Personal Trainers v. The Genetic Wonderchild

Perception is reality.

My friend told me that in a discussion we were having. I was so ready to argue because perceptions are different than reality, yet as I kept thinking...I realized what you percieve as real is indeed real until that perception is shattered.

In relation to this post, I'm sure we have all seen someone who looks aesthetically magnificent and maybe even desired to achieve similar results in our own fitness journey. This person you find out was born with all those kick ass features. Those nice calves, big arms, massive chests. Nice butts, flat stomach, chiseled quads.

Some of us weren't so lucky in the genetic department. I call people born with those great genetic features "Genetic Wonderchildren". Everyone admires their bodies and associates their looks with hard work. These "Wonderchildren" even go as far as to give people "tips" and "tricks" on how to get like them. Meal plans and workouts "designed" to get you into the land of aesthetic masterclass. "Guaranteed" to get you bigger, stronger, sexier, and optimum everything! How much do they really know though? How else do you learn except working at it? Researching? Experimenting? Why do you need to if you already are born with the end result? Would YOU go out looking for a nice car if you already have your dream car? No?! This is my point.

A vast majority of these "Genetic Wonderchildren" don't possess the knowledge base to give you any "tips" and "tricks" on how to get like them. In reality there are no tricks, only well directed efforts. Tips come from professionals. Professionals like certified trainers, licensed specialists, those with degrees in a certain field of study. The argument is that "well, a piece of paper doesn't make you any more knowing than anyone else!' or (my personal favorite) "you bought a certification, and now you think you can try to tell people about fitness?" All because I don't look like an ex-bodybuilder or have some massive starpower. You don't know our stories. Some of us are helping others get to their goals while working on ours. Personally, I'm as heavy as I've ever been right now in my life and I still look like a trackstar. I've worked hard for what I have and I work just as hard to get others what they want. My certification alone doesn't make me professional. My knowledge does, I research outside of the scope of what I've been taught. I research specifically for each client to ensure they reach success. But, if I stand onside of a guy 15lbs heavier with more definition and simply say "I can help you achieve your fitness goals!" I'm almost sure they'd go with the bigger guy. No research. Nothing more.

Thing is your body is your house, your sanctuary, your vessel in this life. You wouldn't put unknown nonsense in your car because a stranger told you it would work, so why would you do that with your body? You could seriously demolish yourself internally. Creating muscle dysfunctions, arthrokinematic dysfunctions, injury, organ dysfunction, and so many more negatives. These "instatrainers" and "genetic wonderchildren" sell their "tips" and "tricks" and people actually pay money for a plan not tailored to them at all then wonder why they have issues later. Dysfunctions are a serious thing. They lead to injury and injury leads to worse things if it isn't properly addressed. If thats not enough for us trainers, when a program from them fails WE get slammed for it. The whole industry gets blamed for that. Which is completely unfair. If you drop something and injure my foot why should I be upset with your entire family for something YOU did?

How about this: Lets say you've been in training for x amount of time to become a professional yourself. You've been working your tail off. Stressing about the possible outcomes but persevering. You finally finish training, and you did really well, so you apply for jobs in your field. You're excited. You just know you're good because you worked for it, you know your stuff like your own birthdate. You get a call back from the place of business and you set up your interview. They tell you that you are 1 of 2 candidates chosen to be interviewed for this position and that you'd be interviewed second. They prefer if you were there a bit early to keep the process moving along pretty quickly. You're good with that, you arrive early and wait your turn. While you wait you sort of overhear the person before you getting interviewed and it gives you even more confidence because they don't sound like they know as much as you do! Its your turn to go in and the interview goes well! You're told they will call back in about a weeks time. You're so stoked about the next week because you're all but 100% positive that you were the better well equipped candidate. BUT WAIT. You get a call the week later from this place of business telling you that you didn't get the job. You're curious as to why, the interview went well in your opinion. Why didn't you get hired though? When you ask about it the big boss tells you that they went with the other person, simply because they looked better which enables them to better represent the brand. They also apologize for any inconvenience. How does that make you feel? Furious? Baffled? How about sheer disgust and disbelief?? NOW WE'RE TALKING! That's how WE feel when we're overlooked by those who don't posses anything other than an aesthetic over us to help them get to a better place in health and fitness. Feels great doesn't it? *sarcasm* In conclusion. Pay attention to who you're hiring and why. Certified professionals have the knowledge base to really take you somewhere and just as in all other professions, some are better than others. Its better and a more safe bet to go with someone who has the knowledge than not.

#fitness #perception #reality #muscles #dysfunctions #personaltraining