Tough Love

America has gone soft on us. Every little leaguer wins a trophy. You get to graduate from every single grade, starting in pre-school. A high school recently forfeited the rest of it's boy's soccer playoff games because, after a victory, the team celebrated with a dance on the field.

We are conditioning ourselves to try and protect everybody's feelings at every turn possible nowadays. God forbid we tell somebody that they aren't a unique and special snowflake! From my perspective, it just seems like we have taken all the hard-work out of the people in this country. I see people getting fatter and weaker with more feelings of entitlement than ever before. As the legend Ronnie Coleman once said "Everybody want's to be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody want to lift no heavy ass weights!"
A great example of this, is the slogan used by Planet Fitness. They are well-known for their low prices, lunk alarm, free pizza Fridays, and for being a "judgement-free" zone. Seriously? Free pizza at the gym?

Seriously, Health Fitness Professionals? (I use that phrase loosely). You think it's a good idea to give people coming to your facility free pizza? If this is the state in which we currently live, I think it's time we made the switch back to Tough Love. It's time to acknowledge that not all child athletes need trophies, and that their shit does, in fact, stink. Maybe adults need to understand that what they are doing is NOT enough in order to achieve the results they hope to achieve.

I would go so far to say that I will be actively judging you during a training session. I'm not going to decide if you are a good or bad person; that's not what I'm getting at. However, I will be judging your diet. I will judge your exercise habits (or lack thereof). I will judge how badly you actually want to see changes happen. Lot's of people say they desperately want to improve their body composition...as long as it means doing pilate's twice a week with minimal changes to their diet.

Don't get me wrong; there is a huge difference between being honest and being a dick. Personal training clients, I think, deserve honesty. If their form is no good, they should know. If they haven't lost any weight, they should know. If they have been killing their diet and exercise program, they should know. 

As fitness professionals, it's our duty to let our clients know what is up. There is no need to blow sunshine up someone's ass if it's not necessary. Keep it real with your clients, they will appreciate the honesty. 

Now, go lift something heavy!