The Value of Personal Training – A Career Helping Others

Ever been stuck in a meaningless job?

If so, you’re not alone.

I’ve been reading David Graeber’s Bullsh*t Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It [ref 1]. Graeber cites a YouGov poll of UK employees.

Of those surveyed:

• Only 50% thought their job made some form of meaningful contribution to society
• 37% were convinced that their job made no meaningful contribution whatsoever.

Surprised by these findings, a similar poll was conducted in Holland. 40% of the Dutch respondents were also convinced that their job made no meaningful contribution to society.

If such a poll were conducted in New Zealand, I reckon it would be identical.

Maybe you don’t think 37 – 40% is that high?

Remove those ‘core’ essential professions that clearly make a meaningful contribution (e.g., doctors, nurses, emergency services, tradespeople, farmers, teachers, garbage collectors, bus drivers) and the problem becomes more obvious.

Outside of these professions, it seems that a majority of people feel their job isn’t particularly meaningful.

Fortunately, Personal Training is a profession that can and does make a meaningful contribution to society. And across the country, we need more Personal Trainers, a lot more.

In this article we’ll examine:

• Why meaningless work is a problem
• The value of Personal Training
• What makes Personal Training a ‘holistic’ profession
• How to learn from the mistakes of former Personal Trainers.

Why is meaningless work a problem?

Graeber makes an important qualification. It’s up to the individual to determine whether or not their job is meaningful.

So, my belief that lobbyists, PR consultants and hedge fund managers contribute nothing meaningful, might conflict with people in these roles. For example, an alcohol lobbyist might consider their job meaningful because the industry they represent provides:

• Jobs to local communities
• Kiwis with the ‘freedom to choose’ from a huge variety of discount liquor.

Arguing the flaws in such a position isn’t the point of this article though.

Graeber’s main point is that 37 – 40% of people believe their own job to be meaningless.

The fact that so many people are convinced they are doing nothing of value is a major social problem.

As Graeber highlights, meaningless work has a profoundly negative impact on a person’s:

• Self-identity or ‘sense of self’
• Stress levels and exposure to stress-related ailments.

Graeber notes that much of our ‘sense of self’ comes from the ‘joyful realisation’ that we can have a meaningful effect on our surrounding environment. Because much of our lives are spent at work, this effect needs to come from our vocation.

To take away this joyful realisation is, according to Graeber; to ‘squash a human like a bug’!

Through his interviews, Graeber noted that stress was another theme that popped up regularly.

Pretending to work or working on something that everyone knows is pointless isn’t pleasant. It raises ‘ambient tension’ (stress in the environment surrounding us) and causes people to distrust and lash out at each other in arbitrary ways.

Based on his interviews, Graeber refers to Bullsh*t Jobs as a form of spiritual violence because they:

• Regularly induce feelings of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and self-loathing
• Create tension and strain in workplace relationships
• Trample on the individuals capacity to have an effect on the world around them.

The good news is – there are practical, meaningful alternatives to Bullsh*t Jobs.

What is the value of Personal Training?

Taking a quick look at our national health profile, the New Zealand Health Survey tells us that:

• Almost 50% of adults do little, no, or an ‘insufficient’ amount of physical activity
• Those considered ‘physically active’ are in significant decline
• Less than 10% of adults consume the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables
• Almost 70% of adults classify as either overweight (33.7%) or obese (34.3%)
• 25% of adults get less than the recommended amount of sleep
• Almost 25% of adults have, or have had a mood (depression, bipolar) or anxiety disorder.

As a population, the trend indicates that our physical and mental health is deteriorating as we become more sedentary.

Its not that people don’t want to be physically active. The major problem is that our environment encourages us to be sedentary. Manual jobs are rapidly being replaced by desk bound jobs.

And if Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s that our public health system is stretched.

Our doctors, nurses and hospitals are struggling to cope with increasing demand as serious health problems manifest.

It feels like our health system is barely functioning as an ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’. A lot of this comes down to inadequate funding. Nevertheless, the strain on services is immense. The system is buckling, and considering the prevalence of obesity and diabetes, the future looks bleak.

Taking a pro-active approach to addressing our health issues involves focusing on prevention, as well as treatment.

This is where the value of Personal Training becomes more obvious.

By helping people gain the benefits of regular physical activity and healthy eating, Personal Trainers:

• Prevent health issues relating to low activity and poor diet from occurring
• Improve the health, fitness, and well-being of those suffering from such issues
• Protect the long-term health and well-being of people from the dangers of sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating.

It’s a myth that trainers only help ‘sporty’ people to get fitter and achieve performance-oriented goals.

By addressing the health issues related to sedentary lifestyles and poor diet, Personal Training is one of our most meaningful vocations. Now, and for the future.

And there’s more good news – trainers work directly with clients. Trainers have no need to engage in focus group meetings or whiteboard brainstorming sessions to figure out what to do.

It’s as straightforward as developing an understanding of what a client needs and wants, and then exceeding their expectations through effective, client-focused session delivery and support.

Personal Training embraces a holistic approach to care

In our Personal Training programme, we talk about the value of Personal Training as being ‘holistic’. By this we mean that it attends to the whole person rather than focusing on individual body systems.

The body is made up of multiple physiological systems. The nervous system (brain and nerves) runs the show. But without the muscular, endocrine (hormones), digestive, and cardio-respiratory (heart and lungs) systems to name a few, very little happens.

These systems interact with each other. As such, human function is more often a ‘sum of the parts’ rather than individual systems in isolation.

Let’s consider the impact of a sedentary vocation.

