Ok before I go into full on rant mode, I want you to realize that I pretty much only worry about what I do-I strive to be the best that I can be by always learning etc. at the end of the day I am only responsible for myself. But lately I have been noticing more and more a particular creature I come across...it happens again and again and I shouldn't let it irk me...but it does. The creature I'm referring to is generally of the female gender either in their late fourties or early fifties and the natural habitat is any number of community centres.They can usually be found teaching Group Fitness classes utilising what I call the ancient religion and sacred rituals of choreographed routines from 1983.Inevitably they will bring out at some point the 'Holiest Of Holies' the ritual object the divine blue half orb and encourage the worshippers to 'engage the fetish object with their feet' STAND ON THE ORB STAND ON THE ORB' they intone to which the Faithful follow..
Ok so I'm being sarcastic.And for the record I know a lot of amazing female Trainers and instructors who live their lives with a passion for knowledge and self improvement.Yet I also wouldn't be writing this if I didn't have this experience happening again and again...
In one of the places I work at, where I was ASKED to go and work had the interesting effect of ensuring none of the other trainers spoke to me and when they did look my way, all I got was a hairy eyeball.Why?I started getting all the business.I was told by my supervisor that she had never before had people ask for a Trainer by name before.I didn't take any business from anyone else..
One day against my better judgement one of my snide remarks got out vis a vis a client who was talking about how a previous Trainer had them standing on a Bosu ball and touching their nose.To which yours truly replied-"It's training not a circus act , if you ever get a Trainer who asks you to do that fire them they're an idiot." This remark got back to one of the creatures who worshipped her 'precious' The creature than made the mistake of confronting me about it. I stood my ground-my nice stable ground and supported why I don't use 'the Precious' in my training backed it up with facts on studies that measured forms of unstable surface training , the possible bad effects in women with greater q angles, effects on any number of the 56 joint actions of the foot , risks of injury and how various studies have shown NO MEASURABLE EFFECT in proprioception.I even offered to send it the links."No Thank You" she hissed. I thought the creatures head would explode.Instead it just looked at me with a vacant ugly stare and slithered away back into their subterrenean cave to watch Cathy Smith Dvds....no wait make that VHS tapes...and probably on betamax. later I found out that it had last gone to a seminar in 1998 because 'she didn't need to' and cross my heart that last statement is true as I heard it with my own ears.
I run into the same thing with my students[who are ALL amazing] they tell me"So and so says we don't need mentors'.'So and so has never heard of X or Y or Z' I guess whats really gnawing away at me is the refusal to learn from so many and I suppose I notice it most among the creatures I describe.The 'this is the way we have always done it'. Some of the Trainers at the place I described above have begun to talk to me.In conversation it comes up that I'm going off to a seminar with the NSCA or taking a workshop with ACSM or reading new research,every single time,and I mean EVERY single time they say "I've never heard of that'.. It brings me back to my original screed-I guess I can only worry about what I do and strive to always improve my skills and knowledge..I can try to educate my students and give them the message of always keeping open minded and always learning.Hopefully together we can begin to vanquish the forces of darkness, and make the'Creatures' obsolete..and replace them with proud confident knowledgeable women of a certain age who keep up to date, and welcome change and opportunities to learn.Until that day I will remain in a heightened state of awareness around 'The Creatures'..
