The importance of being yourself
This week, FitPro member Danny Pilkington explains the importance of staying true to yourself. FitPro supported World Mental Health Day on Wednesday 10 October, so it seems good timing to raise the importance of being true to yourself.
I started training in 2016; I was still overweight, although I was on the right track to attaining my weight-loss goal. My PureGym chance came to me like a whirlwind and my biggest worry was how people would perceive me within the gym. Do I pretend to be something I am not? Or do I just be honest with people? I opted to just be myself and I am so glad I did. The majority of my client base have told me that they came to me as I was honest about my activities (I do like a drink at the weekend) and have also been on the journey that they are looking for.
What would have happened if I had pretended to be the PT that trains for hours each day, eats just chicken and broccoli, and never drinks or eats junk food? People would not buy into this as it is just not real life. Have you ever bought a car from a salesman who tells you that every car you look at is the one for you? No; you can tell they are just after your money and don’t actually care about you as a person. In the fitness industry, future clients need to be able to relate to you. Eating 100% clean and working out for hours each day is just not sustainable for people who just want to lose weight and maybe make some lifestyle changes. If people can see that you are achieving your goals and still leading a happy and active life – eating out if you want to, having a social drink – this is more appealing to them as they realise they don’t have to give everything up and can still lose weight, as long as they are accountable for their actions.
It is also important for this to be reflected across your social media. There is nothing worse than telling prospective clients that you don’t eat junk food, you don’t drink and workout for hours at a time, and then THAT picture of you from Friday night fast asleep with your head in a pint appears in your timeline. It does show that PTs are human, too. If you are yourself, people gain trust in you and are more likely to use your services.
As a trainer, I am still losing weight and working hard to get to where I want to be. This also shows people that there is no quick fix and these things do take time. People can relate these factors to their own busy lifestyle and are much more likely to come to you as you have things in common.
Please don’t try to be something you are not and don’t lie to people about who you are; you will get discovered.
Have you tried to portray a particular image through social media? Do you feel under pressure to conform to particular choices? We would really like to get the conversation going on Danny’s piece. Comment below…
Where next? Catch up on last week’s FitPro member story here
