Walking the walk (part one) - A blog for other PTs out there

Walking the walk (part 1)

So there I was in the middle of the square with a client who was working hard and enjoying the sun, we were both horrified when a trainer from a nearby gym came out on a break and lit up a cigarette.

How could I possibly train clients and encourage health and fitness objectives if I was a smoker?

I really don't think that anyone should.

Smoking is clearly a 'no-no' (to me) but is there anything else we should be thinking about when we're trying to tell others to lead healthy lifestyles?

I think that there is. We, as Personal Trainers, should lead by example. We are our brand and we should show our clients what to aspire to. I'm not saying that all our clients or indeed all of us need to be into power-lifting or fitness modelling or marathon running but that we should at least be physically fit and be eating healthily as an example to others.

What does that mean in practical terms?

You can't tell realistically tell clients to 'eat this, don't eat that' if you go out and stuff your face with pizza and chips every day. You can't tell them to reduce their alcohol intake if you're out sinking 10 pints every other night. You won't be trusted by clients if you turn out to be a hypocrite. However, you don't have to be perfect – we're all human and 'cheat' days are the stuff that allow us and our clients to stick the plan the rest of the time.

This all sound like common sense to you? It does to me to but clearly not to all – remember the PT mentioned in the first paragraph...

I guess what I'm trying to say is, all PT's need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk to be taken seriously and really help clients to achieve their best.