My favorite memes/videos Iโve seen during this quarantine have been those put out by hair stylists cautioning clients NOT to cut their own bangs or do their own hair coloring during the mandatory shutdown because they are going to fuck it up. Why? Hairstylists are professionals; you are not.
There are many different levels of hair stylists. There are those with years of schooling, continuing education, and experience who may run their own business or work in a high-end salon; there are those with not as much pedigree who may work in a commercial salon; thereโs the lady whoโs friends with your mother who just happens to do hair on the side; and then thereโs Rite Aid, where one can easily purchase a box of hair color and a pair of shears. You can get your hair cut and colored by any of the above choices; Iโll let your common sense dictate what each finished product is going to look like.
I love this meme so much because it reminds me of personal training and coaching. You could go buy a Womenโs Health magazine for reference and train yourself; this would be akin to googling โhaircuttingโ and then shearing your own mane. Better yet, skip google; you just instinctively know how to do it. A fellow coach shared with me an anecdote; on the topic of training, her aunt insisted, โI donโt need someone to tell me how to exercise. I know how.โ In reality, her aunt doesnโt know what she thinks she knows and looks like โa tomato on stilts.โ This is the equivalent of the girl with jagged, lopsided bangs and botched hair coloring telling you she doesnโt need a stylist because she knows how; in her head, she looks great, oblivious to the fact that she is a walking cautionary tale of what not to do.
Then thereโs the friend of a friend who cuts hair as a hobby, just like the friend of a friend whose physique is not that great but is better than yours and gives out workout advice based on what he finds works for him. Iโm going to cut this one short and just say that in all of my years training, I have never seen this result in success.
There are mall/commercial salons; you get what you pay for. Itโs hit or miss, mainly miss; you may get a semi-decent cut and color. You could equate this with a commercial gym; the trainers here are not professionals. Theyโre most aptly described as cheerleaders, rep counters, and motivators. More than likely, they know more than you, if this is not your area of specialty, and youโre going to see some resultsโmiddle of the road, semi-decent results. I know, Iโm not abashed to say that this was once me.
Then you have a high-end salon; did you ever have an experience where the stylist gave you the most perfect cut and nailed your color perfectly? She was a professional in every sense of the word and you left feeling like a new woman? Thatโs Fit House; our coaches are professionals. Iโm not a cheerleader, and I donโt ever want to be your cheerleader. Donโt get me wrong. I support my clients with the utmost enthusiasm and can be quite a motivational force to encounter, but my job is not to sit around and count your reps. My job as a coach is to design and structure long-term training programs that are going to garner the results youโre looking for. My job is to understand exercise physiology and how to apply it to your goals. My job is to ensure you donโt hit plateaus and are always on a path of progress.
The hair stylist meme really hit home for me. I donโt ever want Fit House to be the mall/commercial salon, the friend of a friend, or the do-it-yourself version. Iโm so proud of the professional coaches we have at Fit House and so grateful for our dynamic and sparkling clientele that demand the best of the best. Iโm pleased that we are able to continue serving you with top-notch customized on-line programming during the closure, and Iโm ten levels beyond thrilled to be able to open up again and offer you optimal service very soon.
About the author
Chris Rombola
Chris is the owner of Fit House. He's run the training departments at several commercial gyms, and after years of seeing how awful those environments were for his clients, he opened his own studio. He is devoted to getting people strong, lean, and healthy.