Hiring Personal Trainers
It’s often scary to hear celebrities and their personal trainers promoting new diets and/or nutritional products. If these alleged “professionals” don’t really know how the body functions (and far too many of them don’t), it’s no wonder our nation just keeps getting fatter. Two significant problems exist with quick-fix training and nutrition programs. First, these extreme exercise/diet regimens that quickly get stars in great shape are terrible for the body. Yet many celebrities follow them because they know their jobs could be on the line. Secondly, regular people who try to follow the celebrities’ exercise/diet programs often wind up failing because they cannot keep up the extreme regimens and because the programs are impossible to sustain for any length of time.
Remaining super-lean all year is challenging, especially if you used a program that slimmed you down in just 8 to 12 weeks, like a bodybuilder’s exercise/diet regimen. This process can get you looking phenomenal for a day or two, but the effects won’t last much beyond that because our bodies simply cannot function at that level for any sustained period. However, you can achieve these results and stay super-lean year-round with a lifestyle change that incorporates healthy meals and regular exercise. A quality program can burn fat, as opposed to primarily building muscle, unlike the regimens the stars often follow with their celebrity trainers.
Short-term training programs to get in shape for a one- or two-day event (like a bodybuilding contest) do work, but because they proceed at an unnaturally rapid pace, they cannot be sustained for any real length of time without seriously harming your body. However, many celebrity training programs utilize this quick-fix process because so few personal trainers really understand anatomy and human kinetics, the physical sciences related to human body function. Well-educated trainers exist – they just happen to be unfortunately rare. Few trainers have degrees or quality certifications, let alone do they continue their education or expand their knowledge about human function and performance. In this unregulated industry, no one is checking to see if personal trainers are pursuing any education updates – and most of them are not.
How to Become a Personal Trainer: Taking the First Steps
This does not mean you should not hire a personal trainer. Even personal trainers with very little training about how to create a quality exercise or nutrition program can still provide an environment where you can get fit. They also can motivate you to achieve better health and make much quicker progress than you would likely ever achieve on your own. Almost any personal trainer is better than no personal trainer. Almost.
