"Large" fitness instructors

[Anonymous]

Would you take a class/get personal training from a big/heavy/overweight instructor/trainer? Would you expect people who work in the fitness industry, who has made it their career to be healthy, active etc., to look the part too. Just wondering...

[Anonymous]

I know overweight individuals can be strong in a cardiovascular/muscular sense. Personally, however, I also need nutritional advice and I don't feel that I can get appropriate advice from someone who appears to have dietary issues.

Again, I also know that some weight issues are hormone-related or genetic. It' just hard to put aside my bias.

[Anonymous]

NO WAY. I see a personal trainer as well who is exteremely fit.

I cannot follow someone who is telling me "do what I say, not what I do". Their system either does not work or they can't practice what they are selling.

I would however completely embrace a PT who has a personal success story. Someone who went from fat and out of shape to fit and rock hard. I like my trainer, but he has been a life long athlete. he's great, but he definitly cannot relate to someone who is struggling.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Because I'm a recreational triathlete who is slightly overweight and extremely muscular.

Agree with the dietary point made by PP. I personally am still 15 lbs overweight due to diet, NOT fitness. I have a feeling I have more strength and endurance than all of the future posters on this thread who will tsk-tsk "fat people" -- yet they can't run 15 miles like I can. I need to still tweak the diet piece.

Diet; it's the remaining frontier.

[Anonymous]

I know a trainer who has thicker legs. In a way, it's inspiring because I see how hard she works at it. She's toned and has incredible balance. But you wouldn't just look at her and see "Trainer."

Years and years ago, I took a class at the Y and the instructor was just round, but omg she was incredibly flexible and also had amazing balance. [The balance thing gets me every time. I'm just such a wobbly Gus, myself.]

Does the trainer provide a rigorous workout? Is it effective and maybe entertaining? Do you feel better for it? Does the trainer exhibit knowledge that increases the benefit of the workout while minimizing injury? Well, these are the things you should be paying attention to, not the physical beauty or pants size.

[Anonymous]

One of the instructors in my gym is a large man and seems to have an eternal beer belly. He's surprisingly light on his feet and his classes are always packed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Because I'm a recreational triathlete who is slightly overweight and extremely muscular.

Agree with the dietary point made by PP. I personally am still 15 lbs overweight due to diet, NOT fitness. I have a feeling I have more strength and endurance than all of the future posters on this thread who will tsk-tsk "fat people" -- yet they can't run 15 miles like I can. I need to still tweak the diet piece.

Diet; it's the remaining frontier.

I'm the poster before you. You can't make judgements from an online forum. Not only did I lose 40lbs, due to diet and exercise, but I just ran a 13.1 8:32min miles.

I'm not saying an overweight person cannot train, but they are not very inspirational, nor can I take them very seriously. I know what it is like to not have my eating and exercise under control and I'd rather train with someone who does.

15lbs is not that overweight anyway. I've seen trainers that look a lot heavier than that.

[Anonymous]

I would expect someone in the industry to be healthy and active -- but if they were fat too, that wouldn't bother me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would expect someone in the industry to be healthy and active -- but if they were fat too, that wouldn't bother me.

Yep. I'm looking for someone who encourages practices to make me fit. I would be uncomfortable with someone who equates weight with health, because while that's a popular shorthand, it's not scientifically valid, and I am firmly on the side of evidence-based decisionmaking.

Google Jennifer Portnick.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone is meant to be small. As long as they were fit I wouldn't care. Every instructor I've had has kicked butt fitness wise. Not all had perfect bodies.

[Anonymous]

I think I might actually prefer a trainer who seemed more relatable in that way. As a PP said, someone who has always been thin and fit may not be as empathetic to my embarassment or difficulty as I try to step out of my comfort zone.

[Anonymous]

My sister was for a period of time a personal trainer (different city), she struggled with weight her entire life and has personally lost and kept off about 70 pounds for about 9 years through diet and exercise, is extremely fit and strong and strangers would probably think she looks attractive and healthy but not "thin", likely a size 10/12. She continues to eat the most rigorous diet of anyone I have personally known well, but she is not going to starve herself to get conventionally thin. She is now a CPA (long story) and out of that business, but her clients appreciated her because she had gone through exactly what they went through and she continues to train with a couple of former clients as friends.

[Anonymous]

At my gym there is an instructor who is downright obese. I refuse to take classes with this person. I do not think she is a good instructor, regardless, but I also have a hard time being motivated by someone like this. I am not talking "muscular," I am talking obese. Call me shallow, but that's how I feel.

[Anonymous]

I definitely would because I don't think skinny automatically equals healthy. And as others have said, it's more inspiring and relatable to me. I'd rather feel strong and healthy after my workout and if a trainer can give that to me, then I'm in.

[Anonymous]

I think there's a huge difference between overweight and muscular when it comes to describing someone large. Like one of the PPs said, if this person is a success story, I'd be more prone to taking their class b/c they've been through the struggle and can relate. But there's a spinning instructor at my gym that is clearly overweight and I just don't get it. She teaches class 4-5 times a week. I wouldn't be motivated to take that class, especially if I see that she does it so often and no one can see the results.