<strong>My friend sent me this message for all of US...</strong>

<em>I walked into the local chip shop the other day and asked for deep fried Gadus Morhua and similarly prepared Solanum tuberosum, proceeded to my domicile  and processed the afore mentioned through the various stages of my digestive tract along with a large quantity of fermentum….in <u>normal</u> words I went to the chippy and got cod and chips, went home and had my supper with a load of beer.</em>

<em>Simple, no need to complicate and everyone knows exactly what your saying…and this is how life is in general…unless your talking to a health or fitness professional.</em>

<em>Going the gym for the first few times or seeking out a personal trainer can be quite intimidating for Joe or Jill public and it’s great to find someone that is knowledgeable and helpful but please…stop using Latin or medical terms for muscles or movements….to us average Joe’s…we have thighs not quadriceps femoris (or even quinriceps femoris if modern thinking is to be believed)<strong>,</strong> I have an ASS not gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus…..I have one ASS…I don’t think of it as three different entities. </em>

<em>My point being, why do you feel the need to talk like this? Is it to demonstrate your knowledge or our ignorance? Do you feel the need to intimidate us, beat us into submission with your superior knowledge before we have even lifted a weight? </em>

<em>If talking like that is normal to you…sorry but us ‘lay’ people just don’t talk like you do….and we, the average Joe and Jill, are people. Most of your potential clients won’t say “please stop, I’m a bit thick and I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about”</em>

<em>While we are here in this ‘zone’, let’s also consider the targets that YOU set us mere mortals when WE just want to slow down the ageing process, look good in a t-shirt or keep our asses from hitting the floor when wearing leggings, six packs (or eight packs…because six isn’t enough these days) are things that Olympians and Feather weight boxers have …WE will stick to the gruelling tempo you set and thank you for the pain you have caused us at the end of the supervised session but as soon as we are on our own, we are on the phone texting while having a leisurely stroll on the treadmill. This is because you don’t understand our nature..we are not lazy..we just don’t prioritise in the same way as you. You jog to work, we drive to the shop around the corner, you get up early to go for a swim, we have a lie in because we drank too much the night before. </em>

<em>Instead of screaming for one more rep on the smith machine, encourage us to walk to the shop…help us formulate a long term plan with small changes to our lifestyles rather than giving us a sudden intense shock to our systems….Its not more pain more gain..its too much pain leads us to want to miss gym days and eat ice-cream and ibuprofen in equal measures.</em>

<em>After listening to your Latin lesson and all…you have looked at our diet while grimacing every now and then, you have talked about the evil of sugar, the healthy fats and horrors of low density liposomes, You have described in great detail the wonders of egg whites, whey protein and tuna, you have imparted your knowledge and expertise..jeez..some of you even go as far as supplying recipes for colossal success….guess what…we are going to continue with beer, chocolate and Friday night pizza…but you will catch us with a protein shake at the gym….its even the one you recommended!</em>

<em>So my dear Health or Fitness professional…try to be realistic with OUR goals, help US achieve some semblance of initial success without huge amounts of pain or inconvenience and wonder of wonders we might just stick with it and make it part of our lives instead of just another discarded new year’s resolution.</em>

<em>Regards Fatty ☺</em>

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Something that is a key part of our education programmes is encouraging professionals to communicate more effectively with clients.
Keeping THEIR goals relevant to what THEY want, THEIR lives, THEIR ideals while managing expectation on BOTH sides.
We shouldn't push OUR ideals onto THEM.
YES educate
YES motivate
OH YES
BUT we should be careful of <em>imposing </em>OUR<em> </em>unrealistic goals based on what WE feel they SHOULD do when it does not matter as much to THEM.

Let us know your thoughts...?
rachel@biomechanicsducation.com