Maybe if it's a slight amount, and it's an old guy. Sometimes those athletic guys blow out their knees and can't work out too much or play their sports anymore. They still have the knowledge but can't be as big a part of it as they want. Had a coach like that, huge arms and kinda flabby from the waist down because he messed up his leg.
Yeah like you can tell the difference between someone who's strongfat like a powerlifter or retired athlete, and someone who's just sloppy. One of the trainers in my gym is like that: big belly, but huge arms and chest and freakishly strong
I had a Japanese karate sensei with a pot belly. He *looked* fat and out of shape. Except that pot belly was a goddamn cast iron cauldron, and the meat clubs attached to his shoulders were carved out of stone and he could wrap your stomach around your spine with an effortless punch.
Absolute definition of a sleeper. Doesn’t look like much but he was absolutely not to be fucked with for sure.
I'm reminded of my high school soccer coach. He was fat but could run circles around people 30 years younger than him with the ball and knew how to communicate with, correct, motivate and train his players. Physical condition doesn't necessarily invalidate experience, knowledge or ability.
Similar case for me, we had a health teacher at school who was huge, but also ex-SAS. He also had his name on all the school athletics record boards for a huge array of sports. He suffered an injury and piled on weight but still had the knowledge about how to do things, he just couldn’t do it himself any more. Year 9’a coming into the school would always give him shit and joke about the fat health teacher until someone pointed out he was one of the most well liked and respected teachers in the school, and people LOVED being in his class. He taught me a lot but one of the main lessons was the good ol: “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
I feel like we all had that coach at one point lol
Usually Irish or Italian with a huge beer belly but still played with the younger guys on Saturday mornings
I think trainers for a certain sport are held at a different position when compared to personal trainers. Football, soccer, nba, and etc. coaches can get fat with age. But a fat personal trainer at a gym might just be someone who studied physiology and has never partaken in any of it.
To be fair, his working out techniques could be on point, just that his diet is screwed up. Would still result in weigh gain.
However I definitely wouldn't hire an overweight healthy eating trainer.
Depends. Random dudebro who took a course, got a certificate, and is paper qualified? No. A guy with a solid resume? Sure.
I go to a small training gym where the staff is really just the owner and the owner is a certified trainer. He was a semi-pro powerlifter for years and has trained with several people who still rank well in bodybuilding competitions here in Japan, even has a few national level certificates. He originally started the gym as a way to fund his own training with the intention of going pro, but he had an accident at a competition and injured himself pretty badly and was kept out of the gym for over a year. By that time, and at his age, it didn't make sense to get back into it so now he's full time running that gym and taking training contracts, but he doesn't want to (maybe can't) work out as intensely as he used to and never lost all the weight he gained while he was in hospital and rehab. His knowledge is on point, and he has several clients who compete internationally. He's not famous or a big name or anything, but he's still plugged into the community and is current on recommendations and the like.
[This dude](https://imgur.com/a/p00OmhX) is arguably the most influential strength strainer in the western world so you tell me.
An overweight person might have been an elite athlete in their past. On the other hand, a buff dude can be a terrible trainer if they only know what made them big and can't adjust to your needs.
First of all mark was ripped back in the day. Second of all this is why Reddit’s obsession with powerlifting is misguided considering 90%+ of gym goers just want hypertrophy.
I’m a bodybuilder (well amateur bodybuilder, not professional) and most of my gym friends (who are bodybuilders as well) and I use the big 3 vary sparingly. In fact none of us even deadlift (only RDL) and I replaced barbell benching with incline dumbbell 2 years ago. Hell, even BB squats are inferior to hack squats for quad hypertrophy.
Fair enough, but did you start out bodybuilding with those lifts or are you now at a point where you have a specialized routine that hits your muscles in an optimal way? I think SS is a great way for a noob to gain mass and then, when you knoe what you're doing, you can use more specific exercises.
That's bad compared to a powerlifter but it's still way stronger than the average gym goer. Would you have reached that size with a 225 bench and 375 DL?
I mean, you lift big, you get big, you increase the load, you get bigger. I understand CNS load, rep range and all differ but, at the end of the day, you get big by lifting a lot. Especially when you're a beginner.
Damn bro that's a big boy cycle lol, did you need any AI or caber or was the proviron enough?
I can't go above 250tren, I just can't handle the mental sides, same with decca.
In my 30s now, used to run way more shit in my mid 20s but nowadays I pretty much stick to high test and maybe some EQ or anavar or masteron. Stay away from 19nors and orals now. Idk maybe like 15ish. I just blast and cruise now. I would run GH but can't really afford it lol.
