Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

[DanieMarie]

http://www.news.com.au/world/personal-trainer-trainer-drew-manning-humbled-after-gaining-then-losing-30kg/story-e6frfkz0-1226384894451#ixzz1wuXbLN6G

I thought this was really interesting. A trainer gained 75 lbs and lost it again so he could understand what his clients go through. I guess it put things in perspective...if you're really fit, it can be hard to understand how people are -not- fit (I've even gone through periods where I wasn't, and I have trouble remembering them now).

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

Personally I feel that society should stop worrying so much about what people weigh and start worrying more about how much they care...;-)

[Ophidia]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

Personally I feel that society should stop worrying so much about what people weigh and start worrying more about how much they care...;-)

I'm still wondering why people care if someone's fat or not. Unless I'm sitting on you, it really shouldn't matter to you one way or the other how much I weigh.

[Juniper]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

Actually, I kind of like this PT's approach. He knows what his clients go through. This wasn't so much about what people/society think about fat people. He is a personal trainer and I'm assuming most of his clients (people who willingly come to him for help getting fit) are over weight. Putting himself through this gives him a perspective of his clients' mind set. I'm assuming he used his experience to tailor his exercises to help his clients adjust to being physically active. I haven't read his book, but I read the article. It's very interesting, really. I might read the book.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

Actually, I kind of like this PT's approach. He knows what his clients go through. This wasn't so much about what people/society think about fat people. He is a personal trainer and I'm assuming most of his clients (people who willingly come to him for help getting fit) are over weight. Putting himself through this gives him a perspective of his clients' mind set. I'm assuming he used his experience to tailor his exercises to help his clients adjust to being physically active. I haven't read his book, but I read the article. It's very interesting, really. I might read the book.

Yeah those were my thoughts as well. As a fit person, it's so easy to just think "omg just DO it," because that's what you would do. You don't struggle with motivation to go work out, because that's just what you do. It's part of your day and usually, you enjoy it. As a trainer it was probably helpful for him to understand how his clients don't necessarily have the same feelings about fitness that he does, or the same habits.

[Siloh]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

No doubt this personal experiment will be of use to trainers everywhere who have never gone through a real weight slump. I love, love, my physical fitness instructor for college, and we have an incredible relationship, but to this day, I can't figure out two statements she's made. She shared with me that obesity runs in her family and that the majority of her family is morbidly obese. If she is over 120 pounds soaking wet, it's a testament to how densely packed her muscles are. However, she once came to talk to me about my figure, telling me that I should feel good about my curvy Irish lady body, that I would simply never be skinny because of my genes.

I'd recently (within the past couple of years) ricocheted from depressed (read: not eating) and exercise obsessed to feeling much better and purposely eating much more than usual to put the brakes on my alarming weight loss, then of course put on more weight than I really intended by creating over zealous eating habits, so I knew that she was dead wrong about my ability to change, profoundly, my body type. But I never confronted her about her irreconcilable statements about her own family and my, uh, voluptuous genes?, and it made me reflect on whether she had ever been heavy in her life.

I found her message highly offensive, though, and it pissed me off enough to lose a significant amount of weight over the next year, so I still can't tell if she was just provoking me to exercise more. :P

[Dez]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

I'm not sure what I think of this...on one hand, yes, it's helpful.

It's more like an actor gaining/losing for different roles, though, then someone who is heavy because of;

-genetics
-environmental factors
-extreme stress
-an undiagnosed (or difficult to handle) condition like thyroid disorders, PCOS, irritable bowel, or insulin resistance/diabetes.
-poverty or a reduced palet from childhood leading to limited food choices.

[Ophidia]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

This guy didn't 'lose' his underlying muscular structure or strength, especially not over such a short-term period of weight gain - and even in a serious attempt to gain weight, being a dad with kids, that dude was still moving around more than he probably realized. It's not exactly like starting from scratch!

[DanieMarie]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

This guy didn't 'lose' his underlying muscular structure or strength, especially not over such a short-term period of weight gain - and even in a serious attempt to gain weight, being a dad with kids, that dude was still moving around more than he probably realized. It's not exactly like starting from scratch!

True, but I think that's the best one can do in those circumstance.

[Siloh]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

U

True, but I think that's the best one can do in those circumstance.

Yes, while I fully agree with Dez's more holistic breakdown and considered these factors, I realize this guy isn't publishing a peer reviewed study; he volunteered his body for personal reflection in order to better empathize with some of his clients.

Fortunately, though some of his clients may come from poverty, it seems likely that if they're hiring a personal trainer, they at least have the income to cover some healthy luxuries, like healthy eating choices, even if they have to work through bad habits. So operating on a food stamp budget, wouldn't have added much.

[LiadanWillows]

Re: Trainer gains weight in order to understand clients

I have been overweight and probably considered "morbidly obese" by the BMI scale since I was about 10 years old. It is a great struggle for some people (my self included) to lose weight. It is nice to see someone who is fit trying to be empathetic and understand, however I would not want them to risk their health by gaining that much weight.

I think the big issue is that people may change the way they eat (for awhile) and increase their activity (for awhile) but until you fix your mental or emotional issues with food you might never overcome obesity. "Eat to live, not live to eat." I personally have adapted to having humor about my weight as a coping mechanism. But I do continue to attempt to be a healthy and self fulfilled person and not go according to BMI but by my happiness.

Since I have focused more on the mental issues I have lost 18 lbs in the last 6 weeks. Now that may not be rapid, but I am HAPPY. I still enjoy food but I try to keep all food in moderation and be happy about what I am doing. Once I feel the slightest bit of misery or craving I mentally analyze it and try to find a way to fix what I am feeling.