As Personal Trainers one of our biggest struggles is getting the people who need help the most, to trust that we aren’t going to ‘fat shame’ them, torture them or flaunt how good we look to them…or their partner. There is a place for a blunt, in-your-face style of training as seen on ‘The Biggest Loser’ – some clients do respond better to it, Michelle Bridges success is proof of this. However, in our 18 years of experience across hundreds of thousands of sessions across Australia, we find this approach scares off more people than it attracts – we know much of the industry feels the same.

Fat shaming backlash

Much like many of the more image focussed people in the fitness industry, Michelle Bridges has faced a lot of backlash for her ‘fat-shaming’ comments in the past, being quoted saying “I am yet to have met someone who is morbidly obese and happy.” High profile names like Nova radio presenter Chrissie Swan and Comedian Meshel Laurie both publicly criticised Bridges for her blanket statement, with Laurie saying “It is actually possible to be fat and happy, I promise you.” Former Biggest Loser host Ajay Rochester joined the chorus, accusing Bridges of being “fat-phobic” and said Bridges bullied her for being overweight while filming the show.

In her recent 60 minutes interview, Michelle Bridges attempted to set the record straight on these claims saying “Shaming or accusing or making people feel unimportant or invisible is not my mission. It is not what I am about.” She was diplomatic and chose her words very carefully, clearly trying to avoid any further controversy. “Everyone deserves to feel good about themselves but I’m not trying to say that you’ll only feel good about yourself if you eat well and exercise.”

We’re sure Michelle Bridges heart is in the right place, but is SAYING the right thing in a well-rehearsed interview the same as DOING the right thing day in day out?

What image are you portraying?

In her Trainer role on “The Biggest Loser” Bridges can be seen conducting Training sessions with her morbidly obese clients, clad only in a sports bra and tights.

There is already so much pressure in society for women (and to a lesser extent men) to look a certain way, we are constantly judging ourselves and others based on appearance. A whopping 50% of Australian women report they feel worse about themselves after looking at images of attractive women in magazines. A trainer in tightly fitted, and revealing clothing has immediately made HALF of all potential female clients feel WORSE about themselves.

Even though you might look fabulous it’s just not reasonable for every woman in the world to look like Michelle Bridges and that shouldn’t be our goal. So why wear an outfit that may make your clients feel worse about themselves?

A picture is worth a thousand words, which Trainer in our example do you think the average overweight person would be more comfortable with?

Health vs Weight

If the primary focus isn’t on weight loss, which so often results in ‘fat-shaming’ of course the focus should be on health. Health comes in all shapes and sizes, in addition to the obvious and much sought-after ‘weight loss’ some of the many other benefits from exercise and healthy nutrition include:

• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers
• Managing blood sugar, blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels
• Increased bone density
• Increased muscle strength and endurance
• Increased cardiovascular endurance and performance
• Improved mental health and mood
• Improved self-esteem and confidence
• Increased libido, healthy relationships
• Increased energy levels
• Improved ability to do daily activities
• Prevent slips, trips and falls
• Increased chance of living longer
• Setting a good example for children
• Living your life to the fullest!

But with all these benefits, why such an emphasis on weight loss, bikini bodies, six packs and Trainers parading how good theirs are? If weight loss is the primary measure of success measured on the Biggest Loser and so much of the fitness industry, surely this discounts and de-values the other benefits.

On her Michelle Bridges 12WBT website, the biggest claim to fame is the ‘1.5 million kilos lost’. If the total was 1.4million instead of 1.5 million is that an indicator of 6.6% less success? Does losing enough weight to achieve the above health benefits, but not enough for a six pack, mean you failed? Of course not!

If the scorecard was a more holistic view of overall health – success would be much more than just a number on the scale.

What is it like in the real PT world?

We hate to admit this, but unfortunately, a large portion of the fitness industry is guilty of fat shaming, and it’s not just individual Trainers, it’s often supported by big companies as seen in this disgusting Gold’s Gym advertisement.

However, there is a completely different side to the industry, one that is genuinely about health, fitness and happiness. These Trainers aren’t in the celebrity Trainer world, or the wannabe celebrity instafamous world.  These Trainers are real, down to earth people are all ages, body types and backgrounds – just like we have clients of all ages, body types and backgrounds.  They don’t need to show how good their six pack is to get and keep a job or client, in fact they don’t even need to have a six-pack, they simply need to have the qualifications, experience, and passion to genuinely help a client achieve long term goals.  It’s what’s inside that matters.

Not every client is going to lose half of their body weight or get a six pack, nor is that the goal for most. Not every client is here for a huge weight loss, and certainly most clients don’t want a Trainer parading around in a sports bra.  In fact we continually get clients who say they chose us over our competitors as we were the only Trainers that had all our clothes on and looked professional!

Some of our most successful, long-term clients have not had the biggest weight loss, but have the biggest improvement to the lifestyle. We have clients managing their depression, setting a good example for their children, passing the fitness test to get onto the Air Force, increasing strength, managing back pain, competing in running events, completing 100km walks, preparing their bodies for overseas travel, recovering from major surgeries and so many more – where weight loss is just a side benefit.

In support of weight loss

We’re not saying weight loss isn’t important, we certainly understand the link between weight loss and so many of the health benefits listed earlier. In fact we have lots of clients who have successfully lost weight and improved their life because of it. However, the focus on weight loss is so extremely out of proportion that it’s doing more harm than good.

If a Trainer is focused on all the other health perks, he or she needs to not only talk the talk – it’s just as important to walk the walk. Training your clients shouldn’t be about making yourself look good and feel good at the expense of the client. A good Trainer should leave their ego at the door and aim to help the CLIENTS feel good about themselves. Think about your actions, comments, wardrobe and social media posts. Would an obese person struggling with confidence consider it fat shaming?

What can you do to help?

So long as a large proportion of overweight or obese Australians believe there’s fat-shaming by Personal Trainers, Gyms and Gym members, many of the people who need our help the most, will never start, or achieve the weight loss they believe they need to be ‘successful’.

Let’s band together as an industry, to help shed light on the fact that not ALL Trainers are about showing off their six packs and fat shaming, whether it be intentional or not. Down to earth Trainers like our team and many other amazing ones in the industry are not intimidating, loud and exciting to watch – we may not make good TV ratings. Our client’s progress may not happen overnight, it will probably be slow, steady and subtle, but it WILL be long term.  Many clients want to keep their private health struggles private, so you’ll never hear the success stories many of the best Trainers have. But we’re here every day, working hard to help make a real difference in our client’s lives.

If you or a friend or family member need to make a start, but have been too put off by the stereotypical body beautiful, yelling and fat shaming Trainer, don’t let that be a reflection on all of us.  There are so many amazing Trainers in our industry who are passionate about getting you the “gain without the pain”, so do your research and find the one that suits you.

And if you’re a Trainer, client or just passionate about everyone being treated with the respect they deserve regardless of their weight, like comment and share this.  And if you disagree we’d love to get the conversation going as to why.