Art of Conversation with Personal Trainer
At birthdays, weddings, and once, an actual wake, I have found myself pinned in a corner answering a myriad of questions about fitness and diet.
Going to social events, I like to put on a suit and glasses – to make like Clark Kent and assiduously avoid looking like a personal trainer. My disguise may help for a while as I mingle with the group, a glass of wine in hand, but eventually someone will ask what I do for a living.
From that point on, I may as well have turned up in a tux and lycra cycling shorts.
“Do you train yourself?” “I’m trying to lose weight, what do you suggest?” “I hurt my knee on the treadmill last week, what do you think it could be?” “Why are you drinking wine, isn’t it fattening?”
I used to think if I answered their questions as fully as possible, I would be giving advice they’d find valuable. But I always got a sense that my questioner wandered away faintly disappointed with me. I’ve come to realise that they’re not looking for magic answers. They just want to be reassured that their efforts to get fit are worthwhile.
There are a lot of people out there with good fitness intentions, I find. But they often lack direction and are confused by information overload, when it comes to healthy living. So now when making small talk, I smile and say, “if you want the job done right, hire a personal trainer – in the meantime, enjoy the party.”
