What Is Body Capital
Arnold Schwarzenegger, arguably one of the most well-known bodybuilders in the industry, looks like he would be the best personal trainer for your summer bod goals. He actually does not like to train others and many people that try his routines don’t have success. Very surprising information being he’s won Mr. Olympia multiple times. Opposite of that, more often than not trainers aren’t fit or don’t have that impressive physique most people desire. At almost every gym there seem to be at least one of these unfit fitness trainers. It seems unwise to pay a lot of money for a trainer if they are not even fit themselves. If you had a writing teacher that was bad at writing would you listen to them? Being physically fit and in shape does improve the odds that a trainer is successful but is not always accurate. Trainers can also be successful without this particular fitness level.
People of the community have very strong feelings about this already. An angered member of a gym went onto an online discussion forum to express his personal opinion on these unfit trainers. Reddit user, cttouch, posted a new thread complaining about a specific trainer and issue he had with him. He was quoted saying,
I work out at a Bailey’s and there are numerous trainers who are completely out of shape, it makes my blood boil. I’m not saying as a trainer you need to be on the cover of a workout magazine but at least be in some semblance of shape. If you have the knowledge to educate others on how to get in shape and become healthier how can you not practice what you preach?
This person doesn’t seem to have experience with the trainer in question so the results this trainer may produce for a client are assumed just on the appearance and physique they had. It is obvious that the physique here is directly related to what a person may think of a trainer’s ability to help others get fit. There are people on both sides of this discussion. Many people took to replying to this disgruntled gym goer. Users mention in reply that it comes down to the person’s knowledge and even the ability to motivate a client for them to consider the trainer good. A few also sided with the post bringing up practicing what you preach. According to amSTATZ, a writer on a renowned certification association for trainers known as ACE, a trainer should be focused, human, walk the walk, ask questions, educate clients, don’t use too much lingo, and provide homework assignments. This person says all of these qualities should be present for a trainer to truly be effective. Immediately one of the above-mentioned traits talks about being able to walk the walk. This author also brings up a great example of this guideline, “If a mother tried to convince her children to stop eating so much sugar with a can of Coca-Cola in her hand, how effective do you think she would be? Not very.” This is stating that to be effective, you need to be able to follow your advice as a personal trainer or what you are teaching is hard to even follow or listen to. Figure 1 shows a popular cartoon relaying this same message of practicing what you preach.
Practice What You Preach
Figure 1 – Practice What You Preach Cartoon
This is exactly what some people of the Reddit post had mentioned as something that a trainer should practice. Between both the community of gym members and also the associations handing out certifications, the appearance of the trainer or fitness of the trainer is an important part of completing the package that is being a personal trainer. David J. Hudson worked on a study and published an article on this body image perception in Social Science and Medicine vol 90. In this article, he wanted to study deeper into the concept of bodily capital in the fitness industry, specifically in the U.S. The author accumulated data from 25 personal trainers and 25 clients during a study from 2010 to 2011. Hutson found that there was a certain trust as well as a sense of credibility present in clients whose trainers appeared fit. This was without any other exterior info or prior knowledge of the trainer. Some of these 25 trainers had not yet been certified but were visually considered credible by clients on the first impression. It was also found that the actual trainers had a sense of moral and health authority when having this physique, allowing them to be more successful. The result of this study done in the article was that there indeed is a link between appearance and the authority and credibility of trainers or professionals in the fitness industry according to info from both clients and trainers themselves. Based on no knowledge that a personal trainer is getting clients results, other potential clients already buy-in because of the visual physique the trainers in the study possessed.
My Experience With The Issue
I have had personal experience with looks causing people around me to assume I have some ability to train them to look good and to become fit. As a senior in high school, I had been working out for 4 years at that point and was very passionate about my fitness. Working out, eating properly, and some beneficial genetics lead me to look fit with a physique that other people wanted as well. Like the above-mentioned study, people who didn’t exactly know me or much about me began to come to me with questions about working out and asking me to be their personal trainer. I knew how to make myself look good and to get results for my own body, but I had very little ability to transfer what I had done for myself to these other people coming up to me. So, though body image does give some form of pre-credibility, it did not in my case mean I was capable of being a trainer or that I would be effective in training someone else. On the other hand, I had friends in my life that were not very big or extremely fit looking that knew an insane amount about working out and most times were much stronger than me as well. These people would have made much better trainers than I would’ve.
