.png)
Tired But Toned
Tired But Toned is the podcast for busy women doing their best on low battery.
Hosted by fitness and nutrition coach Tina Wieland, this show is all about building real strength, managing stress, and creating habits that actually work in your real life — whether you're running on caffeine, chaos, or a solid eight hours (rare, but we dream).
Expect a mix of bite-sized tips and deeper dives into movement, mindset, hormones, recovery, and how to feel good in your body without burning out trying to “fix” it.
Whether you’re navigating autoimmune challenges, the weight of modern life, or just tired of the all-or-nothing fitness game — this podcast gets it. And more importantly, gets you moving in a way that lasts.
Because you don’t need more motivation.
You need a smarter strategy — even on your tired days.
Tired But Toned
258 | Gym Bros Who Say No: The Problem with Fitness Gatekeeping
Send me a text about the episode!
Have you ever been made to feel like you don't belong in a fitness space? You're absolutely not alone. In this candid and eye-opening discussion, I dive into one of the fitness industry's most problematic trends: trainers who turn away clients because they don't fit neatly into rigid training methodologies.
Drawing from both client stories and my personal observations, I expose the harmful "black and white" mentality some fitness professionals bring to their practice. These are often the trainers who present themselves as having the "perfect method" but become dismissive when clients express limitations – whether it's fatigue from a menstrual cycle, symptoms from an autoimmune condition, or just being new to fitness. The message they send is devastating: there's no place for you in fitness unless you can perform at their expected level.
I contrast this with what truly professional training should look like, outlining the rare legitimate reasons for client-trainer mismatches while highlighting why adaptability is essential for effective coaching. I also address a concerning industry gap – the decreasing visibility of general fitness trainers who work with everyday people just looking to feel better, lose weight, or increase energy, while specialists working exclusively with athletes or competitive clients dominate the landscape.
As someone who wasn't naturally athletic growing up, I share how this exclusionary environment impacted my own fitness journey and why I'm passionate about creating inclusive fitness spaces. The heart of this episode centers on a powerful mindset shift: fitness isn't about competing with others but becoming slightly better than you were yesterday. Success should be measured by consistent small improvements over time – more squats than before, holding a plank longer than last week, or simply making it to the gym more consistently.
Ready to find a trainer who truly meets you where you are? Subscribe to Toned but Tired for more honest conversations about navigating fitness in ways that feel empowering rather than intimidating.
✅ Like the podcast? Leave a review!
💌 GET FREE DAILY HEALTHY RECIPES HERE
📝 APPLY TO WORK WITH ME
🌟 JOIN THE FREE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY
📸 FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
🎥 FREE WORKOUT VIDEOS
💊 MY FAVORITE SUPPLEMENTS : CODE: 'TINAW' SAVES YOU $$$
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Toned but Tired podcast. Today I wanted to chat about something that's been on my mind. If you've ever been a personal training client like if you hired a trainer maybe you took a class at a gym or even just like went to a gym, got a tour, experienced something with like a gym professional experience, something with like a gym professional um, this may be for you and this would be for somebody as well who's looking for a trainer in the future, even just looking to join a gym. Okay, be aware of these things. I get so annoyed when I hear fitness professionals who like think clients are too difficult. Okay, this bothers me.
Speaker 1:Um, because a lot of times let me paint the picture for you a lot of times it's usually like a gym bro, um, someone who's fit maybe they've been fit their whole lives and you know they're kind of cocky. Like they're just like I have the best method, I have the best workouts, this and that, and they look really fit and maybe that's why you were drawn to them like wow, this person's gonna help me. But then, like maybe something comes up like you're like man, like I have my period and I'm like really tired. This can be females too. Um, this, this can happen with females as well. But you know, I have a period I'm really tired, like I really can't do this, like I don't want to do this, and then I hear you know stories from clients. I've seen it in action because I've trained other trainers at jobs that I've been at like for their positions and things, and they're just like well, I can't train you if you don't do it this way, it's wrong, I'm not training you. Um, and they have like this very black and white mentality and that that's not a good message for you, the client of being like oh well, I guess I just suck and there's not a place for me in fitness. Now, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:There are some times Let me paint the spectrum here there are definitely some times that maybe the client is difficult for one reason or another or they're not ready, but this usually has nothing to do with fitness. Nothing to do with fitness If it is medical or fitness related. That is when the trainer should be professional and say hey, um, you know, I think this is a little out of my scope, so I'm going to refer you out to someone else or I suggest that you follow up with a medical professional before returning to training, right? Usually, though, 99% of the time, there is something that you can do to help improve the client and move with them and work with them, no matter where they are at, no matter how small the movement is, but sometimes that does happen. The other issue would be, again, if it's not fitness related, it's more so. Maybe the client is really late all the time, maybe they're missing their sessions and they're not reliable, maybe it's a personality thing.