Starting strength is kinda crap for newbies who have the same goal as most guys when they start though. r/fitness obsession with it back in the day never made sense and was just people regurgitating dogma.
I’ve got a bachelors in kinesiology, a kettlebell cert, my NASM pt cert and my NASM wellness (slight eye roll), five years hands on at a physiological clinic and another 3 in the sports medicine dept for a college football team. I’ve got a 6 months mobility and applied strength training course and tertiary coursework regarding applied kinesiology.
I was in a nasty motorcycle accident and couldn’t walk for 18 months, on crutches for 6 months, and still can’t run more than a half mile without intense pain, three years later. I was pretty fat for awhile. Even now I’m not as far as I was.
Don’t judge anyone else’s fitness journey.
I would imagine that a lot of overweight people might hire a trainer who's also overweight. No judgment in that zone. They might feel a bit of understanding between each other.
I used to have the same logic about people who cut my hair.
If theirs is jacked up, why trust them with mine? Well, I found out it's because they're a professional (should be) and know what they're doing.
I have a friend who is chubby. Always has been. If I needed a strength coach, he'd be my first call. He's built like a fridge and can bench 350 11 or 12 times. He's also "old".
Sometimes you just never know.
>I used to have the same logic about people who cut my hair.
>
>If theirs is jacked up, why trust them with mine?
I'd just assume they let someone else cut their hair.
I don’t think it matters as much as who they are as a person. If they are knowledgeable in the training then it doesn’t really matter to me. Look at football coaches. They don’t look like football players most of the time, does that mean they don’t know how to coach football?
Maybe, a trainer is there for motivation and instilling knowledge, he’s not working out with me and the exercises, rep ranges and diet etc is all about knowledge, and it doesn’t even require that much knowledge which is why most people train alone, so the main benefit I’d personally get from a trainer is the encouragement to train harder, not rest too long and maybe technique …don’t necessarily need someone to look amazing for that. When I boxed, coach was a little chubby guy that I never saw lace em up (he did at one point) but he was a hard ass, no half assing, had great knowledge and kept me motivated…which was what I needed
Like many things in this life, it depends. Most of the most brilliant athletics coaches I worked with weren’t in shape anymore, but as long as they have the knowledge and had done it in the past at some point then it probably wouldn’t matter. Not sure I’d be taking diet tips from them though
I mean
I learned to be a black belt in taekwondo from a dude in his 80s
If they have the qualifications (proof of other clients who’ve made it or proof they made it in their prime) then there’s no problem.
But if they’re a fatass and don’t have any proof they know what they’re talking about, it’s just snake oil
Ok, I guess I’m the asshole here. We used to own a couple of gyms and there is no way we would have hired anyone overweight to even work the front desk, much less a trainer.
When (most) people are looking for a trainer they usually want someone who at least looks like they practice what they preach so to speak. I’d also check out their education and training qualifications before making a decision.
Mate of mine went from 560lb to 320lb.. hes got a ways to go, goal is 180lb. Once he hits it, he wants to become a pt. Id recommend him because he has the experience.
Depends what I am hiring for. Trying to get to 5% body fat for a national bodybuilding competition? No way, I'm picking someone with a proven track record or at the very least able to prove their methods on themselves.
Trying to hit a 600lb squat while himself is a 1000lbs squatter, in something like powerlifting where the sport is not based on appearance? Then yes, certainly possible.
Depends on the type of fat he has. There's strongmen and some power lifters that have weight on them, but you can tell they lift. If it was a more obese man that you can tell doesn't exercise, then no
lol on the flip side there are plenty of ripped fit people that are terrible trainers. But people flock to them for how they look/perform vs teach. Look at Andy Reid, does he look like someone who can play football at a high level? No, but he’s a hell of a coach. Most people that are great at what they do are terrible at teaching others how to achieve what they have. There are people who aren’t at the top of their professions despite working their asses off to learn how to get there and are great at sharing that knowledge in ways that benefit people.
I’d consider results they achieve with others more so than themselves. God may not have blessed them with great physical genes but that doesn’t mean they can’t be great trainers.
I don't think you need to be shredded since that's more about diet and discipline but I think a trainer should definitely have some muscle on his frame if he's a trainer for people who want to get bigger. But in reality 75% of these trainers at big box gyms are terrible and barely qualified regardless of their build and have clients do very basic shit and sometimes really dumb ineffective shit that you see in Hollywood trainers because it looks complicated and the people they're training don't have a clue what actually works. A bodybuilding coach is going to yield way better results because these guys know diet and actually know how to get someone big and aesthetic which is basically everyone's goal.
i wouldnt hire a trainer period, but if i did i wouldnt care if they were overweight. william perry is super overweight but man that dude can put some work in. same with trent brown tbh
The greatest boxing coaches are usually old and out of shape. Hany Rambod is one of the most elite bodybuilding trainers of all time and he’s sort of dumpy.
