Would you hire an obese trainer???

bm99

I'm actually amazed by these responses, especially since a good portion must be coming from overweight/obese people themselves? It saddens me that so many people can't find the motivation within themselves and need some 'dream vision of perfection' to kick them into gear. That isn't motivation. It's a cop out.

So, out of curiousity. If faced with two trainers, one who was overweight but considered the best in their field, and one who was slim but not as good at getting results, who would you choose?

What if your slim, lean trainer puts on weight (for whatever reason); would you fire them? What if they were still getting results?

I would choose a lean, qualified trainer. If the only good trainers were fat I would not hire a trainer at all. I would also avoid bodybuilding trainers, someone who I knew had an eating disorder, someone who smoked or someone who I knew hit up McD's 3 times a day. If I'm going to someone to be taught I expect them to live it.

For me, it has nothing to do with "eye candy". I want someone who is living a fit healthy lifestyle to teach me how to live a fit healthy lifestyle. I want someone I can take seriously, so when they tell me to give it everything I have I know that they do the same thing. I don't need someone I can relate to because they're fat too, to hold my hand and talk about my feelings. I want someone to push me hard.

If my slim trainer gains weight and appears to have lost control of themselves, hell yeah I'd fire them.

I'm shocked anyone is REALLY offended that some people don't want a fat personal trainer.

I'm also shocked by how easily we judge a book by its cover. Yes I understand that a slim trainer gives us extra motivation to push harder since we all want a slim body right? However we shouldn't just based everything on the outside. I've seen some slim trainers at my gym who seem out of shape, easily gets tired while catching breath & couldn't perform the workout properly while on the other side, I encountered an overweight dance instructor who seems full of energy & he never gets tired.

Exercise doesn't have anything to do with being fat. The biggest factor is in the diet. Now if you ask me if I should take an obese person's advice on cutting calories then that's the time that I will be hesitant.

I'm not hiring an accountant here. It is completely reasonable to expect a fitness trainer to look FIT. The fact that you know a crappy thin trainer has nothing to do with what I would want in my trainer. I'm sure there is no shortage of thin people who are qualified and experienced as personal trainers.

I'm shocked that there are even fat people trying to make it as personal trainers, the idea never occurred to me.

That's because it is easy to get a certificate to be a certified PT. As long as you can perform the workouts properly & pass the medical test then boom you're now a PT regardless what your waist line is.

Wow, well that sounds easy. I actually didn't know there was any real standard or certification lol I'm way too poor financially and time wise to even need to consider hiring one at this point. I can see how you would want to make sure the person knows what they're about, though, any serious training can cause injury if not done correctly.

It sounds like I'm fat bashing but I would not want someone underweight either.

discodaddy61

point is i am a physical therapist and a personal trainer i have recently lost 81 pounds but i am still considered obese but i follow avery strict exercise program and eating regimen plus i work out 5 x a week. i am an avid cyclist and dare anyone out there to match me mile for mile on a daily basis or even for a whole week. that being said would i get hired because of my looks or my example of living right and trying to improve my health?? and yes i know my business!!!!

vanishingirl77

Yep, I would. Because the path to becoming fit once you are already obese is a long one, and as long as that trainer was on the journey with me, it would be fine. it's really sad how people automatically look at a fat person and make all sorts of judgements about them, because they might not be accurate. I know with me, i'm still huge, but that is a result of past choices, not my current lifestyle. And honestly, I'd feel more comfortable with someone who had lost 50-60 lbs but was still considered obese rather than someone who was raised in a fit family and has no idea what it's like to be a fat person working out.

discodaddy61

Yep, I would. Because the path to becoming fit once you are already obese is a long one, and as long as that trainer was on the journey with me, it would be fine. it's really sad how people automatically look at a fat person and make all sorts of judgements about them, because they might not be accurate. I know with me, i'm still huge, but that is a result of past choices, not my current lifestyle. And honestly, I'd feel more comfortable with someone who had lost 50-60 lbs but was still considered obese rather than someone who was raised in a fit family and has no idea what it's like to be a fat person working out.

my thoughts exactly

Jezebel_Barbie

Fat =/= unfit.

Fat =/= unknowledgable.

By this logic how many professional sports coaches would be out of a job? If it's good enough for the top athletes in the world I think it's good enough for the rest of us. Why the hell you care how someone else eats/works out is beyond me. Hold yourself accountable, not everyone else.

bm99

Fat =/= unfit.

Fat =/= unknowledgable.

