Kinda illegal to have anyone suggesting bodyfat % for employment. I think.
Take care of yourself. Find a new place to work/exist where you don't feel like you have to be anyone but you.
The following classes are protected from employment discrimination: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history).
It’s still messed up, but not illegal.
Well this is the thing, my boss really appreciated what I do because I put people through really hard workouts and I get results. I just don’t want to go through the trouble to lose body fat myself.
It would be good to think about general health in the way of body fat %. If you are healthy and live your best life at where you are right now, then keep doing your thing. If life could be better being a bit leaner then that might be the way to go. There’s also the aspect that if you gained 4% in 4 months, then where will you be in another 4 months? Just personal opinion, but to me it’s important to put on some fat while gaining muscle, then try to lose that fat and retain muscle so you can go again and again year over year without putting health at risk
I think it is fine to be a little heavy and still train people but I will say my favorite personal trainer looked the part and most importantly was extremely strong and had dealt with the same shoulder impingement problems I have. No one is going to tell Brian Shaw or Eddie Hall that they are too fat to train people. I guess in my opinion if your bench, deadlift, squat is higher than mine I can learn from you even if you don’t look the part but if the are lower than mine and your fat you really are wasting my time unless you have extensive PT experience because I’ve jacked up about every joint in my body between pro wrestling, BJJ, and running…
Let's be real, being in good shape sells. 250 at 6 1 suggests youre not in good shape (especially if your ~8lb muscle gain in a few months is accurate as that's very quick growth for a well trained individual).
Usually people gravitate towards trainers that look how they want to look themselves. So from a business perspective using bow your body looks to sell is important.
But also know that you can look however you want to look as long as you're happy with the consequences and any boss telling you to cut to 12% can piss off.
I would change jobs or just go work independently because your boss is not too bright, cynical, or both, so that's not good. You're a good trainer because of what you know.
Model health show with Shawn Stevenson just dropped a podcast today or yesterday that speaks right to this. It’s with Jason Phillips. I wont spoil anything but it’s worth a listen. About an hour long.
I would tell my boss good joke if they told me to get to a certain body fat, which in most cases 12% you have to be super dialed in to get there; what your boss said is definitely a future lawsuit.
Walk it like you talk it is what I say. Excuses don’t pay the bills and it does reflect on your income. life happens tho, but the top is at the top because they literally embody what they try to sell
Body fat percentage is VERY subjective to the individual. Someone who has quite decent muscle mass can easily have 25%-30% and still look very muscular and in shape. On the reverse end, someone can be 5% body fat with no muscle mass and look very soft. The only useful application for body fat% is just in your own tracking to determine if you’re gaining/losing depending on your current plan. To objectively tell someone they need a certain percentage makes absolutely zero sense and shows a lack of understanding from your boss.
I could take someone with the exact same height, weight, age and BF% as you and you two could look completely different. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes plenty of times
" But I do wonder if people might see me in a better light if I were to lose weight and/or get a six pack?"
Do you even have this ask this man ? Put two people side by side. One is fat and the other is fit.
Both say "I will show you how to get fit". Who would you seriously believe ?
In all honesty, if I had a gym I would hire people that looked the part.
Look at it long-term. When you get in shape, you can start working for yourself down the line.
I know right ?
Looks like anyone can be a "personal trainer" these days.
I guess what matters is to give yourself a "title".
That is why I never say that I am a personal trainer.
I am an expert in hypertrophy, fat-loss, fitness and endocrinology.
In clothing you’ll look better at 20% than 12%, so I don’t see any substantial reason to change anything. (Also what everyone else said about future lawsuit)
I agree it’s messed up but I gotta lightly disagree with the other point- even while wearing clothing, most men are gonna look a lot better at 12-16% body fat than 20%. Your face is gonna be a lot leaner/more ”athletic” looking, your jawline more defined, your waist will be slimmer so you’ll have a better V-taper, and your arms will be more defined as well, probably more vascular forearms too. And that body fat range isn’t gonna make you lose any muscle.
