“The Most Controversial Personal Trainer on the Internet” is a moniker I adopted a couple of years ago following an exchange with a chap on X/Twitter who got all abusive because I wouldn’t send him photographs of my unclothed torso to prove my expertise.
Curiously, I have found this little tagline invites the unthinking to make a swift exit from my world of their own volition soon after entering and sometimes before they even set foot across the threshold, saving me the job of having to remove them down the line.
What is it that offends them so?
Among other things…
* My “zero tolerance no drugs policy” which disbars anyone who takes or wants to take PEDs or lie to their doctor to get TRT from ever working with me in any capacity,
* The fact I am open about my methods taking many months to produce noticeable results and many years to get you close to the ideal body you picture in your mind’s eye,
* That I see obesity as principally a moral issue, being the product of sloth and gluttony in almost all cases, with the only effective solution being the individual taking complete responsibility for their situation. (It’s not that I am against the state helping, I am actually for it; but the government is not going to meaningfully act on this for a variety of reasons, so I don’t see how crowing for “someone” to do “something” is anything other than pointless virtue signalling),
* My insistence that learning and repeating the basics with little variation indefinitely is the only way to get strong and in shape,
* Treating women the same way I do men (i.e. not acting as though they are meek little creatures who cannot take responsibility for their actions – and as the father of two young ladies, I find this shockingly common attitude very creepy),
* How I’ve noticed the fitness industry is plagued with PTs who think themselves medically qualified (quacks), offering all manner of “solutions” to clinical problems they have no business diddling with,
* Saying that children are the mirror of their parents in all things, therefore if you are fat and out of shape because you spend your free time laying about in a soiled tracksuit while complaining about how “hard” it is to find time and energy to exercise and eat right, it’s extraordinarily likely your kids will grow up to do the same,
* Pointing out that weighing every morsel of food that passes your lips so you can meticulously track your calorie intake is a behaviour broadly consistent with certain eating disorders,
* Acknowledging that “12 week transformation programmes” and suchlike generally deliver something like what they promise (provided the coach is not an idiot), but seldom are those results sustained for more than a few weeks to a few months because they are achieved through unsustainable methods,
* My Christian religion.
So nothing too controversial at all, in the grand scheme of things.
Apart from the last point. Although some of my best customers and clients are militant atheists who view my fundamentalism with affectionate bemusement.
Anyway.
There are fitness lessons aplenty in those bullets if you look for them.
And if you would like a deeper look at my nefarious ways, I recommend subscribing to my Real Paper Newsletter (inventively titled “The Phil Tyreman Letter”).
Particularly as April’s issue is a super size (10,000+ word) exploration of eleven of my controversial-but-not-actually-controversial views on a variety of subjects, all with the sole aim of helping you get strong and in shape slowly.
As a subscriber, you will also get:
* A copy of a book containing a comprehensive strategy for getting strong and in shape, plus all the tactics needed to put it into action (the book is only available to my newsletter subscribers),
* Accountability in the form of my (in)famous “Monday Message”,
* Access to my large and shapely brain for assistance with anything I am qualified to offer assistance with (form critiques, programme tweaks/overhauls, and so on),
* Various other things.
To learn more, go here:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/information/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman