Would you use an overweight personal trainer?

[runlift]

Just that really. Would love to be a personal trainer and I am very fit but still overweight. I imagine it would put most people off.

I personally wouldn’t, my PT follows the scheme he has designed. I’m fairly physically fit (ex semi-pro rugby player) so my PT sessions are more aimed around the type of body I want to maintain (yes, vain, I know), so I prefer someone who has a similar physique.

If I was doing classes, spin, circuits etc I wouldn’t care what the person running the session looked like as it isn’t a personal, tailored session.

I'm afraid I wouldn't as the point of going to a PT is to get the body I want which would be slim and very toned.

Yes I would.

I’m actually a little depressed by the attitudes on this thread. There’s a lot more to health than weight alone!

I do have to smile that the alternative to a overweight PT seems to be a stick thin, size 6, only smells lettuce and has no real life experience.

No way.

As an obese woman no I wouldn't, just like i wouldn't use an overweight nutitionalist.

Yes. In fact I'd be more likely to.

I would love it! I assume you would be very fit to be a PT, but secure in yourself to not starve yourself. I would be full of admiration, and be able to relax around you. If you were over 50 I'd love you even more!

There was a trainer at a gym I used to go to in NW3 and she was a heavily built woman. I watched her lead an exhausting spin class, then an aerobic class and she didn't break a sweat! Awesome woman.

Depends if the overweight ness is due to muscle or fat?

A bit bigger and stronger, yes. Quite a lot of fat... maybe not

But not a definite no. I just would not want a very young one who does not understand older bodies . But a bit bigger? No problem

Agree as per the morbidly obese triathlete above you can be fat with a level of fitness but there are limits. I’m a decent distance runner at a size 6 but put me on the front line with the pros and our bodies will look and perform very differently. Being able to drag yourself round a 10k doesn’t indicate much. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s difficult to train for triathlons and stay morbidly obese unless there is some underlying issue or you’re eating badly.

I'd have to get over my own prejudices first I'm embarrassed to say. Like a previous poster if I saw you in action and your high level of fitness was obvious then I hope I'd change my mind.

I know it shouldnt matter but it just does. I wouldnt expect a trainer to be skinny like a twig, because I know fitness doesnt = skinny. However, there is a trainer at my gym and he has an enormous beer gut and about 5 chins. It just looks wrong for someone that overweight to be advising others. Its fine for a trainer to be chunky as long as they look healthy and fit- he doesnt.

I expect the people that teach me to keep fit to look the part. Are you fat and wobbly or big but with very toned muscles?

Whether or not looking fit means you are fit is irrelevant. Fat and wobbly implies lack of self control and sticking to a fitness regime is all about self control.

I would, and think more people should too
Skinny doesn't equal healthy or fit anymore than overweight equals unfit

Sorry, but no.

Skinny doesn't equal healthy or fit any more than overweight equals unfit

Why does it have to be 'skinny'? My pt is in excellent shape, muscly and toned and a healthy weight. He is not 'skinny' and nor are any of the PTs at my gym.

Overweight doesn't always equal unfit (but very often does), but it does equal unhealthy.

Nope.

Of course skinny doesn’t equal healthy, but the chances are greater than someone very overweight.

It’s a no from me.

I dont think anyone in this thread ever said skinny= healthy. But there is a limit when being overweight- if you are obese then of course thats not healthy, we all know this to be true.

I wouldn’t , as it would feel like the blind leading the blind . They may be exercising which is good however a normal bmi is part of being fit and healthy

If my intention to hire a PT was to lose weight, maybe not. Though it'd depend on how overweight they were. Being a bit rounded is different to being unhealthily heavy.

If my intention was to get fitter/healthier, then it wouldn't matter at all.

Yes

It wouldn’t bother me but the responses on here indicate that you’d acquire more clients if you shed some weight. It depends how ambitious you are I guess. Good luck OP.

My PE teachers in school were obese people but they could still teach and coach a team