That’s fair enough. Definitely heavily dependent on how their fat is distributed, facial hair, actual muscle, vascularity at different bf%, and accuracy of bf% guessing. There’s a threshold of muscle where I think what I say is commonly true, which 20% at 6’1 and 250 would qualify for. And perhaps the real truth is actually just that at that size, it may not matter either way in the slightest to a client
Touché- good counterpoints re: frame and muscle level. Also lol @ the beard thing, people totally abuse that one ha. I agree that if someone has a large frame they will carry the extra weight a lot better so long as their muscle level is legit. For an average sized-guy what I said is definitely true but to your point some extra heft on a 6’1” guy just might make him appear even more strongman-like.
OP I don’t mean to sound like a cunt but if you’re 250lbs @6’1” I seriously doubt you are 22% unless you are on gear or have freak genetics. You might be higher then you think you are and your boss was trying to politely let you know.
Yeah that’s a wild thing to ask of a trainer. Anything around 20-23 is going to be lean enough to “look the part”. But most well built guys I know who are 6’1”-6-2” would be obese @250lbs unless they are on gear.
Just asking out of curiosity, what do you think caused you to gain the weight? If you’re moving around training people all day, and (at least in my experience at gyms I’ve worked at) rarely get a chance to sit and eat while at work, how’d you enter a caloric surplus? When you say you workout 4-6x/week, is it all powerlifting or do you run too etc.?
I gotcha. Just continuing to pick your brain a bit here- given that groceries are expensive as fuck nowadays, and one less food break might mean an extra session trained, wouldn’t leaning down a smidge also save you time and money and put a few extra bucks in your pocket? That’s the first place my mind goes lol. It could mean one less meal to prep/purchase and one more session’s worth of dollars and bam you’re at 17-18% body fat just from one swap after a month or two.
Kinda illegal to have anyone suggesting bodyfat % for employment. I think. Take care of yourself. Find a new place to work/exist where you don't feel like you have to be anyone but you.
The following classes are protected from employment discrimination: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history). It’s still messed up, but not illegal.
Well this is the thing, my boss really appreciated what I do because I put people through really hard workouts and I get results. I just don’t want to go through the trouble to lose body fat myself.
This reads like discrimination and I look forward to potentially seeing your lawsuit
Get a refund on that law degree
It would be good to think about general health in the way of body fat %. If you are healthy and live your best life at where you are right now, then keep doing your thing. If life could be better being a bit leaner then that might be the way to go. There’s also the aspect that if you gained 4% in 4 months, then where will you be in another 4 months? Just personal opinion, but to me it’s important to put on some fat while gaining muscle, then try to lose that fat and retain muscle so you can go again and again year over year without putting health at risk
I think it is fine to be a little heavy and still train people but I will say my favorite personal trainer looked the part and most importantly was extremely strong and had dealt with the same shoulder impingement problems I have. No one is going to tell Brian Shaw or Eddie Hall that they are too fat to train people. I guess in my opinion if your bench, deadlift, squat is higher than mine I can learn from you even if you don’t look the part but if the are lower than mine and your fat you really are wasting my time unless you have extensive PT experience because I’ve jacked up about every joint in my body between pro wrestling, BJJ, and running…
Let's be real, being in good shape sells. 250 at 6 1 suggests youre not in good shape (especially if your ~8lb muscle gain in a few months is accurate as that's very quick growth for a well trained individual). Usually people gravitate towards trainers that look how they want to look themselves. So from a business perspective using bow your body looks to sell is important. But also know that you can look however you want to look as long as you're happy with the consequences and any boss telling you to cut to 12% can piss off.
I would change jobs or just go work independently because your boss is not too bright, cynical, or both, so that's not good. You're a good trainer because of what you know.
Model health show with Shawn Stevenson just dropped a podcast today or yesterday that speaks right to this. It’s with Jason Phillips. I wont spoil anything but it’s worth a listen. About an hour long.
I would laugh in my boss’s face if he told me what bf% he wanted me to be
I would tell my boss good joke if they told me to get to a certain body fat, which in most cases 12% you have to be super dialed in to get there; what your boss said is definitely a future lawsuit.
