Shows like The Biggest Loser have cemented the stereotypical image of a personal trainer in many people’s minds. They think of personal training in Coconut Creek as a profession dominated by sleek rippling supermodels screaming at their charges to torture them. This image of a personal trainer is about as truthful as the Greek Gods many feel they should look like. Let’s examine a few personal training myths and separate fact from fiction.
Personal Trainers Are Sadistic
This is definitely the most pervasive myth in pop culture. The overweight man is on the treadmill stumbling forward like a zombie while his personal trainer shouts things like, “The pain is good! Embrace the pain!” The pain is not good. Some amount of soreness will always occur, especially when you’re just starting a routine, but if you’re in serious pain, you are in danger of actually hurting yourself, and a good personal trainer will recognize that. Trainers provide encouragement during a work-out, they won’t berate you.
Personal Trainers Are All Exercise Freaks
Personal trainers are often held up to a standard of being constantly obsessed with exercise. This is definitely true for some outside cases, but most personal trainers are simply human beings who work in their specialty. If you feel like your trainer isn’t good enough because he doesn’t have a rippling six-pack, understand that not all trainers want to be completely chiseled. Many, like you, simply want to be in shape and healthy. Furthermore, the ones most driven to exercise themselves might not be the best and getting results in others. Obviously, an overweight personal trainer is a bit of a red flag, but don’t pick your trainer on who most closely resembles Adonis.
Personal Trainers Have It Easy
A source of resentment among some, there is a persistent belief that personal trainers can’t understand the struggle of their overweight clients, being in good shape themselves. In reality, many of those personal trainers have not always been in great shape. Many, in fact, chose to become personal trainers because they walked the path back from overweight to healthy, and they want to help others do the same. Even if they didn’t, staying healthy is a battle fought anew every day, and that goes for everyone.
Personal Trainers Make Working Out Easier
No one can make working out easier. Whether you do it on your own, with a trainer, or with a class, at the end of the day, the effort comes from within. Expecting others to lighten the load is a quick way to disappointment. What personal trainers do is make your goals more attainable, not easier. The effort and will still needs to come from you, but the trainer can shape that effort into the most efficient patterns, and make sure your hard work isn’t wasted.
