Never trust a skinny chef?

As my pain kept me contained to my bed for the majority of the past week, I started to worry not only about the personal health challenges I've set out for myself, but about my professional future in the fitness industry.

Whenever I suffer any kind of injury, my worry turns quickly to my livelihood. I often get caught up in a snowball of a daydream, picturing myself in bed for months, unable to work, gaining weight at a rapid pace, with an at-home nurse changing my bed sore bandages.

My thinking is extreme, I'll admit it, but I do worry about my physical fitness and how setbacks like these will affect how I look, feel and function on a day to day basis. My workouts are very routine and fairly rigorous. While that might be part of what got me to my current state, it's also an uncomfortable feeling not to be able to stay in that routine. Working out is part of who I am, part of my body's effort to rid toxic imbalances, the most natural therapy for my state of mind, and uplifting for my energy and spirit.

In the fitness industry, I sometimes think about what came first - the proverbial chicken or the egg? Did someone that looked fit start telling people what to do to get fit, or did someone with knowledge and research tell those people what to do to get those people looking fit? I see it every day in my job - members want to workout with the trainer that looks the most fit. The trainer's approach may be unconventional, unsafe, or unwarranted. But they look good damn it, they must be doing something right, right?

There's where I start to worry about my own career. If I'm injured and can't workout, will I start to lose muscle mass, start to gain unwanted pounds? Just because I still have the same knowledge, skill set, and coaching style, will that mean that my clients will still want to work with me? If I can't demonstrate a movement, if I can't lift enough weight, if I don't look the part, what does that say about me as a professional in the health and wellness industry?

Is trusting an out of shape personal trainer/spinning instructor/pilates instructor/fitness director the equivalent to trusting a skinny chef? Trusting a used car salesman? Trusting an IT guy that doesn't wear glasses?

I'm not insinuating that I look like Jillian Michaels (I wish!), or that anyone really wants to work out with me in the shape I was in two weeks ago. But two weeks ago members could see me working out, training for races, teaching classes. Now I will sit in my office, wearing my back brace, putting out orders for equipment to be purchased and budget goals to be met. Sitting on conference calls and doing payroll. I could be doing that in any job. I chose health and wellness to make a difference in people's lives. I can only hope that my own physical challenges don't get in the way.