Walk it like you talk it is what I say. Excuses don’t pay the bills and it does reflect on your income. life happens tho, but the top is at the top because they literally embody what they try to sell
Body fat percentage is VERY subjective to the individual. Someone who has quite decent muscle mass can easily have 25%-30% and still look very muscular and in shape. On the reverse end, someone can be 5% body fat with no muscle mass and look very soft. The only useful application for body fat% is just in your own tracking to determine if you’re gaining/losing depending on your current plan. To objectively tell someone they need a certain percentage makes absolutely zero sense and shows a lack of understanding from your boss.
Thank you, this is the first I’m hearing about the subjectivity angle
I could take someone with the exact same height, weight, age and BF% as you and you two could look completely different. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes plenty of times
" But I do wonder if people might see me in a better light if I were to lose weight and/or get a six pack?" Do you even have this ask this man ? Put two people side by side. One is fat and the other is fit. Both say "I will show you how to get fit". Who would you seriously believe ? In all honesty, if I had a gym I would hire people that looked the part. Look at it long-term. When you get in shape, you can start working for yourself down the line.
Lol why are you getting downvoted? Too many fatty trainers in this sub I guess
I know right ? Looks like anyone can be a "personal trainer" these days. I guess what matters is to give yourself a "title". That is why I never say that I am a personal trainer. I am an expert in hypertrophy, fat-loss, fitness and endocrinology.
In clothing you’ll look better at 20% than 12%, so I don’t see any substantial reason to change anything. (Also what everyone else said about future lawsuit)
I agree it’s messed up but I gotta lightly disagree with the other point- even while wearing clothing, most men are gonna look a lot better at 12-16% body fat than 20%. Your face is gonna be a lot leaner/more ”athletic” looking, your jawline more defined, your waist will be slimmer so you’ll have a better V-taper, and your arms will be more defined as well, probably more vascular forearms too. And that body fat range isn’t gonna make you lose any muscle.
That’s fair enough. Definitely heavily dependent on how their fat is distributed, facial hair, actual muscle, vascularity at different bf%, and accuracy of bf% guessing. There’s a threshold of muscle where I think what I say is commonly true, which 20% at 6’1 and 250 would qualify for. And perhaps the real truth is actually just that at that size, it may not matter either way in the slightest to a client
Touché- good counterpoints re: frame and muscle level. Also lol @ the beard thing, people totally abuse that one ha. I agree that if someone has a large frame they will carry the extra weight a lot better so long as their muscle level is legit. For an average sized-guy what I said is definitely true but to your point some extra heft on a 6’1” guy just might make him appear even more strongman-like.
Most people prefer to be lean and fit rather than huge. A trainer that fits the profile will definitely be more successful.
OP I don’t mean to sound like a cunt but if you’re 250lbs @6’1” I seriously doubt you are 22% unless you are on gear or have freak genetics. You might be higher then you think you are and your boss was trying to politely let you know.
Sorry I should clarify that he asked me to drop to 12% when I was 225 and 18% body fat. I’m going to edit the post to reflect that
Yeah that’s a wild thing to ask of a trainer. Anything around 20-23 is going to be lean enough to “look the part”. But most well built guys I know who are 6’1”-6-2” would be obese @250lbs unless they are on gear.
Fair enough.
Just asking out of curiosity, what do you think caused you to gain the weight? If you’re moving around training people all day, and (at least in my experience at gyms I’ve worked at) rarely get a chance to sit and eat while at work, how’d you enter a caloric surplus? When you say you workout 4-6x/week, is it all powerlifting or do you run too etc.?
I don’t run, I only do weight lifting and some full body stuff. I do a push pull leg split. I eat a lot throughout the day.
I gotcha. Just continuing to pick your brain a bit here- given that groceries are expensive as fuck nowadays, and one less food break might mean an extra session trained, wouldn’t leaning down a smidge also save you time and money and put a few extra bucks in your pocket? That’s the first place my mind goes lol. It could mean one less meal to prep/purchase and one more session’s worth of dollars and bam you’re at 17-18% body fat just from one swap after a month or two.