A desk-bound office worker feels permanently stressed because:

• Their job is perceived to be ‘meaningless’ and unfulfilling
• They feel dependent on the job to service a large mortgage
• They’re under constant pressure at work from a micro-managing boss
• They feel like they have no release mechanism to unload their stress
• Their health has deteriorated, and their romantic relationship is now strained.

Such a scenario is more common than most of us think. With permanently elevated stress hormones (cortisol in particular) we can expect any or all of the following symptoms:

• Weight gain
• Fatigue and intestinal problems
• Irritability, anxiety and/or depression
• High blood pressure

Rather than taking a holistic approach to care, many healthcare professions specialise in a systems-centred approach.

Operating from a medical model, doctors might prescribe medication to alleviate the anxiety/depression. Dieticians and nutritionists might recommend dietary changes to alleviate the intestinal problems.

A good mental health professional (psychologist, counselor) might be able to identify and alleviate the problems of stress. However:

• It’s extremely hard to access such professionals, especially on a regular basis
• They have a limited ability to guide and support improvements in diet and physical ability.

Because these professions tend to be systems focused, the solutions they offer only address parts of the problem.

It’s our contention that when well delivered, ‘holistic’ Personal Training is possibly the most valuable investment in health and wellness any individual can make. Personal Trainers build relationships which enable their clients to:

• Discuss and unload factors that are a source of mental anguish
• Vent their frustrations through carefully tailored, interactive exercise
• Gain enjoyment and satisfaction through exercise tailored to their preferences
• Build healthy, sustainable activity and eating behaviours.

Holistic Personal Training enables mental stress to be unloaded thus allowing physical interventions to be effective. All without medication.

And Personal Trainers have fewer limitations placed on their ability to help. In contrast to short, occasional, and expensive appointments, Personal Training is affordable for many on a weekly basis whether one on one, in small groups or as part of a larger club or class.

Now without doubt, Personal Training can also be limited by a systems focused approach. By focusing primarily on the muscular system, a trainer can make things worse through ‘punishing’ workouts. Adding significant quantities of physical stress to existing psychological stress isn’t smart or effective. Stress hormone levels increase and can remain elevated with all the negative consequences.

This is why it’s important to learn how to train people from a holistic perspective. Personal Training courses that focus exclusively on physical training are somewhat ‘archaic’.

For us, the way trainers approach working with clients is all in the name. It’s person first, training second. Hence the name; Personal Training!

Learning from my Personal Training mistakes

I delivered my first Personal Training session last century. Back in 1997.

Technically it was OK. Otherwise, it left a lot to be desired!

Back then I approached Personal Training from a systems-centred perspective. Clients were muscular systems first and foremost. Maybe cardio-respiratory systems if we were doing aerobic training.

This systems-centred approach stuck with me throughout my early years as a trainer. Clients would arrive for sessions, obviously exhausted, stressed, and deflated – often from unfulfilling jobs.

Because I was oriented on training muscles, I overlooked such problems as I didn’t view my clients as ‘whole’ human beings.

“C’mon mate, you haven’t got time to rest, we’ve only got an hour to burn 500 calories”!

This approach worked for the odd client, but not many.

It ignored the reality of people’s stressful, time-poor, high pressure realities. It ignored and didn’t cater to the complete ‘spiritual’ human as well as their muscles.

As a consequence, I failed to deliver the true value of Personal Training to my clients.

Like many senior staff at NZIHF, our early failures were largely attributable to our education. Many of us completed degrees in Physical Education or Exercise Science. Like so much health-oriented education, courses were overly technical, academic, and you guessed it – systems-centred.

We learnt how to train people technically. We prescribed sets, reps, and rests according to the athletic bible of the day – the American Council of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines.

It took us a while to understand and appreciate the holistic value of Personal Training and train clients according to their individual needs, wants, preferences and circumstances.

We made all the mistakes a Personal Trainer could ever make so that our students don’t need to!

From our perspective, it’s a privilege to be entrusted with another person’s health and well-being. As such, our Personal Training programme equips aspiring trainers with the skills and knowledge to:

• Train clients in a technically safe and effective manner
• Recognise and adapt training to suit different clients needs as and when they arise
• Provide tailored support to clients during and outside of training sessions
• Cater to each and every client as a ‘human being’ rather than a simple physical system.

Well delivered, holistic Personal Training is meaningful and valuable for trainer and client alike. This is what separates PT from so many other vocations.

A Final Word…

I’ve had a few Bullsh*t Jobs over the years. I delivered junk mail. I’ve worked for a government organisation that prioritised branding, pointless meetings, and political correctness over fulfilling its core purpose.

While these jobs served a purpose at the time, I don’t look back at them favourably. They didn’t make me feel that I was contributing anything of value to my community.

This isn’t the feeling I get when I reflect on my years as a Personal Trainer. When I got it right as a PT, all my reflections are positive. I received a framed ‘Fat Chick Certificate of Appreciation’ from one client (her certificate title, not mine – and in jest!)

I remain in friendly contact with clients I trained 20 years ago.

I’ve had the joy of witnessing the mental outlook of clients change from negative to positive as their health and fitness improves.

I know that without doubt, I helped people and in doing so, contributed to the health of my community. For me, this is the true value of Personal Training.

So, if you’re currently working as a PT – well done. You’re making an important contribution to the health of your clients and your wider community.

And if you’re thinking about becoming a PT – come and talk to us today about a meaningful career in fitness. You don’t have to be stuck in a meaningless job. With the right education and direction, Personal Training is a very viable and rewarding career option.

References

1. Graeber, D. (2019). Bullsh*t jobs: A theory. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0170840620979513?journalCode=ossa