25/05/2016
Last week I shared the four places people usually inhabit.
1) Pain or no pain
2) Getting results that they're happy with in terms of health, performance and body composition or not.
I will align those places to the four types of coaches that facilitate those places.
The Narcissist.
Characteristics:
- obsessed with their own appearance,
- endless stream of semi naked flattering instagram selfies,
- arrogant strutting in front of the mirror at the gym,
- self righteous rants on social media about how lazy fat people are.
Oblivious to the fact they actually contribute to the poor self esteem of the people who are unhappy with their body, contribute to the perception that the people with the knowledge to help them fundamentally lack empathy and are therefore unapproachable.
The Drill Sergeant or Cheerleader.
Characteristics:
- usually in great shape
- specialise in one form of high intensity training
- spout mantras like "no pain, no gain."
- have contempt for excuses like soreness and fatigue
The coach's belief that every training session needs to leave you physically destroyed challenges their participants mentally which instills a sense of pride at overcoming adversity. You can expect to see good changes to your body and fitness but over time your training will become frequently interrupted or compromised by illness and injury.
This creates a cycle of push as hard as you can -> miss a week due to illness -> push as hard as you can to catch up -> miss two weeks with injury etc.
The Alarmist.
Characteristics:
- usually well qualified with a great knowledge of anatomy
- specialise in rehab
- quick to "diagnose" your issues
- quick to highlight the dangers of exercises such as deadlifts, kettlebell swings, running, sleeping, getting out of bed, breathing.
This practitioner draws you in with their knowledgable approach, they will diagnose your issue and implement a protocol that you may or may not follow on your own to address that specific issue.
This condition will prevent you from participating in your desired exercise and you will remain wary of ever returning to it. Maybe you're just too old to be active like you used to be.
The Expert
Characteristics:
- well qualified
- highly experienced working with people like you, come highly recommended
- continually active themselves in challenging exercise
- can help you to understand your priorities and provide strategies that are extremely effective
- will often talk big picture concepts whilst also able to make the small adjustments that enable you to really feel an exercise.
The Expert will listen to you and your needs and have a thorough, systematic process to address your issues. They will have benchmarks that you need to meet to move to the next stage of your training and you will develop an appreciation for the phrase "train to get better, not to get tired."
Hope that helps you make a good choice about the type of Personal Trainer / Fitness Professional you would choose to work with. The right choice should be able to remove pain and deliver great results.
Luke