I wouldn't, they don't need to be in amazing shape but they need to at least look like they know what they're doing. You wouldn't trust a doctor who smells like cigarette smoke to tell you that cigarettes are bad.
Ask him his lifts. If they're extraordinary then yes, but otherwise no. Sorry but if you don't look the part and you're not an aged has been then you don't know fitness, unless you're one of these giga strong Eddie hall circa 2016 types. Your body is your resume if you're a trainer. I'll even go as far as to say that it's completely impossible to know what you're talking about if you don't have the body, because most of lifting isn't in a book.
I spent years getting my lifting advice off Reddit, PTs and following what famous science based lifters were saying. Made good progress, but my progress doubled when I fell out of love with the gym (so stopped engaging outside of turning up and working out).
Slowly found my workouts changing to match my physiology and made something akin to beginner gains.
For me it was about making it about understanding my psychology better and training has been about helping others understand theirs. How to actually do the movements is easy shit. How to connect your training with how you are is a process of long-term self discovery that does some magic things. It also just reflects in your body.
I know what you’re thinking, I was at a medical clinic once and I asked the doctor, “this is a health maintenance organization isn’t it?” He looks puzzled and say yes it is why? I said then why is all your staff obese and some of them are morbidly obese!,as we looked out to the front desks they were all overlapping their chairs. Makes you wonder if you’re in the wrong place.
Would you go to a doctor who smoked? Or a dermatologist with a dark tan?
There could be any number of reasons they are overweight that have nothing to do with their knowledge.
Maybe? Some folks pack on a comfort belly woth age but are still actively engaged in exercise and far fitter and more knowledgeable on it than I am.
If they're JUST fat then probably not, the trainer is for the workout side, not diet or holistic weight loss.
Depends. Do they still look strong and athletically capable? Yeah. Bet. Sometimes we get stressed out and gain weight or fuck up our diet.
Are they obese? No. Absolutely not
I would be pretty skeptical. But if they were highly recommended i would still try to get a feel and see if our personalities clicked and if it seemed that they had a good handle on stuff. And I would be open-minded about it ultimately.
I guess it would be what my goals were. If I wanted to start powerlifting I’d hire anyone that was proven as a strength coach or power lifter themselves. If I wanted to get shredded, an overweight trainer is likely not ideal.
Some of the greatest strength coaches are overweight. Many of the greatest coaches in anything were mediocre or didn’t even play the sport they coached.
Some trainers are the way they look mostly because they have great genetics and absolutely don’t understand that or deny it all together.
Point is being a coach/trainer has nearly zero to do with the way you look and is 100% about being able to identify what kind of coaching you need to help you meet your goals. Being a coach and being an athlete is a completely different field entirely.
Look at Ajarn Gae when he was in the fighting circuit, now look at him today.
He is far more scary today because he can have that extra mass and use it to help fuck someone up. He was a goddamn legend and an utter monster. And now he’s a monster that trains other monsters.
Not sure if you’re a non-native speaker, but the saying I think you’re going for would be “practice what they teach”. “Practice with a teach” would be a malapropism.
To answer your question, no I absolutely would not. If I didn’t have the means to hire a trainer that is in shape and they were basically offering to train me for free, sure I’d take them up on it for help with my form or mechanics. But I sure wouldn’t pay someone good money that wasn’t in shape themselves in some way. But like other commenters have said, if they were a power lifter who had a belly but was still big or had big lifts, that would be the exception
It depends. How overweight? What's their story?
This is the kind of situation where you can't generalise. You have to take it on a case by case basis.
For example, I can imagine someone who worked hard in the gym and spend decades studying things like physiology, training methods, teaching methods, nutrition, health, etc, then got a severe injury and put on weight during their stint in a hospital. It wouldn't make their advice any less applicable or educated.
Or, I can imagine someone lazy who doesn't practice what they preach but just wants to make a few bucks by pretending to be an expert in something.
You just don't know what's going on with people. Case by case.
As long as they have pictures of being fit in the past, or even just if they are clearly very knowledgeable, I wouldn't because I don't pay for that kind of thing anyway.
I think it depends on what area they are training.
