What your body responds best to is determined by many factors. Factors such as stress, your gut health, inflammatory foods, weak muscles, tight muscles, old injuries, your posture, mindset…this list can go on and on.

10 years ago just before I became a personal trainer I used to go to the gym with my favourite fitness magazine and do the workouts the fit toned models were doing. Did those workouts help me look like them? Nope. So I tracked down a hot fitness model PT with a large insta following who trained me 3 times a week for 3 months. Did I start to resemble a body like hers? Nope, barely any changes at all. After many years of further study in the field of health and fitness, I found out the simple reason why.

Your best results and fastest progress comes down to addressing the biggest issue holding you back right now with a personalised solution through a professionally trained and educated person.

There are a lot of really good knowledgable trainers around and there are also a lot who do the bare arse minimum and charge themselves out at a competitive rate. There’s also the fitness lovers with no qualifications at all who think they know more than some trainers, I can’t argue with that because of the latter reason above. So let’s clear this up. A professional is not your basic certified trainer, it’s not your fitness lover with years of training experience just on what works for themselves, and it’s not to be confused with the online trainer who’s great at marketing and invests more time chasing fame and building a following than investing in their education. The purpose of this article is to get you thinking twice about who you trust and follow for your physical health and fitness advice. Here are some questions to consider before choosing to take on nutrition advice or following someones one size fits all approach.

• How qualified is the person?
• What certifications do they have?
• Where or who did they learn from?
• Do they endorse a particular one size fits all approach?
• Are they a “health coach” who’s been educated by an organisation or company they receive kickbacks or incentives from?
• In addition to themselves, do they have proof that what they are offering works?

We all have to start somewhere and along the way we can get caught up offering a one size fits all approach because it’s human nature to want to find a simple solution that helps our clients reach their goals. Starting out in this industry I did only offer a science based transformation system that my mentor, the creator of the program, was adamant that the reason why clients didn’t get results was because they weren’t following the system to the letter. Then later on I tried some products from a MLM company that had me feeling great but that was only because I followed their “program” that had me eating minimal real food and lots of shakes and vitamins. If the “real” food you cut out is food that you’ve been eating that your body actually doesn’t digest well, well of course you are going to feel better. The best way around that is not by spending a fortune on “health products” that make you feel good, but eating healthy foods your body can digest in the first place that are a lot more healthier than most shakes on the market.

A good coach is someone who can teach you these things and help you turn unhealthy habits into healthier habits so that the roller coaster of chasing that feel good goal doesn’t have to exist anymore.

Since becoming a PT, I’ve invested tens upon tens of thousands of dollars in further education because the more I questioned, the more I found there was to learn. The more people I worked with, the more I realised that EVERYONE needs a different approach to get them from point A to point B and everyone has a different starting point! Even with a wall full of certificates and industry experience since 2009, I don’t refer to myself as an expert but I am a professional personal trainer and transformation coach. After realising there was more than meets the eye when it comes to health and fitness, I chose my own trainers based upon the criteria listed above and that was an investment that changed my life. It’s also the same way I choose my mentors and what courses I want to do now too. The best courses I have done haven’t come with CEC points (fitness industry accredited courses) and can’t even be compared to the ones that did come with CEC’s! Again, careful with who’s been taught by who. For example, the healthy food pyramid is NOT healthy, it never has been! It’s any wonder there is so much confusion around what’s healthy and good for us.

The industry of health and wellness is very controversial but when our greatest asset is our health, we should be asking ourselves who’s advice can I trust to live out my best life! If you would like help with a personalised training program, contact us and we can have a chat about your goals and where you’re at.