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Depends what they're specialising in but I believe it does. I mean you can be a great powerlifting coach but not necessarily the strongest guy in the world. But if I was looking for a PT to get me in shape to step on stage for example then I'd want them to have the personal experience behind them. I'm not going to pay someone that is out of shape and looks like they've never picked up a weight. You are your own advertising to some degree
 
Definately a PT should at least look in shape for general fitness PT or comp prep, i would go to someone who looks like they never lifted a weight before in their lives, perhaps for strength or oly type training it is slightly different as you are after their technical advise of lifting more then the physical appearance.

I think someone who has competed before and has that prior experience and is in shape would be more appealing to go see then someone who has never competed and looks like shit.
 
I do agree with both to a degree I think the key would be; how much success they have had and on a broad spectrum?

to place some perspective "and reality"
Doeas anyone know who this is and what does he look like he would sell?
this is very interesting

IMG_4212.JPG
 
I'm ugly and I make money.

*shrug*

Nobody cares, really. They don't look at the trainer, they look at the clients. I see this discussion online all the time. It's always men commenting, not women, and the men say, "I've never had a trainer, and I don't plan to have one, but if I did, he would totally have to be all buff and that." Yeah okay, thanks, next we'll head over to the vegan forum and ask them how they like their steak done. If you're having this conversation, you're not the target demographic.

It's not about the trainer, it's about the clients. This is hard for trainers to grasp, too.
 
If you picture in your mind your top 10 footy players and then your the top 10 coaches this also places things into perspective.
 
I believe that was Markos' example in his Raw Talk thingo. Markos is a good example. Has something to teach most people about lifting, I think, but doesn't even lift himself. I mean not even squatting the empty bar once a day to loosen up or something.
 
I believe that was Markos' example in his Raw Talk thingo. Markos is a good example. Has something to teach most people about lifting, I think, but doesn't even lift himself. I mean not even squatting the empty bar once a day to loosen up or something.

Haven't seen it, what are you referring to?
 
For general physical prep, just getting fitter I don't think it really matters what the trainer looks like. Experience and what they have achieved with clients is more relevant. most people have no idea about exercise or how to improve their fitness or reduce body weight, for them having someone who can set the program and make them work hard is usually enough. If you are talking about more specific programming for a sport like oly lifting or triathlon for example then having someone with lots of experience and successful clients tops how they look.
However I reckon when it comes to body re comp or getting in stage shape for fitness or bodybuilding it would be hard to accept advice from someone who has never done it or looks like they live on pizza and doughnuts !!
 
To a gym goer who has no idea about the PT or his/her other clients of course it matters what they look like, it's human nature, i'm sure you'd have second thoughts handing over your money to some fat slob.
I'm talking about a PT here, as the thread title states, not a professional coach.
 
To a gym goer who has no idea about the PT or his/her other clients of course it matters what they look like, it's human nature, i'm sure you'd have second thoughts handing over your money to some fat slob.
I'm talking about a PT here, as the thread title states, not a professional coach.
What if the PT has years of experience and is top notch but the past few years he hasn't trained for whatever reason, (too many clients, has another job, injury etc) do you then discard him or her because he doesn't look the part.
Hmm, well????
 
What if the PT has years of experience and is top notch but the past few years he hasn't trained for whatever reason, (too many clients, has another job, injury etc) do you then discard him or her because he doesn't look the part.
Hmm, well????
Same thing but now we're getting into hypotheticals which matter not.
A PT with too many clients? I'dlike to see that.
 
Honestly...I don't think I'd look at the persons physical stature...unless they were grossly obese and training general fitness.
I think you'd find their reputation and client success would do the talking. You don't need to be good at something yourself to be a good coach. Pretty sure Tiger Woods first coach was a hack himself.
 
Personal trainer/coach, to me are the same thing.

i think we sort of gravitate to the thing that appeals most, I would not sit down and to to a soccer coach because I dislike soccer as opposed to a footy coach, short sighted? Maybe.

would I sit down and talk about powerlifting with Ed Coan?
No, as the game also holds no appeal.
would he make a good coach?
not a young version, but the older version most def, the knowledge he has acquired is substantial his changed focus is on lifting for life and not just for today.

but I digress, I think (as with most things) doing research as in talking with potential PT's who makes sense to you is a start.
 
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Personal trainer/coach, to me are the same thing.
Long time ago on this forum someone tried to insult me, he said "a personal trainer gets the first 50% of someone's possible performance, a coach gets the last 10%", or something similar to that. He later apologised - but he was right.

Take some 30yo 80kg accountant. World record squat and 5km run time for him are something like 320kg and 13'. If you get him to squat 160kg and run 5km in 26', you've totally changed his life. 50% of possible performance is actually pretty good for someone who just wants to live a good life. To get much past there he's going to have to focus; not many people will be able to do 75% in two or more things at once, that'd be squatting 240 and running 5km in 19'. And even just looking at one physical quality, not many people with full-time jobs, families and so on are going to go a lot past 50% WR in anything.

A coach is for someone who's a competitive athlete. And a competitive athlete is going to be past 50% of gender/age/weight-matched WR. But you don't need to be at 75+% of WR for health - you do need to be above 25% though, that's for sure. I find 50% is a good mark. I've told my intern I won't give her a reference until she can total 50% of WR.

So a personal trainer prepares you for life, a coach prepares you for a sport.

And whatever you guys say hypothetically, I can tell you that nobody who actually pays for training cares what trainers and coaches look like. I mean, being morbidly obese would hold you back, but that applies for any job, let's be honest.

Nonetheless, I think the trainer or coach needs to at some point have been through the process of training. They need to have gone far enough in something that they got stuck, and had to work out how to get unstuck. They need to have trained hard enough that it was a challenge to balance training with the rest of their lives. This process will teach them things about training which they can apply to clients and athletes, and perhaps more importantly give them that balance of empathy and hard-headedness a competent trainer or coach needs.
 
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