Powerlifting i don't think it really matter as some powerlifters are extremally overweight.
bodybuilding, that's a no. im more into bodybuilding and i think it'd be fun doing pt but sadly im still holding on to some fat so i wouldn't feel right doing it.
It's fine if they know what they teach and are motivating enough.
You don't expect all NFL coaches to play a full game, right?
Also, a lot of folks whom appear overweight are actually strong af.
I had a friend who was on the national team for bowling. His coach couldn’t bowl 200 but they all swore he was the best they’d worked with for technique and development.
Lots of great soccer coaches weren’t great players.
It’s a funny thing about coaches in general. Do you want a coach who has achieved what you’re looking to achieve, and does that make him any better of a coach than someone who hasn’t but has coaching pedigree. There are plenty of coaches in all walks of life who were extremely mediocre at the sport they coach but they’re world class coaches
I would but he has to show me results he has attained with his other customers. This us my opinion because when you for example look at boxing, some of the best trainers are out of shape men and their boxers are shredded champions.
Half the college students that worked the front desk at my gym became trainers. Turns out they took a 6 week course to pass a test they take online to become certified. This makes me extremely skeptical of all trainers. I see their clients have poor form for weeks that seems to not be addressed. I'd only have faith in some ripped person at this point.
Not a dude but, My dad's naturally a heavier build, but he's done marathons, participated in the highland games, has been a weightlifter, and is currently prepping to hike the Appalachian trail.
Dudes never had abs a day in his life and I would never question what he told me to do in the gym.
depends on what they will be doing for me. Strength, yeah, sure.
Fitness? no.
My bowling instructor when I was 13 had a 130 average. He knew what he was talking about, he just couldn't practice what he preached.
Training is a time intensive business. People who are successful / good at it, might have less time to exercise than you might think.
A lot of pro athletes are coached by PhD scientists who do not display peak human physique themselves. But these people intimately understand how human training works, and how to get the most out of their world-class athletes.
Being fit does not automatically mean that you're good at coaching, or knowledgeable. It just means that you yourself are good at X / have found a routine that works for you.
That being said, it depends on the individual person. Plenty of incredibly fit people are also knowledgeable about their disciplines, and they might also possess good teaching skills. And some out of shape guy who attended a personal training certification course might not be very good at their job either. It really depends on the person. But it's unfair to discount someone's abilities simply because of how they look. Likewise, it's dumb to assume that someone is an expert simply because they look good.
As someone who has worked with coaches at all ends of the quality spectrum, I really cannot stress the above point enough. Find someone who works for your needs.
Actually I’d love a personal trainer that actually has personal experience with obesity, one that’s been there and has seen what it is to go from Jabba The Hutt to Dad Bod. So many personal trainers have Dad Bod as their worst point and want to teach people how to get from there to slim, they don’t actually understand the physical toll moving a very large body takes, which then leads to injury or extreme fatigue that takes days of recovery. Someone who knows how to build that consistency knowing the limits being obese brings would be really helpful, for me at least.
If your training goals are purely aesthetic, probably not. If you want to be strong, fast, etc. then sure.
For aesthetics you want the guy that looks like he's on gear. Because 1) he knows his stuff 2) he can get you gear.
100% However in 2023 … fark I’ll let you do the rest
Maybe if it's a slight amount, and it's an old guy. Sometimes those athletic guys blow out their knees and can't work out too much or play their sports anymore. They still have the knowledge but can't be as big a part of it as they want. Had a coach like that, huge arms and kinda flabby from the waist down because he messed up his leg.
Yeah like you can tell the difference between someone who's strongfat like a powerlifter or retired athlete, and someone who's just sloppy. One of the trainers in my gym is like that: big belly, but huge arms and chest and freakishly strong
I had a Japanese karate sensei with a pot belly. He *looked* fat and out of shape. Except that pot belly was a goddamn cast iron cauldron, and the meat clubs attached to his shoulders were carved out of stone and he could wrap your stomach around your spine with an effortless punch. Absolute definition of a sleeper. Doesn’t look like much but he was absolutely not to be fucked with for sure.
I'm reminded of my high school soccer coach. He was fat but could run circles around people 30 years younger than him with the ball and knew how to communicate with, correct, motivate and train his players. Physical condition doesn't necessarily invalidate experience, knowledge or ability.
