Misinformation
We all know there is A LOT of misinformation out there. I could write volumes on all the ridiculous things I have heard from clients on dieting, weightloss, lifting, etc, and you see it all the time as well. But you can’t blame the general public for believing what they hear or read, we all do it and probably all of us believed a lot of things we now know aren’t true when we first started out.
Therefore, it is the duty of fitness professionals to dig for the truth, and do our best to inform the public with the truth. There are are no magic pills, that quick fixes will not work the rest of their lives, and that exercise is good and skipping breakfast is bad and so on and so forth. Currently I am a personal trainer, and I am working on a degree in Kinesiology with a minor in nutrition-so I work with professionals in the kines field everyday, as well as students. Well today, one of my clients called me to tell me that one of her friends, a fellow kines major of mine, told her that LIFTING WEIGHTS WAS BAD and that she should be doing JUST CARDIO, EVERYDAY, FOR OVER AN HOUR EACH DAY. An exercise science student said this. Not even a freshman, but a junior. Now it’s one thing for the average once or twice a week exerciser to go around spreading the misinformation they heard or read about, they won’t do much damage there, but someone who is about to enter into the professional field of fitness should REALLY know what they’re talking about before they start saying things like that. WEIGHTLIFTING IS BAD!? WTF!!?? It’s GOOD FOR YOU OMG. She told MY CLIENT that she was concerned that she lifts 4-5 days a week. And my client does cardio too, it’s not like she only lifts. She’s dedicated, she eats well, and she looks fantastic. The misinformer, sometimes does 80 minutes on the treadmill, doesn’t ever lift, and then goes and eats mexican food with her friends. I guess that’s what she calls balance.
Luckily, my client knew that this girl was feeding her BS, and called to tell me how ridiculous this girl was being. Someone doing exercise science should know that even ANY kind of physcial activity is better than nothing. A fitness professional should never discourage anyone from getting physical activity no matter what kind it is, unless there’s like a huge health risk or something but that’s definitely not the case here.
My point is, misinformation is out there and most of us on here are qualified to correct that misinformation, and we should in the appropriate way and only if we really know what we’re talking about. Personally, if someone asks me a question and I’m not sure about the answer, I’m not going to make something up on the spot. I’ll do my research and make sure I have a truthful, solid, proven answer before I go telling someone something false. It would make me look bad as a trainer (and soon-to-be strength and conditioning coach! 
), and it could lead to harmful habits of those receiving the misinformation.
Thanks, I just had to vent about that!
November 14, 2008 at 1:49 pm
wow, I’m amazed that the "weights are bad" attitude reaches that far into the realm of the students/future instructors. great blog.
November 14, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Wow… Weights are bad, now. Early 90’s they just made women bulky, but now its down right harmful.
Unbelievable…
November 18, 2008 at 10:35 pm
College education, lol… This is why in most fields, resumes that end with college education with nothing following it gets shoved to the bottom of the pile. 2+ years of actual on-the-job experience is what most employers look for in most fields, they should definitely start to do the same for people in the fitness industry.
This industry is filled with too many people who don’t care, don’t know, don’t understand, and don’t learn. A lot of certification programs does nothing more than test your ability to regurgitate information.
Perhaps Common Sense 101 would be a wise course addition to most kines majors, just to weed out the lunatics who are about to become the reasons why people would rather goto the dentist’s office than their gyms.