Brits are a bunch of fitness amateurs

Britain is a nation of wannabe PTs, offering out amateur fitness advice to colleagues, friends and family with no professional expertise to base it on, according to new research.

• Almost two thirds admit to providing amateur fitness advice to friends and family
• Workplaces up and down the country are most susceptible to this kind of unsound advice
• 68% of women admit they have given this type of advice in the past

The survey of 1,000 UK adults carried out by Focus Training, found that almost two thirds (61%) of UK gym-goers knowingly hand out advice and expertise on exercise and in some cases, nutrition despite having no qualifications in this field.

Workplaces up and down the country are most susceptible to this kind of unsound advice as 44% say they share their ‘know-how’ with colleagues at work. Friends (31%), gym partners (24%) and family (12%) are also commonly targeted with risky, unfounded guidance.

The research goes on to reveal that women are the biggest culprits, as 68% of females surveyed admit they have given this type of advice to others in the past without being confident in what they were saying.

Clare Storer, commercial director at Focus Training commented on the findings: “The data identified a worrying trend of Britons passing on pseudo knowledge of fitness, despite having no qualifications to back it up.

“I think many people are guilty of this in one way or another, and health and fitness is one of those areas where people feel they can casually offer out advice without any repercussions but this practice can be quite dangerous.

“Gym enthusiasts who are really interested in helping people out in these areas should consider taking up formal training before giving out advice – doing so without this will not help others and could actually cause them harm.”

Those aged 18-24 are the most likely to hand out fitness advice to friends and family.