Fitness is Dead...

Fitness has been buried alive by mediocrity.

"Hip Hop is Dead"-Nas

Well, fitness is dead too...


The parallels between the hip hop game and the fitness game are eerily similar.  First of all, let me state that there are many great rap artists and many great personal trainers.  But in that same breath there are also a lot of one hit wonders.  There is a lot of commercialization of the industry.  There are a lot of cats only concerned with bloviating worthless theories and taking money from unknowing people.  And there is definitely a lack of creativity and passion these days.

In my time in this industry I have witnessed a myriad of things.  I have witnessed trendy training gimmicks that promise incredible results.  I have witnessed massive amounts of ads in magazines for phony supplements promising physical perfection in just a few short weeks.  And all of this tomfoolery has led to a tragedy that hits home hard...the death of fitness and more specifically personal training.  An industry seen by a lot of people as a joke.  And unfortunately with how PT is used by many big box gyms, I cannot blame the unknowing onlooker for thinking the industry is full of charlatans.  Now as I stated earlier there are MANY excellent, experienced, and intellectual personal trainers.  Men who I have studied and learned from.  The Charles Poliquins of the world.  The Christian Thibaudeaus.  The Jim Wendlers.  The Joe Francos.  Let me not forget those who have passed on including the G.O.A.T of physique sculpting Vince Gironda, the iconic Arthur Jones and the Godfather of Fitness, Jack LaLanne.  And the many other great strength coaches and trainers who I may not know of.  Men who have the results and programs to justify the title of PT.  But this is the vast minority.   I am going to address few reasons why the industry is dead:

1) Low Barrier of Entry

So...is it ethical for someone to be deemed "certified" in a field after a 3 hour class on Saturday morning at the local box gym?  The ease of entry into the industry is easier than the 1st level on Super Mario Bros!  I find it disturbing to walk into a gym and see these hired goons who have no business training anyone taking uninformed clients through a range of ineffective, unsafe, and unusual movements.  It seems as if anyone in the gym can call themselves a trainer.  What is worse in this new technology era is that there are countless amounts of egregious videos on Youtube showing bad form and routines by these so-called trainers.  Check out the current state of affairs in most gyms across the nation below:

The truth has come to the light...

I believe a trainer should look the part.  I have seen many trainers who looked like stone cold thoroughbreds.  But most times this is due to them having amazing genetics.  When I watch them train themselves I am regularly stunned by the lack of intensity and effort.  Even worse when they are training a client I truly have to scratch my head in awe.  Haphazard training at best.  It is crazy, but I recently watched a "top" commercial gym trainer SIT and watch her client SIT on a bench and perform the worst session ever...random delt raises, heavy conversation, and fake hustle inspiration ("Yeah you are killing it!"  Meanwhile the trainer is looking at the wall clock the whole time).  I highly doubt there was any kind of pre-workout consultation about fitness goals, injury history, nutrition, etc.  Just some random, terrible workout.

It is also of the up most importance that a trainer practice what they preach.  You cannot preach about the benefits of hard sprints or heavy compound lifts if you perform neither!  I once worked with guy at the local box gym who would preach about the benefits of the squat.  Meanwhile this man had pipes for legs and had never stepped foot inside the cage!  But because he was hired by Zally Total Fitness and took the 3 hour course he is now an expert?!  This incompetence makes us all look bad.  No way this "trainer" has any knowledge of the game.  But now that they have the IAAA master trainer cert they know it all? The bottom line is that with a higher regulations to get into the field, these 1 day cert trainers would be eliminated.

It does not take much effort for anyone to enter when the barrier is a 12 inch jump.  Even Peter Griffin could jump it.

2) Certifications

There are many, many personal training certification companies in America.  Some legit and some a complete joke.  My personal belief is that personal training is trade where you must continually enhance your education.  I believe this is best done through a combination of reading books and articles, your own training successes and failures, and the training of many different types of clients.  I do not believe that because you attain a certification that you are totally legit.  Letters after the last name in some instances can be absolutely meaningless.  I believe that the results you attain for yourself and the results you attain for clients proves your worth.  I have worked with many who were certified at the highest level in this industry.  The most vaunted certs in the country.  But when it came to training, they were as lost and disorganized as the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles (my team is pathetic this year).  In another case, a good friend of mine had a second rate, bottom of the barrel certification for years.  But he is one the best trainers I know and his clients are in fantastic shape.  As you see it can go both ways.  Though he did not have a great certification, he constantly learned daily through books, articles, and his training experiences.

The certifications I attained have taught me far less of what I know about personal training than the methods I described above.  I read books and articles daily.  I have constantly experimented on myself like a mad scientist to deduce what movements and protocols were effective and which ones were not.  I have studied how food and sleep impact your physique and recovery.  None of this was learned through certification.  Experience and learning through books and articles has taught me.  Trainers should definitely have to be certified, but the standards must change.  A client deserves a competent trainer.  A 3 hour class on Saturday morning is not good enough.  An online course for $89 is blasphemous.  It cheapens the entire industry.  And do not get me started on the yearly re-certification courses.  Are the current companies really trying to educate trainers to perform well or are they trying to line their pockets with heavy amounts of cash?

Does this piece of 1 cent paper really justify a person is fit to be a trainer?

3)  False Prophets

Now this is the area that hits home the hardest.  The most flagrant offense is when words exit these trainers mouths.  Many clients who I have trained walk in the door with sour taste in their mouth when it comes to training.  The scenario is always the same.  They have been duped into a big money PT contract from a commercial gym and a super trainer, and saw no results.  Ever.  However they are still being billed for unused sessions due to the fact that they signed off on a 1 or 2 year contract.  A woman I was conversing with 6 months ago told me "I have 50 unused sessions.  I left that gym because everything my trainer urged me to do did not work.  Hundreds of crunches, magazine routines, low calorie dieting, and a lot of moves that felt unsafe.  I did NOT get stronger or leaner in 6 months."  Wow.  This is a sad story.  When this happens, the former client then becomes very apprehensive about EVER training again.  Many trainers in my area are definitely false prophets.  They do not look the part, they do not live the life, and they use any gimmick they can to trick people to think that they have all the answers.

Even if you are a great trainer, you will feel the former client's uncertainty.  As a trainer, selling lies, gimmicks, and bogus programming is despicable.  Being honest about your clients situation is what must occur.  If someone is pretty overweight, and under the impression they can lose 20lbs a month, you have to tell them it is not possible under healthy circumstances.  Lying to make money does not fly.  If someone wants a specific result maybe fat loss or strength, you as a trainer should have the appropriate nutrition and training protocol to acheive the result.  Not just a random mixture of exercises and hoping that it works.  You are not being paid to hope.

Ma'am I do not think he has any answers.

In closing, personal training can be reborn.  The great trainers must continue to raise the standards of what a personal trainer should stand for.  If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.  Fitness is a great industry and it will offer people new life.  Fitness is the fountain of youth!  I have personally trained many people who feel younger, stronger, and have a better outlook on life when they are fit.  And with better regulations to entry and tougher standards on certification, you will automatically weed out most of the garbage in the industry.  When someone appears with their flashy certification and clipboard it means nothing.  When someone appears fit, educated, and hungry to learn then it means the world.  So let us bring PT back from place where it is now which is in the dustbins of oblivion.  Have passion and have pride when training clients.  Do not use gimmicks and lies to make money.  Stay educated and stay current on the industry.  And whatever you do, do not follow the majority because in this case, majority loses.