Life Goals (sorry it is long)

tammymoberg
tammymoberg Posts: 31 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
I have a question that is sort of fitness related and sort of life goal related. I need some non-biased replies please.

Here's the question:
I am 37 years old and overweight. I'm very fit and strong, just not a slender girl at all. I want to become a personal trainer because I've always wanted to help people and my trainer has been very inspiring for me. If I became a PT while I'm still a "work in progress," do you think people would not want to train with me?

Now the back story. Ten years ago we lost our son to a terrible terminal disease. I've battled grief, depression, anxiety, PTSD and everything in between. I have finally dug myself out of most of it alone, but I want to help others who feel as helpless as I once did.

Sorry for the long post, thank you for taking time to read it and consider it for me!

Replies

  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    I love your reasoning behind this goal, but there are considerations to make here.

    Here is my thing. If I'm going to sign up with a personal trainer, I don't necessarily care if they're overweight (as long as they're not obese, which is a warning flag to me). My current trainer actually shared with me that she's trying to lose a few after a tough year. It was endearing and it didn't cause me to lose faith in her abilities as a trainer at all.

    HOWEVER - if you don't know what you're doing, you can cause someone significant injury in your attempt to help them. Personal trainers work with people who are often desperate and confused. A lot of these people have never lifted a weight and don't know anything about form or control. A two-week "trainer certification" class at 24 Hour Fitness is not going to teach you the information you need to know to help these people and you will have taken their money for nothing. Education is the most important requirement for any trainer.

    To put this in perspective, my last two trainers have both had masters degrees in Sports Medicine. They're both registered dieticians. One of them worked as an unpaid intern in a physical therapist's office for two years before she ever took on paying clients. She learned everything she could about form, control, what various diseases and injuries do to the human body, and how diet fits into the equation.

    Is this a high standard? Absolutely. But I have repeatedly injured myself with trainers who didn't know enough about how the body works to do the job. It's so much more than just telling someone to do 15 reps of curl presses. So please - if this is something you honestly want to do for the sake of helping others - educate yourself as much as possible. Otherwise, you're taking their money for nothing.
  • tammymoberg
    tammymoberg Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks for your input, I greatly appreciate it! I forgot to add that I have a degree in physical therapy, but decided the medical profession is not for me. I'm currently taking a course to become a trainer that is pretty similar to the education I have already received. I will be well educated, just working on myself in the process. Not obese, just solid! I want to help others who are struggling the way I have, and will continue to do!
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Honestly if a client saw their trainer transform with them I would feel that they practice what they preach.
  • tammymoberg
    tammymoberg Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks @yopeeps025 . I want to inspire someone who might be going through the same struggles to make a difference in their lives to improve quality of life!
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Thanks @yopeeps025 . I want to inspire someone who might be going through the same struggles to make a difference in their lives to improve quality of life!

    I feel the same way you do. It was weird though almost like a calling that I realize I have a passion for wanting to be a therapist.

    Honestly I would feel maybe your clientele would increase by a lot if a client said. " She told me what needed to be done. SHe did it also and look at us both."
  • tammymoberg
    tammymoberg Posts: 31 Member
    <3
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