Pavel v. Alwyn: Who's Right?

I've been evaluating my own life over the last 18 months or so and had some ideas rolling around in my head. Not the least of which is how "lucky" we are as fitness professionals to even have this industry. One hundred years ago, who would have heard of such a thing? Of course, there were the exceptions, like Sandow, who was a consultant to kings across Europe, but really, a whole industry dedicated to losing fat and getting in shape? In light of what's going on in places like Sudan where people are starving to death, part of me feels deeply embarrassed and ashamed of my "opportunity."

With regards to fat loss it seems that we as Americans need "motivation." Being fat, winded, over-medicated, and chronically sweaty and uncomfortable doesn't seem to be enough. I was interested in Pavel's response on a forum thread when someone asked how to get motivated or what to do to get motivated. Pavel simply answered, "I don't know." At first, I was taken aback. then I thought, that's not his job and perhaps it's not mine--to motivate. We provide solutions to a problem: overweight/overfat people who need positive physical change. Identifying it and wanting to change should be enough motivation for the individual. Pavel is just simply not willing to be a cheerleader. I like that.

Alwyn, posted a thought-provoking blog yesterday on fat loss as project management. http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com
The point he was making is that trainers should be hired for a job, say a 20lbs. fat loss for a flat fee. And however long it takes is however long it takes. The longer it takes the less money the trainer would end up making and vice versa. Alwyn compared it to building a house. On the surface, I agree. But since I just finished rennovating the top two floors of my house, I thought twice. The human being is infinitely more complex than a piece of wood, sheetrock, mud, screws, and countertops. Obviously.

One of the issues we run into with clients is they aren't always motivated. We have to console and conjole them to achieve their goals. We have to motivate them. Phil Kaplan, psychological trainer to the trainers, has figured out a way to do this. He says he has 100% results with his clients. Admittedly, I don't. Who's a better trainer? Pavel, Alwyn, Phil, or me? I don't know. I guess I'm lacking in the psychology department. Sheet rock, unlike a human, doesn't complain that it doesn't like the type of screw holding it in place or the type of mud covering its seams. This is why I like Pavel. "Deal with it," he'd say. I don't know Alwyn personally, so I don't know what he tells his clients. I know what I want to tell some of mine.

I can write a kick-butt fat loss diet and fat loss training plan that will strip the fat off very fast. How do I know? I've used them on self-motivated clients, including myself. But how do you motivate a woman who chronically sabotages her fat loss by eating sugary junk food because she's emotionally distraught or that's the way she deals with stress? All the straight talk in the world can't help that. That's a counseling issue and I don't want to be in that game.

Since I don't know Alwyn personally, perhaps it's not fair to compare and contrast his ideas to Pavel's. But since humans have something that wood and other inanimate objects do not--emotions--I think even the best project managers would fail with many clients and would end up working for peanuts. So, what are we left doing? We are either cheerleading or not cheerleading. Perhaps since cheerleading is such a vital part of what we as trainers do, it explains why Pavel no longer sees individuals on a one-on-one basis. Perhaps Alwyn too has figured it out and it explains why he has clients train in small group settings. Perhaps we as personal trainers expect too much from ourselves when working with clients on an individual basis. Maybe the small group setting is the secret weapon. Maybe he doesn't motivate people either. I understand that he charges a pretty hefty fee. Maybe that's motivation enough.