So here it is, my first real attempt at writing a blog. For someone with so much to say this is proving to be harder than I first thought.
I'd like to talk about my role (as I see it) in the fitness industry.
How I got into it...............
Since reading fitness magazines and watching Arnold Schwarzennegger movies in my early teens I have had an interest in looking and feeling good. I'll admit that as a teenage boy the looking good part was by far the most important. I couldn't do much about my teenage skin or my awkwardness around girls, but I could build my muscles......
One Saturday afternoon (it must have been a Saturday as I hadn't managed to spend my pocket money) I went into town and bought some dumbbells. I then spent the rest of the day doing dumbbell curls, over and over again, just like the guys in the magazines did.
Sunday morning came and my arms hurt so much that I couldnt straighten them.
I realised then that copying the workouts of bodybuilders that have been training for 5 years + may not be a sensible starting point.
I then set about reading every book I could find on weight lifting. I learnt as many exercises as I could. This was the 90's, if Google was around (which I don't think it was) I certainly didn't have access to it. I was too young to join the gym so I had to make do with the weights I had at home. By the time I reached 18 I had saved up and bought a multigym which was my pride and joy. I had a fairly well put together routine that was starting to get me some results and some friends had now started to train with me regularly.
I'd like to tell you that I have trained hard and eaten well ever since but I haven't.
I'm a human being just like you, these fitness guru's that tell you they have the perfect diet and strict training schedules well.....they're lying. I have yet to meet anyone in this industry that lives 100% like a saint and I'm certain that I never will.
Lifting weights took a back seat over a few other things.
I went travelling around the world and tried various other hobbies throughout my 20's. I always kept going back to training though. Nothing else gave me the feeling of really improving myself.
Today I'm able to help people with their health and fitness goals - it doesn't really feel like work most of the time, I genuinely love what I do.
The fitness industry these days has attracted the wrong people, often putting money before offering a respectable level of service. 180,000 people qualified as personal trainers in 2015 - some with as little as just 4 weeks training! The pass rate of these "courses" is 100%. This is outrageous when you think that people trust them with their health and fitness. It also means that when people seek a personal trainer to help them, they don't always have a great experience or get the results that they want.
I want to change things, let people know that there are some great trainers out there that do have their best interests at heart. That did get into this industry for the right reasons. That do care. That don't see it as just a job.
Thanks for reading!