role models as instructors in the health and fitness paramount
While I was in college I was amazed by how many instructors in health and fitness or the medical profession were not healthy or fit. Now as an Instructor in Health and Fitness I am on the oppsite side of the coin... Pants are fitting a bit tight after xmas break.
How do you feel about unhealthy health and medical instructors?
Hi Ryan,
You make a very good point about showing the human side of our lives at times. We all go through struggles and physical conditioning, or weight control can be among them. Showing how we worked through these types of issues really sets an example for the students.
Gary
It can be helpful to be able to relate to the struggles that clients or patience are dealing with. It can make us more sympathetic and can help them feel for comfortable knowing that you can relate and hopefully they feel confident in your ability to overcome as well.
Sure there is a negative aspect to the image but it can be overcome psychologically.
There is 2 sides to every story and much can be taught and learned from an instructor with their own health challenges. In terms of the student, instructor or graduate working in the field it is possible to benefit the client by being able to relate to their struggles as opposed to just not understanding their problems.
Sometimes clients or patience like to know that they are not alone and their trainer, therapist or health care provider has had similar struggles that they have been able to overcome and/or work through.
Hi Cynthia,
I wish I could but it is a mystery to me why people don't want to maintain a healthy lifestyle especially when they are in the health field. I do know that 96% of the people that start a diet or working out will fail within six weeks of starting. This piece of data explain a lot about human nature and the willingness to put forth the effort to stay healthy.
Gary
I believe that anyone in the health and medical field should set an example that portrays health and fitness. Health and medical instructors have taken biochemistry (metabolism) and are aware of the consequences of unhealthy living. How can we as instructors in the health fields be taken seriously if we don't "practice what we preach"? I worked in research for years and most of us remained healthy. We brought our lunches, used the stairs (4 flights) instead of elevators and most of us made time to go to the gym. The research facility was in the back of a VA hospital. Most of the nurses that worked there were over weight. I don't understand. Please explain.
Hi Angela,
Good point about using our selves and examples. As humans we struggle with the same life issues as everyone else and as a result we gain insight on how to cope with those challenges.
Gary
I think we as instructors can use our own struggles with wellness to help motivate students. For those of us who are working to achieve a healthy weight, why not share our own strategies in class? It might be a good idea to confront the obvious up front. We're all human. No one is 100% healthy all the time. The important part is making steps to achieve optimal health.
I'm afraid I'm in the same boat (over weight). I have healthy habits otherwise though and am currently working on losing some weight. This shouldn't be a "do as I say, not as I do" class. I should set a good example. How about smoking students? I had a pathology professor who wouldn't let smokers into his class because he said they "didn't understand the material".
