Hello my warriors! Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard about the Netflix documentary on The Biggest Loser. Lots of people have had lots of things to say about it, and if you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know I have thoughts. But I want to express them from a bit of a different perspective.
I want to start this off by being absolutely transparent: I watched all of half an episode of The Biggest Loser during its 2004-2016 run. As a relatively new grad, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and ended up so disgusted by the treatment of the contestants that I couldn’t physically watch. I have also not seen the Netflix documentary, Fit for TV. I have tangentially kept up with the post series research detailing weight regain, damage to the participants’ metabolism, disordered eating habits, and psychological trauma. None of which surprises me, quite frankly.
I don’t need a documentary to tell me that NBC traded ratings and profits for people’s physical, mental, and psychological well-being. And while the show made sure to inform viewers that the contestants were “medically supervised,” I think it’s obvious that was code for malpractice. It is important to note that The Biggest Loser was only the best known of this type of show; there were others. The true shame and lasting legacy of these shows has to do with personal trainers.
Personal trainers on The Biggest Loser (and, again, other similar shows) were cruel. Straight up, I am not going to sugar coat this. But the cruelty was packaged and sold as motivation. Most people will still cite motivation as a reason for exercise struggles thinking that their internal monologue needs to sound like a TV trainer. What we saw on these shows wasn’t motivation, it was abuse. And then gaslighting.
Many prospective clients are terrified to start working with a personal trainer. While they want help with motivation, nobody wants to be demeaned and demoralized. More to the point, nobody deserves that. But because that is the general public’s view of what a personal trainer does, there is a huge barrier of fear that needs to be overcome. Meaning many miss out on opportunities to improve their physical, mental, and psychological health.
So, let me, a personal trainer and teacher with over two decades of experience and alphabet soup after my name, break this down. A trainer who resorts to abusive tactics is not a trainer that deserves your well earned money or time. Abuse can be demanding a workout that you are physically unable to complete or that places your safety at undue risk. Abuse can include insults, name calling, or other demeaning language. And abuse can include using manipulative strategies to circumvent your consent and body autonomy.
Any trainer worth their certification should be able to talk with you respectfully and come up with a basic plan that will move you towards your goals while maintaining safety. But again, let me be clear, that should be a bare minimum. A good trainer will learn about you. Both who you are as a person and your specific fears and hang ups around exercise. A good trainer will note which exercises you enjoy and include them as much as appropriate. And a good trainer will listen to client feedback and adjust.
A great trainer, though? A great trainer will lift you up. Yes, it’s a ridiculous pun on my part and a bit cliché, but so very true. A great trainer will do everything a good trainer does, but will create an environment around exercise that is exciting and engaging. You will want to show up. Maybe not every single workout, you are after all human; but more often than not. A great trainer will give you the confidence to try an exercise you might be wary of. A great trainer can inspire you to do something you didn’t even think you were capable of doing.
In short, a great trainer is your personal hype section. If you can’t tell your trainer you had a slice of cake at a weekend birthday party without worrying about physical or verbal harassment, you need a new trainer. If you can’t vent about your boss forcing a bigger workload on you to your trainer without a sales pitch to buy sessions in packages, you need a new trainer. And if you don’t leave your workout tired but smiling, you need a new trainer.
Over the years, I’ve watched trainers get emotional over their client’s victories and setbacks. And I have many of my own stories on those fronts. But a great personal trainer does not and will not center themselves. The personal part of personal training is you. Some trainers would do well to remember that.
Until next time, be well friends!
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