We recently broached the topic of the Roles of a Personal Trainer.To continue with that, let’s talk about something that many neglect to mention, but is of the utmost importance if a trainer really wants his/her charges to get the full benefits of an active lifestyle – honesty in fitness and about the fitness industry! Here’s some honesty – many trainers out there are dishonest about the ultimate goal of exercise, the effects of exercise and diet, the truth about gimmicks and even the realities of weight loss. Let’s be honest here for a moment!
Talk about being honest about the health benefits of weight loss and the health risks of being overweight. Here’s the first reality – there are real health risks associated with being overweight.
What does overweight mean? The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a ratio of height to weight. If it is too large, you are considered overweight or even obese. If it is too low, you are considered underweight. Now, this is not an absolute measure since things like genetics and physical activity can propel you to being over- or underweight without any real health issues. However, for the average person with the average metabolism and an average amount of physical activity, the BMI can give us a rough idea on a person’s health levels. Things like body fat percentage, ability to use oxygen efficiently (VO2Max), and resting heart rate are better indicators, but BMI is a good enough start.
Now that we understand what being overweight means, what are the problems associated with it? A lot of the time, we break things down to pure aesthetics (how you look). This has spawned the body-positivity movement — essentially encouragement to love yourself no matter how you look. As a fitness instructor, I strongly support this stance but, just like with anything, you need to be able to understand the risks associated with certain lifestyles. As an overweight person (with high body fat percentage), you will be putting your joints under excessive stress since you do not have the muscle mass to effectively support your weight. Your heart and lungs will be under stress as there is more tissue to move blood through. You would be at risk of cardiovascular diseases like athero- and arteriosclerosis. You will put your endocrine (hormonal) system under increased stress, increasing the risks for lifestyle diseases like diabetes. Even the risk of cancer is greater. And this is in addition to a general reduced level of mobility. These risks can all be mitigated with a proper diet and exercise. Even those who are overweight (or obese) for genetic or hormonal reasons can manage their health with proper diet and exercise.
What about being underweight? Once again, a very low BMI is the definition for being underweight. However, once again, this may not be 100% accurate as certain disciplines call for a lower BMI and even your genetics can leave you predisposed for this. However, in general, being underweight can lead to its own set of risks (as with using BMI for overweight, this doesn’t hold for everyone), such as a weakened immune system, malnutrition, anaemia, osteoporosis, and even fertility issues. These risks can also be mitigated with the right diet, exercise and even nutritional supplements.
How does this all tie in to the roles of a personal trainer? It’s simple — it’s our job to tell you all of this, even if you don’t want to hear it. If you like being “thick and nice” or you like that “skinny look”, that’s fine, but we need to be able to tell you what risks you are exposing yourself to so that you can make an informed decision on your way forward. We need to be able to tell you honestly about the different methods of weight gain or weight loss. We need to warn you about the gimmicks. We need to show you how proper nutritional habits and exercise can improve your overall quality of life instead of just making you look a particular way (which is a fine goal, but shouldn’t be the only goal). This is a hard talk that people may not want to have, but it’s our job to have it with you anyway.