spend more time on program design and less on motivation. Plus the training in my opinion is more interesting because of the unusual problems you have to solve working with athletes.
The regular run of the mill person that goes to a trainer doesn't require a lot of creativity in terms of programming and they are not going to want to perform heavily technique based movements, so its sort of a rinse and repeat with them. Also the average person pays a trainer thinking that the act of paying a trainer is going make them achieve better results when really what they have to do is follow the instructions of the trainer and put forth a reasonable amount of effort in order to get results.
I used to be a trainer when I was in college and really disliked it for the reasons above but I also recognized this and chose not to continue on that career path.0 -
Everyone can get offended over everything.
I'm honestly wondering... for those who do use a personal trainer and take their advice, put the work in, and get results honestly be offended by your trainer saying something that has nothing to do with you? Chances are you would realize that they aren't talking about you and probably not be offended....
Do you never complain about your customers, coworkers, etc in any realm?
Do you really think doctors, nurses, dietitians etc don't get frustrated in the same manner with patients who do not listen to their advice? If your Dr sees a patient who does not follow his or her instructions and their health is declining because of it and they mention in a general way that they are frustrated when people don't follow advice and don't give specifics that you would really not want to go to that Dr?
We are all human. People can rant. People can react. It's how things work.
I have driven to the gym to walk on the treadmill since it's the only activity I can do. I could walk outside but not knowing if I will need to stop suddenly or make it back home I don't. Even more so, it's cold and wet and I don't want to eb cold and wet. I'm a sissy. I know. I'm fine with it! Rather be a sissy and walk on a treadmill than be cold and wet which makes me crabby!
I'm an instructional designer; I write training for employees out in the field. We also have a message board on our company intranet. I would never think to go online there and post a rant about team members not taking my training as I instructed them. I totally get needing to rant, but doing so in an environment where current or possible clients would see it is still unprofessional in my opinion.
Put in this context I can understand your point as this would be a direct forum where clients may be. Point taken - it's different from someone venting to a friend in a completely unrelated field.
As a side note - I was actually in school to get my master's in instructional design. I chose a different career path (i'm back for a dietetics degree) but I was absolutely loving the instructional design stuff!!
You just demonstrated about a million times more empathy than the OP. I'm glad I scrolled through to see your second post.0 -
In.0
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I am a band director and it sort of works that way in our field as well. Come to think of it how many hire doctors to help them feel better but don't follow their advice?0
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I had a few hour long sessions with a personal trainer and I did EVERYTHING he said to do. Even when his plan had my legs so sore I had problems going up or down stairs for a week. At the beginning he told me that if I did everything he said he'd give me a free session. After the last session I reminded him of that, and he said he'd give me a free session if I bought three more. So it's not always the client's fault. Some PTs don't know what they are doing- because I don't think being sore for a week after a session is normal- and don't follow through with their promises. BTW he also said he'd look at my food tracker to make sure I was eating the correct things, and he never did that either.0
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I've had a PT and I know I frustrated him with how much I pushed myself at the gym, but then failed in my diet. I know where the blame was, on me. I wish I could still afford to work with him, as he understands that not everyone is the same, everyone is different and has different goals, and not one method works on all his clients. I still see him everyday at the gym and he still checks in on me and encourages me, I know if I have issues I can go to him for help there. That to me is what a good personal trainer is, someone who cares and is willing to continue to help you no matter what.0
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Yeah she's great eh and not taking this personally at all!
Some of us 'lame' people don't need PT's and can do it ourselves.
have you ever been in professional services/customer service type jobs? it's hard.
People treat you like **** and especially fitness- it's last on their to do list.
I had a client scheduled for THANKSGIVING MORNING. One of my few days off from my regular job- and a day where it magically overlapped with my bf- so we could have spent it together- but I drug myself out of bed and off to the gym to train- and the pair of them not only didn't show up- they didn't call or text me to tell me they weren't coming.
People are rude- constantly. they are late- they complain- they don't call. They treat you like a doormat- because "we are paying them- they can wait- whatever"
really? We are people who do other stuff to- and I have had people ruin my whole weekend by not putting in a simple phone call to tell me they were cancelling- I take pride in being there for my clients and I jump through hoops to be there when I'm supposed to be.
Trust me- it's hard to take it on a constant basis- unless you've done it- you have no idea. Yeah- this isn't extremely professional- but the reality is it hurts and it sucks as a professional. People do this because they love it- and want to help people- and instead of helping people they wind up hating their passion because most of the people don't care enough to try.
The good ones- they are what keep you coming back- and they keep your soul in your body- but the rest of them- they make it hard to love what you do- they can make you jaded and bitter.
I suggest walking a mile in the shoes before you start judging.
I'm a nurse. You think dealing with healthy people as a certified trainer is difficult? Try dealing with them when they're sick and in pain. Not only are you on the patient's $h!t list when you tell him no he can't have another pain pill, the doctor wrote one every six hours and it's only been two, but you are also attacked by families, pharmacists, other nurses (oh, yes, the phrase "nursing eats its young" is completely true), housekeepers, chaplains, social workers, the state and JCAHO inspectors, don't forget those that are lawsuit happy, etc., etc. Patient and family attitudes are difficult to take but understandable. The rest less so.
Oh, yeah, don't forget the non-adherent patients. Those that decide they don't need to take their medication, can't afford it because cigarettes, booze or meth is more important, or have found a "natural" (read: useless) concoction given to them by some guy that their cousin's brother-in-law knows who sells the, at best useless, at worst deadly, crap from a lawn chair on a street corner.