By this logic how many professional sports coaches would be out of a job? If it's good enough for the top athletes in the world I think it's good enough for the rest of us. Why the hell you care how someone else eats/works out is beyond me. Hold yourself accountable, not everyone else.

And when I am a professional sports player, I won't care what my coach looks like. But if I am working one on one with someone who is claiming to know how to make me fit and look awesome, I expect the same from them.

Why are you so butthurt over this? Opinions like mine cannot truly surprise you and surely you can see where the opposing side is coming from.

Jezebel_Barbie

Fat =/= unfit.

Fat =/= unknowledgable.

By this logic how many professional sports coaches would be out of a job? If it's good enough for the top athletes in the world I think it's good enough for the rest of us. Why the hell you care how someone else eats/works out is beyond me. Hold yourself accountable, not everyone else.

And when I am a professional sports player, I won't care what my coach looks like. But if I am working one on one with someone who is claiming to know how to make me fit and look awesome, I expect the same from them.

Why are you so butthurt over this? Opinions like mine cannot truly surprise you and surely you can see where the opposing side is coming from.

Your opinion doesn't surprise me. It saddens me. For both the coach, and yourself.

Casandra237

I wouldn't say that obese people lack the knowledge to train effectively, but I probably wouldn't train with them unless they were attempting to change their weight and were knowledgeable. This is mainly because I want someone who either knows how to be fit personally OR that is going through/has gone through what I currently am. I'm not saying that they can't be effective, but I would want a trainer that practices those things or else I just don't think we'd be compatible and that compatibility is just as important as their physique and knowledge base.

FlaxMilk

I'd love an overweight trainer! If I had the money, I think a really in shape trainer would intimidate me. That's my issue, not the trainer's fault, but that is what it is. I'd feel more comfortable with someone with some problem zones of their own, so long as they are nice.

I'm hiring them to train me while I'm in the gym to learn physical abilities and techniques, not to teach me how to live my whole life through example only. I don't need my trainer to be my physicality role model.

Bobby_Clerici

Sure, I'd hire him...to bake cookies....lol

Bobby_Clerici

And when I am a professional sports player, I won't care what my coach looks like. But if I am working one on one with someone who is claiming to know how to make me fit and look awesome, I expect the same from them.

^^^^^^^^^
THIS - if a man can't produce fruit in his own life, what good is he as a consultant?
Would you hire a homeless person for financial advice?
A fool might...lol
Seriously, a fat trainer is a joke.

TavistockToad

No, I would want someone who looked better than me!

Laces_0ut

No. i'd want someone who practices what the preach. id also assume he's probably new to fitness and training and i would prefer someone who's been doing it a long time.

beauand1

I've known a lot of thin trainers that didn't know a word of what they were saying. I'd ask them questions and they would give me a blank stare.

Thin doesn't always equal healthy....I mean, I can starve myself, too, but it doesn't mean I'm healthy.

Laces_0ut

i wouldn't want a skinny trainer either. i want one with nice muscle development and low BF%.

victoria4321

Fat =/= unfit.

Fat =/= unknowledgable.

By this logic how many professional sports coaches would be out of a job? If it's good enough for the top athletes in the world I think it's good enough for the rest of us. Why the hell you care how someone else eats/works out is beyond me. Hold yourself accountable, not everyone else.

And when I am a professional sports player, I won't care what my coach looks like. But if I am working one on one with someone who is claiming to know how to make me fit and look awesome, I expect the same from them.

Why are you so butthurt over this? Opinions like mine cannot truly surprise you and surely you can see where the opposing side is coming from.

Your opinion doesn't surprise me. It saddens me. For both the coach, and yourself.

Why does it sadden you? A coach trains you for something very specific. Most coaches know you physically cannot play that sport for life. I take it that you've never played any competitive sports because you don't seem to realize the beating your body takes. Coaches don't train you in a sport to look pretty they train you to win and to get results. This has little to do with what you look like. Of course looking fit is a side effect but its not the main goal. Even in sports where you have to cut and make weight, you don't maintain that weight forever.

You hire a fitness trainer to teach you to maintain your fitness for life. If they cannot maintain their own fitness then obviously their method doesn't work.

meshashesha2012

i would, but just for strength training and only if they had a background in powerlifting

but otherwise, umm no thanks

Diluteddante

But if I am working one on one with someone who is claiming to know how to make me fit and look awesome, I expect the same from them.

Why? Only their knowledge matters.

stepharega

No. Ever heard of "practice what you preach"?

RobynMWilson

I'm sorry...If I were to hire a trainer I would want to pick someone who is a product of his or her own product...