I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Jackson Cooper shares the experiences and memories of his time as a personal trainer in his book “Trainer X: My Career as your Personal Trainer: Warning: You Might Be in This Book”.
The Synopsis
“If you’ve got breath to bitch, then you’ve got breath to keep going.”
This was my motto if you trained with me during my 13 years as a personal trainer.
This book was written with the soul intent of recapping my career in the Health and Fitness industry, and it allows you into the mind of one personal trainer. This book has it all: sex, how you, yourself are seen in the gym, fitness stories about clients, mistakes, career choices, rich people, poor people…
What started out as a dream of living in the gym, playing instead of working, becoming muscularly aesthetic, being more attractive to the opposite sex, and being lean and useful in every capacity, would inevitably lead to one burnt out individual. The weird thing is, I don’t feel as though I am alone in this. I believe that the people in the fitness industry all aspire to help people at the onset, but then get lost along the way because of their relationships with their clients.
This book will probably not be the next “Trainer How-To” book. Therefore, it will probably not be memorialized by health and fitness gurus for decades to come.
I was worth the money, and I still believe that I am. Even after “retiring” from the industry, I dipped my toe back into the frigid waters of training, only to retract, shake my head, and say, “Nope, no more.”
Please enjoy the book, as it is meant to entertain and enlighten, but you may want to take my experiences and advice with a grain of salt. I did not leave the industry feeling all well and good about it. The saying goes “Everything ends badly, or else it would not end at all.”
The Review
This was such a unique and fascinating nonfiction read. The author gave such an original and personal viewpoint on a field that is rarely looked at from any lens other than self-help and personal growth fields. The detail and the imagery that the author’s experiences and stories conjure up really allow the reader to feel transported to these moments.
The heart of the author’s book rested in the honest approach to the subject matter, as well as the balance of humor and tragedy that made up the author’s career as a personal trainer. The way people’s personalities and behavior changes when entering a gym setting and the way trainers are looked upon as not only a trainer but almost like a person’s personal therapist in a way, made the author’s personal stories feel more vibrant and alive on the page.
The Verdict
Insightful, engaging, and illuminating, author Jackson Cooper’s “Trainer“ is a must-read nonfiction book. The engaging narrative and the honest approach to the subject matter will give readers a new and original perspective on the personal training field that will both fascinate and shock readers to their core. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