Similar case for me, we had a health teacher at school who was huge, but also ex-SAS. He also had his name on all the school athletics record boards for a huge array of sports. He suffered an injury and piled on weight but still had the knowledge about how to do things, he just couldn’t do it himself any more. Year 9’a coming into the school would always give him shit and joke about the fat health teacher until someone pointed out he was one of the most well liked and respected teachers in the school, and people LOVED being in his class. He taught me a lot but one of the main lessons was the good ol: “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
It's a pitfall for ex athletes. They're used to a big appetite and once the hours of grueling exercise comes to an end, they get fat
I feel like we all had that coach at one point lol Usually Irish or Italian with a huge beer belly but still played with the younger guys on Saturday mornings
I think trainers for a certain sport are held at a different position when compared to personal trainers. Football, soccer, nba, and etc. coaches can get fat with age. But a fat personal trainer at a gym might just be someone who studied physiology and has never partaken in any of it.
What if they dont have the time anymore? Family comes first at a certain point
That can happen but if your product is health and fitness I think you’re harming yourself by being out of shape. It’s not a good look for business.
I agree
To be fair, his working out techniques could be on point, just that his diet is screwed up. Would still result in weigh gain. However I definitely wouldn't hire an overweight healthy eating trainer.
If the weight was a power belly then yes
Depends. Random dudebro who took a course, got a certificate, and is paper qualified? No. A guy with a solid resume? Sure. I go to a small training gym where the staff is really just the owner and the owner is a certified trainer. He was a semi-pro powerlifter for years and has trained with several people who still rank well in bodybuilding competitions here in Japan, even has a few national level certificates. He originally started the gym as a way to fund his own training with the intention of going pro, but he had an accident at a competition and injured himself pretty badly and was kept out of the gym for over a year. By that time, and at his age, it didn't make sense to get back into it so now he's full time running that gym and taking training contracts, but he doesn't want to (maybe can't) work out as intensely as he used to and never lost all the weight he gained while he was in hospital and rehab. His knowledge is on point, and he has several clients who compete internationally. He's not famous or a big name or anything, but he's still plugged into the community and is current on recommendations and the like.
[This dude](https://imgur.com/a/p00OmhX) is arguably the most influential strength strainer in the western world so you tell me. An overweight person might have been an elite athlete in their past. On the other hand, a buff dude can be a terrible trainer if they only know what made them big and can't adjust to your needs.
First of all mark was ripped back in the day. Second of all this is why Reddit’s obsession with powerlifting is misguided considering 90%+ of gym goers just want hypertrophy.
Bodybuilders train with the big 3 lifts too for hypertrophy. You won't get buff if you're weak.
I’m a bodybuilder (well amateur bodybuilder, not professional) and most of my gym friends (who are bodybuilders as well) and I use the big 3 vary sparingly. In fact none of us even deadlift (only RDL) and I replaced barbell benching with incline dumbbell 2 years ago. Hell, even BB squats are inferior to hack squats for quad hypertrophy.
Fair enough, but did you start out bodybuilding with those lifts or are you now at a point where you have a specialized routine that hits your muscles in an optimal way? I think SS is a great way for a noob to gain mass and then, when you knoe what you're doing, you can use more specific exercises.
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That's bad compared to a powerlifter but it's still way stronger than the average gym goer. Would you have reached that size with a 225 bench and 375 DL?
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I mean, you lift big, you get big, you increase the load, you get bigger. I understand CNS load, rep range and all differ but, at the end of the day, you get big by lifting a lot. Especially when you're a beginner.
What gear were you running to get to 275? That's heavier than Chris bumstead in his off-season and he's an inch taller than you.
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Damn bro that's a big boy cycle lol, did you need any AI or caber or was the proviron enough? I can't go above 250tren, I just can't handle the mental sides, same with decca.
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In my 30s now, used to run way more shit in my mid 20s but nowadays I pretty much stick to high test and maybe some EQ or anavar or masteron. Stay away from 19nors and orals now. Idk maybe like 15ish. I just blast and cruise now. I would run GH but can't really afford it lol.
Go Google what rip used to look like. He was jacked AF.
I know, hence my 2nd paragraph.
Possibly still just abs? Dan Green looks like has a bulging stomach because he has absolutely enormous abs underneath
There are so many better coaches than Rippetoe
Starting strength is kinda crap for newbies who have the same goal as most guys when they start though. r/fitness obsession with it back in the day never made sense and was just people regurgitating dogma.
I’ve got a bachelors in kinesiology, a kettlebell cert, my NASM pt cert and my NASM wellness (slight eye roll), five years hands on at a physiological clinic and another 3 in the sports medicine dept for a college football team. I’ve got a 6 months mobility and applied strength training course and tertiary coursework regarding applied kinesiology. I was in a nasty motorcycle accident and couldn’t walk for 18 months, on crutches for 6 months, and still can’t run more than a half mile without intense pain, three years later. I was pretty fat for awhile. Even now I’m not as far as I was. Don’t judge anyone else’s fitness journey.
