Do Not Try to Be Someone Else

[Lifeisamazing]

I'm actually talking about myself in this thread, but the general idea is that if you try to be someone else, you'll not feel too good. I've been very overwhelmed for quite some time and I'll tell you why.

Most of you probably know that I want to become a personal fitness trainer because I want to help people become healthier, fitter and just happier (mainly through health and fitness). As I'm still trying to figure out what I truly enjoy doing and what I should be doing most of the time, I also look for guidelines from very successful fitness people.

Advice I've found:
- You need to be really good at biomechanics and anatomy
- You better study a lot of biochemistry

What I've tried to do is go through material about biomechanics, anatomy and biochemistry, but I've realized I am not someone who likes to know the why? too deeply. I'm a practical person and I like
- to create meal plans,
- create training programs,
- experiment with different foods (cooking and recipes) and exercises,
- evaluate current situation of people (goals, habits, beliefs),
- measure progress (collect and analyze data),
- brainstorm individualized and specific solutions (based on evaluations).

Yes, I absolutely need to study biochemistry to know how to create meal plans properly, but do I really need to go into huge detail? I like to know biochemistry at a basic level not at a level, where I know all kinds of genes, substances extremely thoroughly. Same with biomechanics. I need to know it to perform movements correctly, but I don't need to know the scapula like anatomy experts.

This "discovery" made me feel extremely good and took away the tension. Bottom line: don't try to be someone you're not.

[James81]

Who told you that you needed to study biochemistry, anatomy, and biomechanics?

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by James81

Who told you that you needed to study biochemistry, anatomy, and biomechanics?

Not necessarily needed but very highly recommended. My friend, Eric Cressey and some other professionals whom I've followed, who are actually very much into physical therapy not necessarily what I enjoy most of all.

It's not that they are to be blamed but that I thought I wanted something which wasn't me.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Lifeisamazing

Not necessarily needed but very highly recommended. My friend, Eric Cressey and some other professionals whom I've followed, who are actually very much into physical therapy not necessarily what I enjoy most of all.

It's not that they are to be blamed but that I thought I wanted something which wasn't me.

What IS you then?

[Lifeisamazing]

Me is this:

I'm a practical person and I like
- to create meal plans,
- create training programs,
- experiment with different foods (cooking and recipes) and exercises,
- evaluate current situation of people (goals, habits, beliefs),
- measure progress (collect and analyze data),
- brainstorm individualized and specific solutions (based on evaluations).

Basically I like to study about things I can pretty much use/experiment with right now. I like to know the why? on a rather basic level and the how? on a high level.

Do I make any sense?

[Mounds]

Heya LIA,

I say if that's what you want to do, then go for it. I've been through those courses myself (in EMT) and they're not too hard. It's mostly memorizing. There's lots of simple systems you can use to memorize massive amounts of information. This is assuming you are taking a course.

Otherwise, just do your thing. I've met quite a few personal trainers and I don't think any of them had this degree of knowledge. Generally, they're just people that like working out and know what they're talking about.

[Brutha]

Over the last years I have come a bit disillusioned with the molecular biologic approach to health.

Take one thing that I observed in myself over the last year:
If I drink 4 liters the day before dancing then muscles coordination works better.
Knowing a bit of biochemistry that leaves me with a free explanations:
1) I lower the ratio of water to ions in my body and as a result nerves transfer impulses faster. It could be similar to how myelin speeds up the transfer of nerve signals.
2) The changing ion concentration changes the refractor time of neurons or the strength of the electrical signal that's require for an action potential
3) I simply have more water in my muscles and therefore there's more sarcoplasm and my muscles are bigger. Therefore they work better.
4) I change the concentration of some hormone.

I have four plausible stories but they don't really help me. The real issue is simple about drinking enough water.
What helped me was to find that it's much easier to drink 4 liters when I drink hot tea than when I drink mineral water at room temperature.

Instead of worrying about the biochemistry we should worry about getting better at measuring.
How do I actually measure whether my muscle coordination improves? If I can measure, I can try alternatives and don't have to worry about the biochemistry.
Academia obsesses to much with the biochemistry and not enough with measuring actual results.