BodyBuilding.coms’ Heather Eastman wrote an article on their popular platform on trusting a personal trainer that looks out of shape. This is sort of the opposing comparison to the fit-looking trainers talked about already. She mentions numerous topics all supporting the idea that the trainer’s appearance has very little effect on their training ability. There can be trainers who are very aesthetically fit with impressive numbers that cannot transfer what they did to another person. To contradict herself as a devil’s advocate, she does also say that if a trainer is unfit and they seem not to care about that fact then there may be an issue. Trainers are also motivators and if they can’t find a way to be motivated enough themselves to be in some sort of shape then looking elsewhere for a trainer may be a good idea.
To build on out of shape trainers, Holly Perkins offers a perspective from the position of being that out of shape person herself. In Women’s Health magazine, Holly wrote an article describing how she lost sight of her fitness and found herself out of shape but still teaching others how to be in shape. This realization threw her work off course. She mentions how she was often caught feeling unconfident when instructing clients due to her physique. Another professional in the field, Amanda Vogel, did some research that relates directly to how she felt less motivational and confident. Amanda began a study that included females from ages 20-30 who were interviewed for data. The conclusion of the article found that the appearance of trainers had mostly a positive effect on women to be a goal for the trainee to achieve. The client along with the actual trainer can be affected by being out of shape while working in the industry. In this specific case, Holly was able to get into proper shape. This boosted her credibility as a trainer as well as some self-confidence. Similar to David Hudson’s study mentioned prior, a physical representation of your ability to train is a major aspect of confidence and this sense of authority in the gym for trainers.
Jessamyn Stanley Doesn’t Care
The way being out of shape makes most trainers and clients feel is almost entirely negative. People on forums complain about it, trainers themselves feel less effective, and clients see this is as less credible. To trainers and clients as well it seems an in-shape trainer is going to be the most beneficial as a trainer. Going against this sort of social grain is yoga instructor, Jessamyn Stanley. She has decided to use her, normally negatively viewed, body image as a tool for her practice as a yoga instructor. Instead of letting her plus-size body hold her back from getting into fitness and yoga, Jessamyn has promoted it and helped countless of other women to feel confident as well. Even a writer for Dailey Mail, Carly Stern, did an article on Jessamyn. The article touches on where she came from and the message she has behind her yoga and the influence she hopes to impart to other women like her.
Figure 2 – Jessamyn Instagram Post
At 60,000 followers and growing, she is very popular in the yoga industry and also making room for all body types to come in and pick up the trend as well. Figure 2 above is from her yoga Instagram page, showing she is more than comfortable with her body image.
Though many people are inspired by the things Jessamyn does, people argue that it does not make her a fit person. A study was published in Health magazine on this particular topic. This article presents info on several different trainers who have different fitness and body compositions. Here, Villarosa brings together the info from these seven trainers to build some results. According to the article, being fat does not mean you aren’t fit. For example, Becky Singleton, a spin class instructor whose BMI indicates she is very obese was quoted saying, “I am in fabulous cardiovascular shape. If you said go run 10 miles, I could. But still, every time I get a student who’s new to my class, that person looks really surprised when they see my size.” The article concludes that many trainers, whether considered obese or thin, can be in good shape and physically capable. Also, the relationship between a trainer’s physique isn’t always accurate in representing their fitness as well.
Looking At Some Research
What trainers in the fitness industry are doing with their work with their bodies is very important. Two studies have very interesting results and info into how this is a part of the industry. They are over both body image in relation to work as well as aesthetic labor in the fitness industry. First, a group of authors puts together an analysis of fourteen separately interviewed and questioned instructors and trainers that are in the fitness field. Juan-Miguel Fernández-Balboa, the leading researcher and author of this article is a professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid. His work has been cited numerous times by many other credible scientists and authors. His work includes how body image is an instrument of professional practice as well as factors that affect this youthful and lean body image positively or negatively. A key aspect of this particular article is that it includes the goal of finding both positive and negative aspects. A participant of the study considered his body, quote, “My business card for training.”, and therefore he invested lots of time into his body image. The results of the work done in the study shows there are several links between body image and consumer culture. Fernandez-Balboa has worked on many research projects that connect physical educators and their work and many theories have also been proposed based on his work and are why what he found here is very useful. The results fell into broader categories such as; perception, attitude, and behavior. This image was both sources of credibility for trainers as well as possibly detrimental consequences in cases in which false credibility was produced due to this lean body image. As many of before mentioned authors and fitness professionals in the field gained a better attitude and sense of authority, so did members of this study. Alongside this internal credibility, there is a sort of external way to use your body as well. This next article aims at the importance of aesthetic labor in the fitness industry and its effects. Aesthetic labor is essentially when someone is hired for their outward appearance to promote a company. In the fitness industry trainer’s body is being hired to help sell their service. With 15 individuals in the fitness industry being interviewed and studied, the author wanted to draw connections between how this labor is useful to trainers that used their body as work capital. The results of the study showed that aesthetic labor is effective in the fitness industry but that it is perceived as negative to the trainer’s capital if there is an excessive amount (Geraint Harvey et. al). A trainer can overdo it and become less attractive to clients if they decide to almost entirely rely on body image as a way to sell their service.