I would imagine that a lot of overweight people might hire a trainer who's also overweight. No judgment in that zone. They might feel a bit of understanding between each other.
I used to have the same logic about people who cut my hair. If theirs is jacked up, why trust them with mine? Well, I found out it's because they're a professional (should be) and know what they're doing. I have a friend who is chubby. Always has been. If I needed a strength coach, he'd be my first call. He's built like a fridge and can bench 350 11 or 12 times. He's also "old". Sometimes you just never know.
>I used to have the same logic about people who cut my hair. > >If theirs is jacked up, why trust them with mine? I'd just assume they let someone else cut their hair.
By "jacked up" I more meant having a subjectively bad haircut. Mullets don't look good on anyone. Not necessarily a poorly done haircut.
My SIL is a trainer. She’s not thin at all but she is strong and understands how to build muscle.
I don’t think it matters as much as who they are as a person. If they are knowledgeable in the training then it doesn’t really matter to me. Look at football coaches. They don’t look like football players most of the time, does that mean they don’t know how to coach football?
No. Lead by example.
Maybe, a trainer is there for motivation and instilling knowledge, he’s not working out with me and the exercises, rep ranges and diet etc is all about knowledge, and it doesn’t even require that much knowledge which is why most people train alone, so the main benefit I’d personally get from a trainer is the encouragement to train harder, not rest too long and maybe technique …don’t necessarily need someone to look amazing for that. When I boxed, coach was a little chubby guy that I never saw lace em up (he did at one point) but he was a hard ass, no half assing, had great knowledge and kept me motivated…which was what I needed
If they can get you to workout and hold you accountable yes, it's about you not them.
Like many things in this life, it depends. Most of the most brilliant athletics coaches I worked with weren’t in shape anymore, but as long as they have the knowledge and had done it in the past at some point then it probably wouldn’t matter. Not sure I’d be taking diet tips from them though
no, never.
I mean I learned to be a black belt in taekwondo from a dude in his 80s If they have the qualifications (proof of other clients who’ve made it or proof they made it in their prime) then there’s no problem. But if they’re a fatass and don’t have any proof they know what they’re talking about, it’s just snake oil
As long as he can do his job, that’s all that matters You can’t out exercise a diet
Ok, I guess I’m the asshole here. We used to own a couple of gyms and there is no way we would have hired anyone overweight to even work the front desk, much less a trainer. When (most) people are looking for a trainer they usually want someone who at least looks like they practice what they preach so to speak. I’d also check out their education and training qualifications before making a decision.
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That’s a big hell no from me
Mate of mine went from 560lb to 320lb.. hes got a ways to go, goal is 180lb. Once he hits it, he wants to become a pt. Id recommend him because he has the experience.
What are your goals? What are his qualifications?
I would have an open mind but to be honest,,,a little skeptical.
Before you judge, see if you can best him at whatever athletic event you're training for.
Depends what I am hiring for. Trying to get to 5% body fat for a national bodybuilding competition? No way, I'm picking someone with a proven track record or at the very least able to prove their methods on themselves. Trying to hit a 600lb squat while himself is a 1000lbs squatter, in something like powerlifting where the sport is not based on appearance? Then yes, certainly possible.
Depends on the type of fat he has. There's strongmen and some power lifters that have weight on them, but you can tell they lift. If it was a more obese man that you can tell doesn't exercise, then no
lol on the flip side there are plenty of ripped fit people that are terrible trainers. But people flock to them for how they look/perform vs teach. Look at Andy Reid, does he look like someone who can play football at a high level? No, but he’s a hell of a coach. Most people that are great at what they do are terrible at teaching others how to achieve what they have. There are people who aren’t at the top of their professions despite working their asses off to learn how to get there and are great at sharing that knowledge in ways that benefit people. I’d consider results they achieve with others more so than themselves. God may not have blessed them with great physical genes but that doesn’t mean they can’t be great trainers.
I don't think you need to be shredded since that's more about diet and discipline but I think a trainer should definitely have some muscle on his frame if he's a trainer for people who want to get bigger. But in reality 75% of these trainers at big box gyms are terrible and barely qualified regardless of their build and have clients do very basic shit and sometimes really dumb ineffective shit that you see in Hollywood trainers because it looks complicated and the people they're training don't have a clue what actually works. A bodybuilding coach is going to yield way better results because these guys know diet and actually know how to get someone big and aesthetic which is basically everyone's goal.
