Something I completely underestimated when I first started working in the fitness industry is the pure vanity surrounding it and the expectation that as someone who works in this industry you are supposed to look a certain way. It is expected from your Clients and on social media, it is expected from where you work and it is expected of yourself that you are in perfect physical condition. Isn’t it?
I was having a very positive and interesting chat this week to one of my Clients about this and it really triggered me to write this blog. She said ‘You do this every day. You are my PT, you are supposed to look like you do. I want to eventually look like that. How many workouts do you do per week?’
Am I supposed to look like I have just stepped out of a sports photography shoot every day? Is it expected that my answer should be ‘I train every day to look like this and its really hard work’?
I wanted to explore what others felt about this as well, both Clients and fellow PT’s.
After research, I believe there are definitely two schools of thought:
- You represent your brand and you have to look perfect.
- Its not about your results, its about your Clients results.
I have had the pleasure of training and working with some very fine Personal Trainers in my time and more than one of them have certainly not been on top physical form themselves. Did that make them bad PT’s? Not at all. I have never been worked so hard and obtained such good results. They were quite clear – ‘It is not about me at all, it is about my Client and their personal goals. As long as this is achieved by them with my guidance, it doesn’t matter what I look like.’
On the other hand, as a representative of the fitness industry should it not be our duty to look fit, healthy and take pride in what we look like? We should be inspirational for others and people to look to for guidance and what is achievable if you work hard in the gym and with your nutrition. I am a trained marketer as well and for me it is all about brand perception and self-PR. As a PT, you can be your best current case study – a walking billboard. You are the product of your own experimentation with different nutritional plans, exercise programmes and session frequency.
I will let you make up your own mind based on both arguments, but the most important factor in all of this is whether you decide to choose a PT who looks like they are on top form or not, I would suggest it is the PT who you feel you will get on best with, who you enjoy spending time with and who gets you the results you want – that is the key.
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