Personal Training is such an odd thing. I’m not a doctor. I’m not licensed in any way. Sadly, anyone can pass an ACE personal training course and say they’re “certified.” Half of the stuff I learned in my NASM course I don’t use at all – hell, I didn’t even use it from day one – and all of the best things I’ve used have become things I’ve learned over time.
The Misconceptions About Personal Training
Personal training is weird like that. Most people assume having a personal trainer is a luxury or some sort of self-indulgence that only the upper middle class can have. Or that you get one once you hit a certain age and realize that, “well, I better start taking care of myself…”
But that’s not really the case. It’s a unique thing to try and explain to someone that you’re an expert at “exercise.” A lot of people would think that exercise is something anyone can do, even a child in elementary school can exercise – and that’s true. Exercise is like art. Anyone can do it. Anyone can have it as a hobby. But! That doesn’t mean anyone can simply become an expert at it immediately.
The Difference Between Exercise and Training
There’s a difference between exercising mindlessly as a calorie dump in an effort to “lose weight,” and training through a 6-week conditioning-focused block in an effort to improve cardiovascular function while still maintaining muscle mass through targeted nutrition.
The Marketing Aspect of Personal Training
Now, I will take a quick paragraph to mention that a lot of time, “trainer/gurus,” will go above and beyond to make things sound more complicated than they are. It’s part of the marketing aspect of being a trainer, to make yourself sound smarter than the other. It works, but it’s unnecessary. It’s true that in order to simply be healthier you just need to move more. That’s the biggest boulder of them all (in this metaphor, we’re cleaning out a stream to let it flow more and the idea is to move the bigger boulders then focus on the pebbles). So if all you want is to be healthier, move more and eat more vegetables/less sugary foods. Done.
The Role of a Coach in Personal Training
But let’s say you want to get better at your squat. Or, put even more simply, you want to move better. That’s where a coach comes in. It sounds silly to say, but being an expert at moving is what it’s about a lot of the time (at least in the weight room). Moving more efficiently, moving with more ease and safety, moving like an athlete – these are the things most people need help with. Treating your training like an athlete and developing the mentality that you’re not just showing up to “move,” that you’re showing up to improve how you move and changing your outlook on your lifestyle.
The Importance of Experience Over Certification
This is where a good personal trainer comes in. Not one who has a piece of paper (no one has ever asked for any of my certifications, not even gyms I’ve worked in), but one who has walked the walk and can talk the talk. Sure, a lot of people are strong, but can they put that into words and help you get better at it? A lot of insta people are lean and look good, but can they explain why you should eat one thing at one time and not another? Or better yet, can they encourage you to stick to a plan when you’re 4 weeks in and you’re discouraged because you don’t look 4 years in?
Conclusion: The Joy of Being a Personal Trainer
I love being a trainer. I love helping people grow and improving my craft each and every day. It’s part fitness coaching, it’s part nutrition guidance and it’s part habit therapy. It molds to the person doing it because, although exercise is a rather simple thing, having focused exercise to reach a certain goal isn’t so simple. I could probably change the oil in a car, but I couldn’t replace the transmission. Someone could probably jog on the treadmill and do lat pulldowns, but they couldn’t examine and explain why benching hurts their shoulder and what variations they could do to improve their sticking point coming off the chest.
I don’t think we need to begin licensing trainers and getting health insurance involved – medicalizing exercise isn’t the point here – but changing our perception of trainers and their odd position is. It’s an odd place to be in, but I love it and it’s worthwhile for me and others.