The Letters

Hello all! I'm back into this writing thing after a very good and long season with the high school team. Those of you that have been around, yes you can expect my What I Think I Learned While Coaching piece soon, probably next week. Today I'm into something more off the cuff that has hit a nerve the past week; certs, made up certs and letters, enjoy.

Why is it the fitness industry, coaches and trainers, are so damn focused on putting more letters next to their name? Having so many letters next to your name that it sounds like a blood test being ordered in the emergency room does not make you worth more.

Seems coaches and trainers don't bother to ask things like, does it have relevance to anyone I’m training? No? Let’s put it on there anyway.
Is this a real certification and has to do with my training? Oh not even one bit? Well let’s put it on there for decoration.

The unfortunate part of all this, most people will see these letters and won’t bother checking, if the trainer/coach actually passed the certification, whether or not it's actually a thing (a real certification), and take it at face value, paying these fools, silly amounts of money.

In the end you can have many certs and letters following your name, or very few and neither matters. No matter the amount of letters or which particular letters following a coaches name, if they are worth the time, it can be figured out within a few minutes and a few questions.

Is this a passion and/or a career, or a side gig/hobby? If it's the latter, pass on them.

Do they talk about themselves more than you or the client? Yes? Ditch them

Do they go with the latest trends, toys, bells and whistles, or do they lean on the good stuff with a sprinkle of the fun stuff? Anything other than the 2nd part, it's likely not worth your time or money.

Lastly, do they care about their people or their paycheck? This will be fairly obvious if you pay attention and if it's more about their paycheck than you, the only word you need to utter is  Next.

I know I'm coming back into it strong with a bit of venom, a bit scrambled, but with venom. This stuff needs to be sorted and if I share this with you all it's more people that can help sniff out the BS. Look forward to sharing more with you and maybe with a little less bite behind it. Have a day friends!