I've worked every Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's for the last five years. All day.
I'm not posting this to whine , although admittedly I did more than a little of that, I am posting this to remind the OP and the above ^^ they are not the only ones whose jobs require dealing with difficult personalities. Whining on chat rooms is unprofessional and gives the impression that trainers are drags on society - I'm sure most aren't.0 -
I make my clientele list easy.............................................I choose who to work out with. I consult, assess and work with them for a couple of weeks. If I feel they can continue to improve or aren't going to be a big pain in the *kitten*, then I continue with them. If not, I let them know that I'm probably not the best fit for them. And I've turned away quite a few people who went on with other trainers and either succeeded or not. Whatever the outcome, it worked out for both myself and them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Ding ding ding.... and this, I believe, would be called professionalism! I would be much more likely to commend someone who honestly thought we would not be a good coaching match than someone who coached me and talked about me later.
I would love to hire a PT ... even just to show me the proper techniques of lifting. I am very obese, but I get my fat *kitten* to the gym every single day and I NEVER quit. I started out being able to barely walk a mile, now I am running miles. I lift heavy weights, I bike. I give it my all EVERY day.
The only reason that I don't have a PT is because my gym stopped offering it, as they didn't have a large enough client base for it to be worth the trainers' time. Which is okay ... because I am proving to myself that I have the determination to get my butt in the gym, eat healthy, and take care of myself.
Although, I would relish every moment of being screamed at in a few PT sessions with Jillian Michaels
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Yeah she's great eh and not taking this personally at all!
Some of us 'lame' people don't need PT's and can do it ourselves.
have you ever been in professional services/customer service type jobs? it's hard.
People treat you like **** and especially fitness- it's last on their to do list.
I had a client scheduled for THANKSGIVING MORNING. One of my few days off from my regular job- and a day where it magically overlapped with my bf- so we could have spent it together- but I drug myself out of bed and off to the gym to train- and the pair of them not only didn't show up- they didn't call or text me to tell me they weren't coming.
People are rude- constantly. they are late- they complain- they don't call. They treat you like a doormat- because "we are paying them- they can wait- whatever"
really? We are people who do other stuff to- and I have had people ruin my whole weekend by not putting in a simple phone call to tell me they were cancelling- I take pride in being there for my clients and I jump through hoops to be there when I'm supposed to be.
Trust me- it's hard to take it on a constant basis- unless you've done it- you have no idea. Yeah- this isn't extremely professional- but the reality is it hurts and it sucks as a professional. People do this because they love it- and want to help people- and instead of helping people they wind up hating their passion because most of the people don't care enough to try.
The good ones- they are what keep you coming back- and they keep your soul in your body- but the rest of them- they make it hard to love what you do- they can make you jaded and bitter.
I suggest walking a mile in the shoes before you start judging.
I'm a nurse. You think dealing with healthy people as a certified trainer is difficult? Try dealing with them when they're sick and in pain. Not only are you on the patient's $h!t list when you tell him no he can't have another pain pill, the doctor wrote one every six hours and it's only been two, but you are also attacked by families, pharmacists, other nurses (oh, yes, the phrase "nursing eats its young" is completely true), housekeepers, chaplains, social workers, the state and JCAHO inspectors, don't forget those that are lawsuit happy, etc., etc. Patient and family attitudes are difficult to take but understandable. The rest less so.
Oh, yeah, don't forget the non-adherent patients. Those that decide they don't need to take their medication, can't afford it because cigarettes, booze or meth is more important, or have found a "natural" (read: useless) concoction given to them by some guy that their cousin's brother-in-law knows who sells the, at best useless, at worst deadly, crap from a lawn chair on a street corner.
I've worked every Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's for the last five years. All day.
I'm not posting this to whine , although admittedly I did more than a little of that, I am posting this to remind the OP and the above ^^ they are not the only ones whose jobs require dealing with difficult personalities. Whining on chat rooms is unprofessional and gives the impression that trainers are drags on society - I'm sure most aren't.
You forgot dealing with emotional baggage of losing patients. I have 2 friends who are nurses, 1 in a pediatric wing and the things she's had to deal with makes me think she's got nerves of steal as i couldn't handle it. Actually it's not just the human medical field, Vets get the same flack as doctors and nurses from irate pet owners. I don't think any of them would vent on an open forum though that's for sure.0 -
Here's a thought: Since they PAY YOU not the other way around, why don't you come up with a different plan that works best for YOUR client? Being condescending and rude doesn't help matters. I'd be pissed if I was paying you and found out you came on a site airing dirty laundry and acting a fool. You would be fired. Just sayin
There isn't a plan on earth that's going to help someone who won't follow a plan.0 -
Edit because it's just not worth it...0
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Which is why I don't stress myself out or feel as if I'm not accomplishing anything. Some people will disagree with my training philosophy and if they do, then they probably shouldn't seek me out as their trainer.
I think if you don't wanna suck it up and take the money of people who aren't following plans right the above is definitely a better way of going about things than posting a massive online rant that at least one of your clients has now seen lolI make my clientele list easy.............................................I choose who to work out with. I consult, assess and work with them for a couple of weeks. If I feel they can continue to improve or aren't going to be a big pain in the *kitten*, then I continue with them. If not, I let them know that I'm probably not the best fit for them. And I've turned away quite a few people who went on with other trainers and either succeeded or not. Whatever the outcome, it worked out for both myself and them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0
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