Speaker 1:Sometimes people just don't quite mesh together like the trainer-client relationship. Again, this is pretty rare and usually can be screened out through a consultation. You'll know if you're a right fit, right. So it does happen sometimes, but that would be really the only time where in my head that a trainer would be like no, I can't work with you, right, and I guess the other exception would be if maybe you went to this trainer and they're very specialized in something. But again, this will be for you, the client.
Speaker 1:Then, when you're um, you know, meeting with a trainer or professional to ask them about their training philosophies and be very upfront about your concerns, just be like hey, like you know, for me, like I have an autoimmune disorder. There's some days where, like I just wake up and for no reason, like I have no energy, I'm in pain. So, like you know, for me, like I have an autoimmune disorder, there's some days where, like I just wake up and for no reason, like I have no energy, I'm in pain. So, like you know, my workout output might be inconsistent. Like is that okay? Are you able to work with that? And, like, be very upfront, like some days I might be able to kill it and then some days we might just be doing light stretching, you know, because some people may not like that.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I think a lot of the issue lies in, like those guys who they love training bodybuilders. You know, okay, they only train athletes, or maybe it's only CrossFit or they're only this. But again, if you find someone who you know, if you go to a CrossFit person but you're just looking for general health probably not the best fit there, like if you don't know where to start, I would go with a more generalized personal trainer, and that's actually something really interesting too. That I've noticed Is that I don't know if this is a recent thing, but I've just noticed I feel like there's no, there's no general fitness personal trainers Really Like at least that I see advertised. I think they're out there, I think they just have their clients and they don't really like advertise and they're happy and they have their you know their set people and that's it. But it's like I don't see any prominent general fitness trainers and I enjoy like the general population, I enjoy people who just want to like lose a little bit of weight, tone up, feel good, like you know. Um, I'll take odds and ends people here and there, obviously because I've worked with a wide range, but it's like everybody like seems to work with like 20 year olds or they're like I train crossfit people or I'm training people for bikini competitions, like it's very specified, excuse me, it's very specified and I think there's actually a lack for that general population of people and I think that's why a lot of people feel kind of left out, like they feel like they need to perform in a certain way to kind of get in with that group of people.
Speaker 1:But like that was me growing up. I was never fit. I was always that like outsider who wanted to get into fitness but I never felt like I was, I had the right stuff, you know, I felt like you just were born athletic and I'm like, oh well, that wasn't me. But the more I got into the space, that's why I wanted to kind of create this safe space so people of all walks of life can feel comfortable together and they feel like you know you're competing with you. You're not competing with anybody else who, like your past self. Are you being better than them? Would your past self be able to do x amount of squats? Hold that wall sit, come to the gym this regularly, like, make that healthy eating choice. Those are the things we're comparing against Nobody else. And as long as you're being a little bit better than the person you were yesterday and over time you're happy with you. That's all that matters, right? So I don't know, that was just like a little rant, that was a little thought.
Speaker 1:I actually have like a notes. Oh, you don't want to see my notes app, but I have a notes app on my phone. I went through and organized it this weekend and like, if I have an idea that comes to my mind, forget trying to remember it, so I just jot it down, and that was one. So I just jotted down and that was one of the things I jotted down about like pretty much asshole trainers and like how they turn away clients, because I've had quite a few of my clients share experiences with that. Like, oh, I went to meet with this trainer and they kind of said they didn't want to work with me, or or I worked with them and they kicked me out and I'm like, and then I work with them and they're fine, like they're not these horrible clients and that kind of rubbed me the wrong way, um, and so, yeah, I just wanted to share a little bit about that to maybe ease your mind and give you some tips to look for.
Speaker 1:Um, if you're looking for a trainer, just to be wary, do your research. Um, against, I would start with general fitness. Again, if you don't know where to start, you know, unless you have a very specific goal in mind, like you're training for a 5k or you want yoga or Pilates or something like that Like, um, do your research, pick a general trainer, look at client testimonials and reviews, um, and you'll probably be off to a good start. And you'll probably be off to a good start, all right, but all right. That is the episode for today. A nice quick little brain dump from Tina. We are tired and toned over here, but I hope you have a great rest of your day and I'll chat with you soon.
