Did you ever see stock photos of personal trainers? Sure you have. They usually look like the picture above, or some variation of it.
Here are the main problems as I see it.
#1: The tiny weights. To be fair, these are not limited to personal trainer stock photos but routinely appear in all sorts of fitness-related images: tiny, brightly-colored dumbbells. They always remind me of this observation from comedian Dave Attell:
"My gym has two-pound weights. If you are using two-pound weights, how did you even open the door to the gym? What’s your dream? To pump up and open your mail?"
And the weights in this picture are only one pound!
#2: Inappropriate touching. These images almost always show the trainer with his hands on the (usually female) client. First of all, do you really need to spot someone using one-pound weights? What, is she going to drop one on her toe? Second, there's almost always much more contact than is required for the exercise. This is not the way to spot a dumbbell lift.
#3: Too much smiling. If you're having this much fun with your resistance training, something's wrong. Intensity counts, especially with resistance training.
#4: Not enough cats. OK, I made that one up. Just wanted to see if you're paying attention.
Not in this picture is one of the other usual problems is that the exercise is bicep curls. While very popular, they are rarely the best choice for a client's goals. A personal trainer would know that.
Of course, maybe it's just me, but this guy doesn't look like a personal trainer.
But hey, it's only a picture. Right?
Be seeing you.
-gary