Overweight personal trainers

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  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Seriously, a good coach can take an athlete to the next level, they don't have to be the athlete themselves. A lot of top coaches for olympic athletes are pot-bellied old men. What of it?

    Like that one dude, Mark Rippetoe. Who would want to listen to someone who doesn't look lean and trim. What could he know anyway?

    (Sarcasm, if not obvious.)

    I was just watching one of his videos and noting how much better looking the guy demoing the move was than the Master.
  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
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    do you see a dentist with bad teeth?

    i had a dentist once that had crooked yellow teeth....he was a major smoker....his office a slight cigarette smell :sick:
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Seriously, a good coach can take an athlete to the next level, they don't have to be the athlete themselves. A lot of top coaches for olympic athletes are pot-bellied old men. What of it?

    Like that one dude, Mark Rippetoe. Who would want to listen to someone who doesn't look lean and trim. What could he know anyway?

    (Sarcasm, if not obvious.)

    I was just watching one of his videos and noting how much better looking the guy demoing the move was than the Master.

    Yeah, but you should see the starting strength DVD if you ever wondered who you would pay to train you. ;)
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
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    If I'm paying them money they better look good AND know their stuff. I don't care about their "personal journey" or if they're "healthy" or not.
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
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    looking fit is a complete myth, one of my good friends is a male model, he has 5% body fat rippling muscles everywhere but gets out of breath walking to the shops, he tried running 1.5 miles ( 2.4km) with me and finished about 3 minutes after me,

    looking fit and being fit are different things, im in the category of obese for my size but i have run several half marathons, completed olympic triathalons and just this weekend i did 40 miles in the peak district, running about 10 and walking the rest,

    if you want someone to train you who looks like the cover of mens health thats fine but if you want someone who can do the work out with you, dont pre judge on body shape and looks.


    by the way , im not a personal trainer, nor would i want to be. its not my calling, i like to exercise but not to be exercised
  • BigDougie1211
    BigDougie1211 Posts: 3,530 Member
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    To be 100% honest and tell the the truth - even when it's an ugly truth - I'm going to say what I DO and not what I should do.

    To me, if I'm going PAY you to coach me in how I workout and eat, I want to see that YOU are also able to do it. I think as a trainer you're also sort of selling yourself, you know? I feel like if even you can't do it, a certified trainer - than how the heck can I?

    Fair? Maybe not. I realize that they may also be out of shape and still have the knowledge I need - but again, I'm being honest about what I actually do, not what I should do.

    But I'm all about results based fitness.

    I love the honesty. And feel the same way. I wouldn't go to a hair dresser with bad hair or dentist with bad teeth. Just being honest. :-/

    Let's play a logic game.
    You live in an isolated town that has two dentists. You are unable to go to the next town in order to access their dentists.
    Dentist A has extremely straight, and exceptionally clean and strong teeth.
    Dentist B has crooked, and otherwise marginally better than average looking teeth.

    Which one do you go to?

    I'll play this game. I would go to the dentist that has better reviews. If dentist A has nice teeth but is a jerk, treats patients poorly and does crappy work, then I wouldn't waste my money.

    If dentist B has bad teeth but is caring, helpful and takes care of his patients and does good quality work, then I want to go to him.

    Can't judge a book by the cover..

    Understood. I'll give you the answer.

    Dentist B.

    Reason: A dentist cannot perform dental work on himself. So, he must go to his competitor for care. The quality of his work will be reflected in his competitor's mouth. Therefore, within this structure as stated above (only two options, etc.) the better choice is the one with the poor looking teeth, as his work is obviously better than his competitor's.

    THAT IS A QUITE ASTOUNDINGLY BRILLIANT ANSWER.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Seriously, a good coach can take an athlete to the next level, they don't have to be the athlete themselves. A lot of top coaches for olympic athletes are pot-bellied old men. What of it?

    Like that one dude, Mark Rippetoe. Who would want to listen to someone who doesn't look lean and trim. What could he know anyway?

    (Sarcasm, if not obvious.)

    I was just watching one of his videos and noting how much better looking the guy demoing the move was than the Master.

    Yeah, but you should see the starting strength DVD if you ever wondered who you would pay to train you. ;)

    Is there more than one answer to that question? I think not.
  • aproc
    aproc Posts: 1,033 Member
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    I've met a few who were a bit on the heavy side. That doesn't mean they don't know their stuff though. I'd much rather hire a trainer with a body similar to what I want in myself. That's just personal preference because I would rather have a trainer who applies the workouts to themselves and have achieved themselves what they are helping me with. With that being said though...I would definitely pick an overweight trainer who was better at lifts like deadlifts over a 'fit looking' trainer who doesn't use those exercises in their workouts.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I see this as just human nature in action.

    We all know appearance doesn't equal knowledge or the ability to convey it to others. BUT as a whole we are fairly judemental and want someoen who looks the part (and hopefully has the brains to back it). It's not a knock, it's just how we are wired.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    GENERALLY the trainers that are in the best shape are some of the worst trainers. GENERALLY they are the people that say, "Hey, I'm in great shape. I bet I could get people to pay me to train them."