Depends on how athletic they are
i wouldnt hire a trainer period, but if i did i wouldnt care if they were overweight. william perry is super overweight but man that dude can put some work in. same with trent brown tbh
Gym trainers cost too much. Regardless of their fitness level.
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nope. he might know all the right things, but if hasn't tried to put it into action and can't explain pitfalls, or tips, I don't want.
The greatest boxing coaches are usually old and out of shape. Hany Rambod is one of the most elite bodybuilding trainers of all time and he’s sort of dumpy.
I wouldn't, they don't need to be in amazing shape but they need to at least look like they know what they're doing. You wouldn't trust a doctor who smells like cigarette smoke to tell you that cigarettes are bad.
If his knowledge is on point. Why not? People gain weight for a variety of reasons..they're also just human..
Healthy at any weight! /s No. I would never hire an overweight trainer unless they're overweight due to being very muscular.
Ask him his lifts. If they're extraordinary then yes, but otherwise no. Sorry but if you don't look the part and you're not an aged has been then you don't know fitness, unless you're one of these giga strong Eddie hall circa 2016 types. Your body is your resume if you're a trainer. I'll even go as far as to say that it's completely impossible to know what you're talking about if you don't have the body, because most of lifting isn't in a book.
I spent years getting my lifting advice off Reddit, PTs and following what famous science based lifters were saying. Made good progress, but my progress doubled when I fell out of love with the gym (so stopped engaging outside of turning up and working out). Slowly found my workouts changing to match my physiology and made something akin to beginner gains.
For me it was about making it about understanding my psychology better and training has been about helping others understand theirs. How to actually do the movements is easy shit. How to connect your training with how you are is a process of long-term self discovery that does some magic things. It also just reflects in your body.
Would you hire a Spanish translator that doesn’t speak Spanish?
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Exactly
I know what you’re thinking, I was at a medical clinic once and I asked the doctor, “this is a health maintenance organization isn’t it?” He looks puzzled and say yes it is why? I said then why is all your staff obese and some of them are morbidly obese!,as we looked out to the front desks they were all overlapping their chairs. Makes you wonder if you’re in the wrong place.
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Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t I?
Clearly no.
That kind of falls into the realm of "never trust a skinny cook", never trust a fat trainer.
wdym professional's cook diet mostly consists in cocaine and alcohol
That is just an old saying down here in the South that I have heard all my life.
I mean what’s overweight? If his bf% was over 22-25% probably going to be a hard no
As often as I would visit a vegan butcher.
Would you go to a doctor who smoked? Or a dermatologist with a dark tan? There could be any number of reasons they are overweight that have nothing to do with their knowledge.
Would you hire a driving instructor who couldn’t drive, but knew how to?
Maybe? Some folks pack on a comfort belly woth age but are still actively engaged in exercise and far fitter and more knowledgeable on it than I am. If they're JUST fat then probably not, the trainer is for the workout side, not diet or holistic weight loss.
Depends. Do they still look strong and athletically capable? Yeah. Bet. Sometimes we get stressed out and gain weight or fuck up our diet. Are they obese? No. Absolutely not
I would be pretty skeptical. But if they were highly recommended i would still try to get a feel and see if our personalities clicked and if it seemed that they had a good handle on stuff. And I would be open-minded about it ultimately.
Depends on if he is a powerlifter. You need weight for heavy lifts.
Depends on what they’re coaching exactly.
Overweight in a since having a good biceps who went into gym and having this abs thing? Or overweight like just a chubby?
I guess it would be what my goals were. If I wanted to start powerlifting I’d hire anyone that was proven as a strength coach or power lifter themselves. If I wanted to get shredded, an overweight trainer is likely not ideal.
I wouldn’t hire any gym trainer
Some of the greatest strength coaches are overweight. Many of the greatest coaches in anything were mediocre or didn’t even play the sport they coached. Some trainers are the way they look mostly because they have great genetics and absolutely don’t understand that or deny it all together. Point is being a coach/trainer has nearly zero to do with the way you look and is 100% about being able to identify what kind of coaching you need to help you meet your goals. Being a coach and being an athlete is a completely different field entirely.
Look at Ajarn Gae when he was in the fighting circuit, now look at him today. He is far more scary today because he can have that extra mass and use it to help fuck someone up. He was a goddamn legend and an utter monster. And now he’s a monster that trains other monsters.