It May Not Be That Simple
The answer to the question of a trainer’s fitness affecting their training ability is a bit more detailed than originally thought. To begin, the community has a very strong opinion on whether a trainer can be trusted if they look out of shape. From there, numerous studies had been done supporting the usefulness of the ideal physique in the industry for things like sources for credibility and authority. On the other hand, looking in shape does not mean you know how to train someone effectively. Personal experience, as well as professional opinion, backs this up. Two out of shape trainers, one feeling held back by her fitness and one using her body to accelerate her service, represent that normally negative body image can be good and bad for the trainer. The final two studies covered went more into depth on the client’s perspectives on the trainer’s physique as well as the business side of using fitness as a business card for training services. In conclusion, the studies prove that if a trainer is fit with a fit physique as well, the trainer will feel authority and confidence. This will improve the ability of a trainer to be effective. Clients as well are more able to trust and can see credibility without even getting results. Being fit is not entirely comparable to the physical features of a trainer though. Becky Singleton from Villarosa’s study is a great example. This makes it hard to say in stone that body image means a trainer will be more effective. As a selling point looking fit is proven to be beneficial to trainers when getting clients. Personal trainers are motivators, teachers, and fitness advocates themselves in most cases. Clients have a wide variety of needs. The majority of them will find that a fit, in-shape trainer will be exactly what they expect and will be effective in getting them what they desire. In some cases, unfit trainers or trainers without a good physique can also be effective by being motivational, or even just good at teaching and getting results. It is important to use a trainer’s fitness and physique as an initial gauge of effectiveness, but it is not going to prove they are effective for someone and their fitness goals.
Works Cited
amSTATZ. “What Makes a Good Personal Trainer? These 7 Characteristics.” What Makes a Good Personal Trainer | 7 Qualities | ACE Blog, 6 Feb. 2015, www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/professional/expert-articles/5288/what-makes-a-good-personal-trainer-these-7-characteristics.
Eastman, Heather. “Should You Trust A Personal Trainer Who Is Out Of Shape?” Bodybuilding.com, 27 June 2017, www.bodybuilding.com/content/should-you-trust-a-personal-trainer-who-is-out-of-shape.html.
Fernández-Balboa, Juan-Miguel, and Gustavo González-Calvo. “A Critical Narrative Analysis of the Perspectives of Physical Trainers and Fitness Instructors in Relation to Their Body Image, Professional Practice and the Consumer Culture.” Sport, Education and Society, vol. 23, no. 9, 2017, pp. 866–878., doi:10.1080/13573322.2017.1289910.
“Fitness Trainers and Instructors : Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 Sept. 2019, www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/fitness-trainers-and-instructors.htm.
Perkins, Holly. “I Was an Out-of-Shape Personal Trainer.” Women’s Health, Women’s Health, 11 June 2019, www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a19905304/out-of-shape-personal-trainers/.
User, cttouch. “r/Fitness – Out of Shape Personal Trainers Really Piss Me off.” Reddit, 2012, www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/vrqf0/out_of_shape_personal_trainers_really_piss_me_off/.
Villarosa, Linda. “Can You Be Fat and Fit?” Health (Time Inc. Health), vol. 16, no. 5, June 2002, p. 66.
Vogel, Amanda. “Body Image AND Exercise: What’s the Instructor’s Role?” American Fitness, vol. 18, no. 3, May 2000, p. 42..