Steroid use more widespread than just baseball

Published 11:34 am Thursday, December 20, 2007

As a trainer, I couldn’t help but think yesterday that while the George Mitchell report was bad for baseball, it wasn’t exactly a shining moment for my profession, either. Just as there are players who are willing to cut any ethical corner to achieve results, there are trainers doing the same — and not just for athletes. What makes it worse is that we’re the ones who are supposed to be discouraging this sort of thing.

While most every trainer disapproves of steroid and HGH use, some are apparently just fine with the quick fix. It’s no different for everyday fitness — trainers at major gyms everywhere still push weight loss drugs as though they’re a real solution rather than a way to make a quick buck.

While that’s true that it’s wrong to give kids the idea that you can cheat to win, we need to widen our focus. Whatever happened to the notion that it’s not where you get but how you get there that matters? Our kids need to know that it’s wrong to make the destination more important than the journey, whether that destination is a professional sports contract or losing 20 pounds.

On behalf of all the trainers who approach fitness the right way, I’d like to apologize for the ones who don’t.

Mark Haner

Shoreline