To be a qualified, great, caring trainer, what do you need to look like?
Hint: They are mutually exclusive. One is not needed for the other.
Trainers can look like:
- marathon runners
- jacked dudes
- someone’s grandmother or grandfather
- transitioning or genderqueer
- overweight
- underweight
- jacked chicks
- coffee addicts
- vegans
- someone with permanent great tan lines from being outside all of the time
- smiling
- serious
- strong & steady
- fast & nimble
- everyday Jo Blow
- tall
- short
Most people out there looking for a trainer just want someone who they can relate to.
Often a great person for us to learn from is someone who is just ahead of us on the journey, so if you are a trainer who is still on your own fitness journey (which we all are) then you are in a great position to help someone just starting out on their own fitness journey.
I’ve never had a visible 6-pack, or been the strongest guy in the gym, or great at running long distances, but I don’t think even one of the hundreds of clients I trained ever gave one single shit about that.
Who you are as a person and how you care about your client’s success and wellbeing is what matters. Stick to that and stop wasting energy worrying what you look like.
Inspired by: Your trainer doesn’t have to look like a fitness model to be good at their job
Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.
Love this! Sometimes I play the comparison game with my fellow trainers at my gym and I really have to take a reality check and remind myself that it doesn’t matter what I look like! My enthusiasm, knowledge, and compassion for my clients is what matters most.
Thank you for posting this!
Hell yeah Katie and you’re welcome!