TV shows

[johnyc]

Trainers, and coaches are becoming more prominent in television shows. What shows do you all watch and what effect do you think it has had on the personal training industry and health and fitness in general?

I liked the show Workout. I think it portrays the career as fun, exciting, challenging, emotionally draining. Don't know how great of trainers they actually are for most clients, but I think there is a thing or two I learned in there about the business. It was neat to see glimpses of Jackie's attitude, and approach- she's definitely a successful entrepreneur.

Other shows I know of but haven't seen include the Biggest Loser, the last 10 pounds. What else is there?

What shows feature conditioning specialists?

[Jean-Paul]

Originally Posted by johnyc

Trainers, and coaches are becoming more prominent in television shows. What shows do you all watch and what effect do you think it has had on the personal training industry and health and fitness in general?

I liked the show Workout. I think it portrays the career as fun, exciting, challenging, emotionally draining. Don't know how great of trainers they actually are for most clients, but I think there is a thing or two I learned in there about the business. It was neat to see glimpses of Jackie's attitude, and approach- she's definitely a successful entrepreneur.

Other shows I know of but haven't seen include the Biggest Loser, the last 10 pounds. What else is there?

What shows feature conditioning specialists?

I couldn't disagree with you more about that show "Workout."

In all fairness I think I only made it about 10 minutes before I had to turn it off before throwing a kettlebell at my flatscreen TV.

It is an example of everything that has gone wrong with this industry. That show in particular made everything about the trainer instead of the client, which is very typical in this industry. It was a mockery of what we really do (or at least SHOULD do).

In my opinion, our ethics should be no different than a doctor's (albeit without all the credentials). Our purpose is to improve the health of the client. That simple. Be professional, be safe.

Playing mind games with clients or doing petty backbiting bullshit with other trainers just makes me roll my eyes. I would like for people to not think of high school popularity games as par for the course. If any trainer ever pulled that shit in my place I fired them on the spot.

I haven't seen the other shows you mentioned (biggest loser and so on) so I can't comment. I don't like the name of the show. The double entendre is clever, but it still basically calls it's participants losers. Yes, they may lose weight, but many people consider them losers already for being overweight, so why rub their faces in it?

Also, it contrasts again very sharply from my philosophy. I am focused on long term SUSTAINABLE results. Anyone can starve themselves in the short term. I don't think the people who participate have any dignity left, and the viewers seem to be entertained by that.

The trainers may be nice and/or competent... I don't know. It is probably a great opportunity for them. I just wish that we would see a healthier approach to fitness in the media (if you will pardon the pun). Quit making all trainers look like models/out-of-work actors... The best trainers I know would never make a show like that because they aren't small-boned metrosexuals or waifs with six-packs.

Okay, thanks for giving me something to vent about... I feel much better now.

[Tom@foresight]

Graet Post JP, realy agree with you 100%, it is not that much better here in the UK with amny trainers on TV and in the media in greneral concentraing on faddy type methods, rather than verall health!

TOM

[johnyc]

Yeah there are probably a ton faux pas in the show workout. Probably not the best influence for people want to become trainers and have no idea what the norms are. But then again the industry is quite a dynamic and diverse one. I'm sure there's a market for that kind of atmosphere..

A trainers appearance, that was hopefully attained to some degree by methods he/she uses with others, can be a good marketing tool. To all you trainers out there, what percentage of your clients, roughly, do you think come to you based largely on your physique? What percentage of your clients have main goals that are appearance based? Do you think there is a correlation between your client's goals and your physique?

[Jean-Paul]

Originally Posted by johnyc

A trainers appearance, that was hopefully attained to some degree by methods he/she uses with others, can be a good marketing tool. To all you trainers out there, what percentage of your clients, roughly, do you think come to you based largely on your physique? What percentage of your clients have main goals that are appearance based? Do you think there is a correlation between your client's goals and your physique?

None. Maybe being fit helped attract clients to me, but there is no correlation between my appearance and my clients'.

What's really sad is someone trying to sell people on how they can attain a similar look when their training knowledge really had little or nothing to do with the way they look. This especially applies to body builders. Fitness models in general generally AREN'T experts on fitness. This is a mistake that people who want to look like them generally make.

The abs classes in every major chain gym in the US are overflowing with people who have done more crunches in a week than I have done in 5 years, and the only thing they all have in common is that they don't have a six pack.

People flock to those with abs as if they know how they got them. They usually get them in spite of themselves. Matt (who goes by PowermanDL in here) is one of the most knowledgeable contributors to this forum. He looks strong from his pics, but you wouldn't see him shirtless and tan on the cover of a magazine or one one of those little shows. Yet to dismiss him you would do yourself an extreme disservice.

This doesn't mean that every person who has a good physique just got it from good genetics or drugs... It just means that you really shouldn't make that correlation. If you want to find out what someone's training knowledge is, sit down and talk with them.

I had James Newman writing my workouts for a while over a year ago when I was really burned out. They were excellent programs. He even came up to Little Rock and ran me through a couple of them. James at the time was about 300 pounds at 5'6". He had already lost over 250 pounds applying his knowledge to himself, and he was seriously one of the most knowledgeable people in the field, but using that criteria he wouldn't have made the cut.

[johnyc]

Don't know James, but wow that's a lot of weight lost. Def. going to look into his methods and the other trainer you mentioned.. Yeah for sure it all comes down to what the trainer knows and how he she applies that knowledge for the client and what results the clients experience. It's too bad I hope all those people doing abs don't get jaded and never use a trainer again..
About the Abs tho what kind of exercises do you use to build up the rectus abdominis?

[kuri]

If you think you need to "build up" your RA you need to go back to the drawing board.

Start reading and attending conferences - then you'll be way ahead of most trainers and "reality" show trainers.

True story - one of the dumbest trainers I have ever come across is now employed by the Biggest Loser.