Buyer, Beware…
This being a networking site, you come across people from all walks of life. Fitness professionals, bodybuilders, aspiring bodybuilders, figure athletes, trainers, (certified?maybe..) offering customized training and nutrition plans for pre contest prep or just to get you ready for the beach/cruise wedding, etc for dirt-cheap. It’s almost too good to be true, because walking into a gym and hiring one of their trainers would run you anything from $300 +/month. So what’ my point?
Well, I was thinking about this the other day. Your trainer tells you he will give you a customized nutrition/training plan, right? So you PayPal your money to him plus an e-mail with all your stats, photos, goals, etc. and you can hardly wait for his/her reply. You keep checking your e-mail, you update your profile, take your ‘Motivation level" up to 10..ok let me stop.
Did you ever stop to think of how many people’s plans he has to ‘customize’, including yours? Did he ask you how much you , what equipment is available at your gym, past injuries, family history? I’m assuming this is vital information considering the fact that you’re not meeting in person and he can’t make a fair assessment of your fitness level. A photo can only tell so much…And as for your ‘customized’ eating plan, did he take into account your goals, body type, etc?
Ok, here’s a red flag based on personal experience….
1.If your ‘customized eating plan’ hasn’t changed in a month regardless of your goals, I hate to break it to ya….it ain’t ‘custom’. You just got the ‘No.4′, just like the McDonald’s No.4, minus the onions and the pickle. Think more along the lines of ‘cookie-cutter’ or ‘one-size-fits all’……And you thought you were special.
2. If you said you want to lose fat and he has you hopped up more diet pills than crack-head, right off the bat…you may wanna rethink your options. Especially if it’s over the recomended dose on the bottle.
3. If he/she has you doing copious amounts of cardio and the scale isn’t moving, you’ve voiced your complaints and it fell on deaf ears or he/she called you lazy(Lol)…..there’s a good chance that they don’t know what they are doing. Many a times, you’ll get the question "Are you following the diet like you’re supposed to?" You stutter, he pounces.
4. If you think your plan is ’customized’ and every one of his clients is on the forums talking about ‘tuna and asparagus Mondays’, yeah……not so much.
5.If you’re eating the same crap day in and day out regardless of your activity level…that’s a no-brainer. Unless you’re doing the same crap, day in and day out 
Remember cheap can sometimes be expensive. And that expense could be your metabolism, your health. If your workout for the day includes Barbell Squats (go HEAVY!!) and you’ve never squatted before, are you gonna step into the squat rack, just to get your workout in to please your trainer?
A person can train, diet and in a few weeks be shredded, six-pack abs, etc. But does that mean he can train YOU and get YOU shredded? You have to take certain things into consideration…genetics, steriods (shhh!! ‘I’m all natural, baby!"), etc… Let’s face it, this is a very visual-oriented industry and obviously you wouldn’t take on a slob of a trainer but at the same time don’t judge a book by the cover. Do some research.
Just food for thought.
Happy Easter!
April 11, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Very funny but interesting. I read stuff on here all of the time where people are getting trainer and plans etc. Like you said it seems a little interesting if you have never met the person.
I was in a situation when I moved out here, my trainer wa still able to give me lessons etc becasue she had already worked with me in the past.
April 11, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I agree this is pretty funny. My advice to people is to find the information themselves.
April 11, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I had first hand experience on this….I hope this will help people make smart choices. I’m now working with a REAL trainer and the difference is like night and day.
April 11, 2009 at 5:35 pm
You are absolutely right. You have to do your homework; I did and I’ve got one of the best nutritionists on the planet.
April 14, 2009 at 10:40 am
Good post. Alot of people get taken for a ride.
One thing is for certain, your strength levels dont lie!
April 18, 2009 at 8:25 pm
So true. Finding a good trainer, nutritionist, doctor, dentist or any other professional is a matter of trial and error. I think it is always a red flag is someone wants a bunch of money up front.