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Instead of worrying about the biochemistry we should worry about getting better at measuring.
How do I actually measure whether my muscle coordination improves? If I can measure, I can try alternatives and don't have to worry about the biochemistry.
Academia obsesses to much with the biochemistry and not enough with measuring actual results.

Completely agreed. And the thing is that I like to measure and experiment, but I'm not very interested in how things really work inside body (not in detail at least).

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by Mounds

Otherwise, just do your thing. I've met quite a few personal trainers and I don't think any of them had this degree of knowledge. Generally, they're just people that like working out and know what they're talking about.

I think this is how the world works fine as well. There are people who want to know the "why?" and discover how things work and then there are people who make things happen. I'm more like someone who looks out for ideas from those why?-guys and makes things happen.

[ssandra]

I think there is an entire WORLD of clients for you out there...

Marketing yourself as "someone who doesn't care about what works for most people, but cares about what works for YOU!" and you'll be a huge success.

I'm already getting tons of marketing slogans...

Tried everything the experts say? Lets find out what works for YOU!

You are not everyone. You are special! Fitness coaching on a personal level.

etc.

[AlmostGodess]

What if you become the greatest trainer out there who does not care about biochemistry? Do you want to become like the people who advised you or do you want to become something different?

Success seems to be more often about being yourself then being a copy-paste of someone else. Look around in this forum. Can you imagine how different it would be if all the wise people who offer advice told the same thing in the same way?

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I think there is an entire WORLD of clients for you out there...

Marketing yourself as "someone who doesn't care about what works for most people, but cares about what works for YOU!" and you'll be a huge success.

I'm already getting tons of marketing slogans...

Tried everything the experts say? Lets find out what works for YOU!

You are not everyone. You are special! Fitness coaching on a personal level.

etc.

Awesome ideas, thanks!

Usually these people who've been studying theory long and hard don't really live based on what they know and that's a huge advantage I have.

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

What if you become the greatest trainer out there who does not care about biochemistry? Do you want to become like the people who advised you or do you want to become something different?

Success seems to be more often about being yourself then being a copy-paste of someone else. Look around in this forum. Can you imagine how different it would be if all the wise people who offer advice told the same thing in the same way?

Awesome point! I want to be me, I want to help people the best way I can and that way is through trying more and more things and coming up with an abundance of great methods and strategies.

[agsags]

Originally Posted by Lifeisamazing

I'm actually talking about myself in this thread, but the general idea is that if you try to be someone else, you'll not feel too good. I've been very overwhelmed for quite some time and I'll tell you why.

Most of you probably know that I want to become a personal fitness trainer because I want to help people become healthier, fitter and just happier (mainly through health and fitness). As I'm still trying to figure out what I truly enjoy doing and what I should be doing most of the time, I also look for guidelines from very successful fitness people.

Advice I've found:
- You need to be really good at biomechanics and anatomy
- You better study a lot of biochemistry

What I've tried to do is go through material about biomechanics, anatomy and biochemistry, but I've realized I am not someone who likes to know the why? too deeply. I'm a practical person and I like
- to create meal plans,
- create training programs,
- experiment with different foods (cooking and recipes) and exercises,
- evaluate current situation of people (goals, habits, beliefs),
- measure progress (collect and analyze data),
- brainstorm individualized and specific solutions (based on evaluations).

Yes, I absolutely need to study biochemistry to know how to create meal plans properly, but do I really need to go into huge detail? I like to know biochemistry at a basic level not at a level, where I know all kinds of genes, substances extremely thoroughly. Same with biomechanics. I need to know it to perform movements correctly, but I don't need to know the scapula like anatomy experts.

This "discovery" made me feel extremely good and took away the tension. Bottom line: don't try to be someone you're not.

LIA,

I just want to make a point that it's a VERY natural path to try to be someone else BEFORE trying to be yourself. There is almost no other way - we grow up being influenced by society, family, friends, etc. Most of this influence happens subtly so that a baby/child/teenager doesn't notice. Only by following those "false" self can I discover self-self.

[ChrisGinsburg]

Don't try to be someone else but do remember that you can be whatever you want. There is no "you" in the sense that most people think. When you are asked to describe yourself it's merely a combination of ideas your ego has latched onto in order to establish it's identity as "you". It's all as flexible or inflexible as you want it to be. The flexibility depends on how strongly you identify with your thoughts as being you.