Volunteer Opportunities for Personal Trainers?

Off Topic
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I had a revelation today.

While it is well known that the average American knows almost less than nothing about fitness and applies none of it towards their personal life, it really struck home for me today. I am a personal trainer, and no, I do not do not endorse BOSU balls, the Atkins diet, exercise bands, trainers who do more harm than good, or doing curls in the squat rack.

But working in a gym limits your exposure to the “average” American. Even though everyone in a gym is not ripped or in shape or even healthy, they are trying. Maybe not hard, but at least they got up, got changed, and came into the gym.

Tonight, after combing through Fit TV for any show that might contain a single kernel of wisdom (TiVo!). I gave up and went to Blockbuster to try to find a copy of Pumping Iron. I walked through the door, and immediately did a full-store scan (hoping a T-Vixen would be loitering in the action section), when it slowly hit me that everyone in the store was disgusting!

I mean . . . men, women, children, white, black, hispanic, young, old, EVERYONE! And that got me thinking; I know that I spend a lot of time making fun of the “average” American, and even more time making fun of ridiculous things I see in my gym. How can things be so complicated for the McAmericans?

Then I had one of those uncomfortable moments when truth hits us in a moment of self-superiority. I’ve only been lifting for a few years; and while I’ve gained over 100lbs (good weight!) in that time, when I began I knew nothing!

As a matter of fact the longer I am in this profession, the more I realize there is to learn. I need three lifetimes just to begin! It’s good to say “Lift heavy, eat right, and be driven,” and for people like the members here, that is ingrained in to how we think and act, and not only in the gym, but in all aspects of our lives.

But for people like the people in Blockbuster, it is a foreign concept, difficult to adjust to, and even more so to implement.

The point of this post is to utilize the network here and see if there are any volunteer opportunities (paying and nopaying) that might be available to personal trainers. Camps, hospitals, rehab, in short, anywhere where there is a need for people who know about health, fitness, and everything we at T-Nation hold near and dear.

Oh, and Blockbuster does not carry Pumping Iron. Damn.

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[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
anyone ACE certified[/quote]

Thanks jack ass. What makes you more qualified than me to save the McAmericans from the obesity epidemic? I was about to jump right in with you on the idea, til I remembered you don’t condone the ACE certified.

Furthermore, how do you intend to eat and pay your rent while volunteering to save the McAmericans?

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[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:

The point of this post is to utilize the network here and see if there are any volunteer opportunities (paying and nopaying) that might be available to personal trainers.
[/quote]

A paid volunteer? Cool concept.

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I was wrong. You were right. I edited my post to say what I actually meant to say. Thanks for pointing that out to me. If you really were going to jump on the idea, please accept my sincerest apology and go right ahead.

As for food and rent, those are my own affairs. The point of this post is not to portray myself as some noble figure who intends to sacrifice my life in some sort of Ayn Rynd-condemmed altruism, but simply to ask if anyone knows of any opportunities available for people like you and I.