On Personal Responsibility

Ooh, looks like a good ol Friday post coming your way.

Today I had an interesting discussion with a gym member today about the criteria they used for choosing a personal trainer. Not surprisingly there was a bit about looks in there - if the trainer looks good, then often the client will aspire to "a body like theirs". Although I would prefer that clients chose their trainers on the basis of their credentials and experience, I do understand this phenomenon as many of us are really "visual" and want examples of the "trainer's work" eg the trainer themselves as a measure of how competent said trainer is.

However no trainer, no matter how well qualified, is going to take you where you want to go physique or fitness wise, unless you take responsibility for your workout. We can give you the tools, we can arm you with the knowledge and we can provide a kick in the pants if you need it. At the end of the day, it all comes down to you. Did you leave your class thinking "that was way too easy"? Truth is, it probably has more to do with you than your instructor.

The same idea works with nutrition - many people who are overweight develop this complex network of reasons that are contributing to the weird phenomena of them being over fat. Mostly what they're trying to do is dump the responsibility of their weight problem on someone else's shoulders - that's when they hire the "consultant" to do all their work for them. Does it work? Guess what I think!

Today I went for a 65 minute run. As I will be on the road for up to three hours in this adventure race, it's time for me to develop some endurance :)