    A lot of the top trainers are actually not in great shape.

    1. They are more concerned about getting their clients in great shape, opposed to themselves.
    2. They are too busy training clients to food prep and workout daily.

    Look at the trainer's clients, not themselves.
    In general I would agree. Our trainers where I work are in good shape and not great shape (myself included) and we really like to put programs together for clients to fit their needs.
    A trainer who's in great shape shows they know how to get themselves in that shape. It doesn't necessarily mean they can get others in that same shape. But I do believe that learning from successful people will help.
    And yes, the clients of the trainer speak more volumes than how they physically look.

    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
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    Nope.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    To be 100% honest and tell the the truth - even when it's an ugly truth - I'm going to say what I DO and not what I should do.

    To me, if I'm going PAY you to coach me in how I workout and eat, I want to see that YOU are also able to do it. I think as a trainer you're also sort of selling yourself, you know? I feel like if even you can't do it, a certified trainer - than how the heck can I?

    Fair? Maybe not. I realize that they may also be out of shape and still have the knowledge I need - but again, I'm being honest about what I actually do, not what I should do.

    But I'm all about results based fitness.

    I love the honesty. And feel the same way. I wouldn't go to a hair dresser with bad hair or dentist with bad teeth. Just being honest. :-/

    Or a financial advisor who had bad credit and no savings, etc. For certain things you need to walk the talk in order to be credible. Personal Training is one of them.
  • NiSan12
    NiSan12 Posts: 374 Member
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    To be 100% honest and tell the the truth - even when it's an ugly truth - I'm going to say what I DO and not what I should do.

    To me, if I'm going PAY you to coach me in how I workout and eat, I want to see that YOU are also able to do it. I think as a trainer you're also sort of selling yourself, you know? I feel like if even you can't do it, a certified trainer - than how the heck can I?

    Fair? Maybe not. I realize that they may also be out of shape and still have the knowledge I need - but again, I'm being honest about what I actually do, not what I should do.

    But I'm all about results based fitness.

    MY THOUGHTS AS WELL
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    there was a gym i used to workout at and this employee was huge i mean like fat hanging over the pants double chin and huge arms and legs and she was the lifegaurd at the pool there.......you could tell it exhausted her to walk from one side of the pool to the other i could only imagine how exhausting it would be for her to save somebody

    Being overweight is perhaps a plus in a pool situation (fat floats).

    I'd worry more about a really skinny lifeguards ability to rescue me (get my head above water and haul me to an edge).
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    While I'm likely to be a bit more resentful of the instructions an overweight PT would give me (follow your own advice, why dontcha?), if I saw that his/her clients were in awesome shape, or were getting there fast and credited him/her, I'd hire him/her and suck it up. You don't have to be fit to be an excellent coach or motivator, and that's what I'd be needing.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I suspect that there is room for all shapes.

    At the gym I'm a member of - the super fit trainers seem to train super fit clients, the super strong trainers seem to train super strong clients and the overweight trainers seem to train overweight clients.

    And if I was looking for a trainer - at least when I started - I'd probably look for "someone like me". As my goals change - I'd re-evaluate this choice.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    There are good and bad trainers of all body types and fitness levels. Personally, I would only work with one who practised what they preached. Ideally, vs a genetically gifted young male I would rather work with a trainer who has him or herself lost weight, knowing the struggle can be more than just getting some self control. In a perfect world! lol
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    To be 100% honest and tell the the truth - even when it's an ugly truth - I'm going to say what I DO and not what I should do.

    To me, if I'm going PAY you to coach me in how I workout and eat, I want to see that YOU are also able to do it. I think as a trainer you're also sort of selling yourself, you know? I feel like if even you can't do it, a certified trainer - than how the heck can I?

    Fair? Maybe not. I realize that they may also be out of shape and still have the knowledge I need - but again, I'm being honest about what I actually do, not what I should do.

    But I'm all about results based fitness.

    Definitely fair. I feel the same way. If you as a PT have no self control and discipline, how can you be charging money to teach people that?
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    This is a really interesting discussion! I'm currently working on a PT cert course to get the knowledge and to possibly start training people in the future. My main passion in this industry is the weight loss/nutrition aspect but I know exercise is also important so if I do ever take on clients, I want to be able to address both sides with some actual medical knowledge, not just the things I've learned for myself along the way.

    Currently I'm about 25 pounds overweight and have gotten interesting reactions from a couple people I've told (both guy relatives) who sort of looked me over and gave me a face. Most of the women have been supportive because they know more about my transformation thus far and that would make them more likely to ask me for advice/guidance. So I guess it's all about perspective and what you know about the person.
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    I wouldn't be put off by it. You have no idea what sort of genetics that trainer has themselves, or where they started. That plump trainer might have been 400 lbs. a few years ago. And that super fit-looking trainer may be one of those genetic freaks who can live on a diet of lard and cheetos and still look like a fitness model.

    I'd be more interested in the shape their clients are in.

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