It's my hope that people who work with me get far more than some fitness tips. I want them to get an complete education how the body really works and how to make it do what you want it to do. Many of these lessons are counter-intuitive, the kind of things you'd never figure out on your own. When working with the messy reality of the human body you will get farther faster if you can find the right teacher to show you the way. This applies to getting fit, mastering a physical activity, or becoming skillful in a sport.
I see so many people making poor choices for their teachers and trainers, having a bad experience, and then giving up on the whole idea of physical improvement. So I'm going to give you some insight about what makes a good teacher, and some things you want to avoid.
1. Your trainer needs to look the part.
When it comes to choosing someone to help you change your body, judge the book by its cover. If your trainer is overweight, underweight, or in poor condition, then something about their program is too boring, onerous, or impractical for even them to stick with. And it will inevitably chip into your motivation when they tell you to do something that they clearly aren't doing themselves. "Do as I say, not as I do" works just as poorly with adults as it does with kids. This can sound judgmental and shallow, but it's important. If you're set up with a trainer who's clearly not in good shape, just walk the other way. They need to get right with themselves before they try to educate others.
2. Avoid "Naturals".
This is a trap a lot of people fall into. They get involved with a teacher who has a high natural aptitude for the thing they are now trying to teach. For example, a guy who has always been muscular and lean no matter how he eats or exercises, or a lithe yoga teacher who has been doing splits since she was three years old. If you are a beginner, these teachers and trainers will be nothing but bad news for you. Why? Because they have no experience of ever being "bad" at their activity.
That yoga teacher who has been very flexible since childhood will have only intellectual understanding of what it feels like to not be able to touch your toes. If you ask a natural "how do I do that?", at the fundamental level there will be a voice in her head saying "I don't know, you just do it." In the worst case, naturals will be dismissive and highly demotivating, they lack the empathy and ability to understand how to explain things to people at the bottom rung of the ladder. They often won't respect the limits of your developing body and will push too hard, meaning your sessions will be tense and injury prone.
Naturals are everywhere in the fitness world, because they can open a lot of doors with their clear talent and ability to pass test number 1 (look the part). But the majority of them will be detrimental to your progress.
3. Certifications are not as valuable as you think, and can indicate of a poor trainer.
A fancy framed certificate on the wall looks professional and reassuring, but don't make any decisions based on your trainer having it. The certification circuit in fitness and wellness training is mostly a racket. Different groups vie to become the dominant organization within a field, in the hopes that trainers will have to pay them yearly fees and go to pricey certification classes to show that they're legit. There are no standards or oversights. Many certifications are awarded after a two day workshop or less. But that's not even the real reason you should be dubious.
I'll probably alienate a bunch of certified people by saying this, but here goes. The type of person who goes out and gets a certificate to be a personal trainer, yoga teacher, or some other wellness coach is, in my experience, often casting about for something meaningful to do with their lives. They hit upon the idea of teaching people to be healthier and before they have any experience actually doing it they spend several thousand dollars getting that piece of calligraphy covered paper. Armed with a sense of legitimacy they go out and immediately learn that their training bears little relation to reality. And often their certification puts them in a mental box for years to come, as they struggle to figure out what to do with real-world clients based upon the sparse theories of their training program.
Some of the best trainers and teachers I have ever had possessed no certifications at all. This is because they got into their field because they were passionate about it and naturally attracted students without having to justify their style with a piece of paper. Conversely, some of my worst experiences have been with teachers who had a whole stack of certifications. A wall of certificates is a good indicator that your potential teacher is better at attending workshops and retreats than the gritty work of working with real people. Be wary!
4. Enthusiasm is key.
You can feel in just a few minutes whether someone is sincerely interested in working with you or just doing their job. It's so important that your teacher loves helping people of all ability levels. I've seen with my own eyes what happens when someone has grown bored or frustrated with wellness work. All that simmering angry energy gets passive-aggressively directed at the client. You will have made an effort to reach out and get some help for your body, but your energy will not be returned to you. It will just be sucked away until you're both miserable. You can see this in almost any gym with a fleet of personal trainers on call.
5. No Products.
The second a teacher insists you have to have a certain product to make the most of your training, write them off. Their main interest is thinning out your wallet, not your love handles. The only essential products needed to get healthy are vegetables, sweat, and sleep. Anyone who says different is 1) lying, or 2) misinformed. Either way, you don't want them telling you what to do with your body.
Keep these points in mind as you look for some guidance towards getting in shape. I've painted a pretty bleak picture, but you'll find there are many great people in the world who know what they're doing and would be happy to help you for all the right reasons. They're out there and they're usually not the best marketers because they're busy doing what they love, so dig deep and find one of them!