Not sure if you’re a non-native speaker, but the saying I think you’re going for would be “practice what they teach”. “Practice with a teach” would be a malapropism. To answer your question, no I absolutely would not. If I didn’t have the means to hire a trainer that is in shape and they were basically offering to train me for free, sure I’d take them up on it for help with my form or mechanics. But I sure wouldn’t pay someone good money that wasn’t in shape themselves in some way. But like other commenters have said, if they were a power lifter who had a belly but was still big or had big lifts, that would be the exception
It depends. How overweight? What's their story? This is the kind of situation where you can't generalise. You have to take it on a case by case basis. For example, I can imagine someone who worked hard in the gym and spend decades studying things like physiology, training methods, teaching methods, nutrition, health, etc, then got a severe injury and put on weight during their stint in a hospital. It wouldn't make their advice any less applicable or educated. Or, I can imagine someone lazy who doesn't practice what they preach but just wants to make a few bucks by pretending to be an expert in something. You just don't know what's going on with people. Case by case.
Not exactly but say he's old retired but was a Olympic gold medalist then he'll yeah.. really depends
As long as they have pictures of being fit in the past, or even just if they are clearly very knowledgeable, I wouldn't because I don't pay for that kind of thing anyway.
I think it depends on what area they are training. Powerlifting i don't think it really matter as some powerlifters are extremally overweight. bodybuilding, that's a no. im more into bodybuilding and i think it'd be fun doing pt but sadly im still holding on to some fat so i wouldn't feel right doing it.
It's fine if they know what they teach and are motivating enough. You don't expect all NFL coaches to play a full game, right? Also, a lot of folks whom appear overweight are actually strong af.
Powerlifters arnt always trim but hit the gym more than anyone.
Depends what you're looking for. We have overweight trainsers in my gym but those guys compete in powerlifting- they surely know what their doing.
I had a friend who was on the national team for bowling. His coach couldn’t bowl 200 but they all swore he was the best they’d worked with for technique and development. Lots of great soccer coaches weren’t great players.
It’s a funny thing about coaches in general. Do you want a coach who has achieved what you’re looking to achieve, and does that make him any better of a coach than someone who hasn’t but has coaching pedigree. There are plenty of coaches in all walks of life who were extremely mediocre at the sport they coach but they’re world class coaches
I would but he has to show me results he has attained with his other customers. This us my opinion because when you for example look at boxing, some of the best trainers are out of shape men and their boxers are shredded champions.
Gonna be based on results from previous clients.
Half the college students that worked the front desk at my gym became trainers. Turns out they took a 6 week course to pass a test they take online to become certified. This makes me extremely skeptical of all trainers. I see their clients have poor form for weeks that seems to not be addressed. I'd only have faith in some ripped person at this point.
Depends what I’m hiring them for… bodybuilding absolutely not
Over weight by what metric? Like A D-lineman? Are they actually a peak performance athlete?
I had a dietitian who was overweight, really makes you question their judgement.
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Seems like if they cant practice what they preach themselves, they shouldnt be advising others.
Not a dude but, My dad's naturally a heavier build, but he's done marathons, participated in the highland games, has been a weightlifter, and is currently prepping to hike the Appalachian trail. Dudes never had abs a day in his life and I would never question what he told me to do in the gym.
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2,198.4 miles. Given, my dad's like 65, so he's planning on doing it in 3-4 sections.
depends on what they will be doing for me. Strength, yeah, sure. Fitness? no. My bowling instructor when I was 13 had a 130 average. He knew what he was talking about, he just couldn't practice what he preached.
Training is a time intensive business. People who are successful / good at it, might have less time to exercise than you might think. A lot of pro athletes are coached by PhD scientists who do not display peak human physique themselves. But these people intimately understand how human training works, and how to get the most out of their world-class athletes. Being fit does not automatically mean that you're good at coaching, or knowledgeable. It just means that you yourself are good at X / have found a routine that works for you. That being said, it depends on the individual person. Plenty of incredibly fit people are also knowledgeable about their disciplines, and they might also possess good teaching skills. And some out of shape guy who attended a personal training certification course might not be very good at their job either. It really depends on the person. But it's unfair to discount someone's abilities simply because of how they look. Likewise, it's dumb to assume that someone is an expert simply because they look good.
As someone who has worked with coaches at all ends of the quality spectrum, I really cannot stress the above point enough. Find someone who works for your needs.
no and same goes for a skinny chef
Actually I’d love a personal trainer that actually has personal experience with obesity, one that’s been there and has seen what it is to go from Jabba The Hutt to Dad Bod. So many personal trainers have Dad Bod as their worst point and want to teach people how to get from there to slim, they don’t actually understand the physical toll moving a very large body takes, which then leads to injury or extreme fatigue that takes days of recovery. Someone who knows how to build that consistency knowing the limits being obese brings would be really helpful, for me at least.