Is A Personal Trainer Right For You?
Ever had a moment at the gym where you’ve felt like you just don’t really know what you’re doing? Or watched someone do an exercise in a totally different way from you? Or really want to tackle a cool skill you saw and have no idea where to start? For beginners, exercise can feel overwhelming. Even more experienced, accomplished athletes can reach a plateau in their fitness. It’s frustrating when progress slows or you stop seeing results from your training.
Is it worth it to hire a personal trainer? The price can be intimidating and some even require a time commitment. We want to help you decide whether hiring a Personal Trainer is right for you. Let’s start with the benefits:
1. Time is Money!
Stop wasting your time guessing, your time has worth. Perhaps you feel like you spend hours at the gym, but you’re not making any progress? A trainer can help you to find ways to work out more efficiently so that you burn more calories in less time. It’s also important to check that your technique for all exercises is correct. This is particularly important if you’re looking to develop certain strength for specific skills or movements such as handstands. A trainer can check your form and make the necessary tweaks to ensure your exercise is effective.
2. Set Your Goals
If you’re training for a specific event, to lose weight, to gain strength or to a tackle high level skill, having a trainer can be really beneficial. Setting those goals the first time you meet with your trainer can make all the difference. Personal trainers are experts in muscle patterns. They’ll know exactly what you should be working on no matter your current fitness level.
Even if you’re working hard, it can become increasingly difficult to lose weight and change your body shape as you get older. If this is your goal, it’s important to build muscle mass to increase calorie expenditure. A personal trainer has the expertise to help you achieve this.
3. Beat the Boredom
Most people do the same workout each time they go to the gym, or they run the same route or do the same routines at home. Not only is that pretty boring, but it also increases the risk of injury and the dreaded weight-loss plateau. A personal trainer will help you to mix up your routine and try new things. This could include experimenting with working out at different times of the day or trying out different equipment.
A trainer can design a program personalized to meet your specific goals, with enough variety to keep you on your toes. That way, you won’t get bored and your motivation won’t suffer.
4. Accountability
Accountability is probably one of the main reasons why most people hire a personal trainer. If you’ve invested your money and there’s a trainer waiting at the gym for you to turn up, you’re much less likely to slack off than if you were left to your own devices. Your trainer will remind you of your goals and why you want to exercise. They’ll spur you on, even when you don’t feel like it. And they’ll set you tasks to do in between sessions, and check that you’ve done them! Some people just find working out really boring! Having a trainer next to you to chat to can really help to alleviate this feeling.
Group workouts are another great option you might like to consider. The social element can help with motivation and engagement, and there should always be a coach present to help you through the workout. Ask your trainer if they offer Group Privates or Semi-Privates to workout with like minded people or your friends!
5. Injury Prevention
If you’re not exercising correctly, you’re increasing your risk of injury. A good trainer can show you how to correct your technique, to help you stay safe when you’re working out. Taking the correct time off for recovery is just as important as the actual workout.
People with old injuries often worry about exercising, in case they trigger a flare-up. A personal trainer will know how to work around old injuries and stop them from getting worse. A good personal trainer will also work on rehabbing some previous injuries by working supporting muscle groups and increasing mobility in those areas.
6. Mental Health
An often un-discussed benefit that personal trainers can provide is improved mental health. Of course, the primary job of a personal fitness trainer is to help you achieve your health goals, but a side-effect of this is the mental health benefits that come with that territory. It has been shown that setting and achieving goals and having people around us to celebrate our successes can greatly improve mental health.
In addition, a good personal trainer is highly personable and wants to get to know you as an individual. Get a good mental reset for whatever day or week you’ve been having. It’s nice to shut your brain off and workout without having to plan it!
7. Education
While you might have the motivation and drive to reach your fitness goals, you may have no idea of what you should be doing in order to reach those goals, and even if you do, you might never see the improvements you want if you are lifting or performing exercises with improper technique. One of the greatest advantages to working with a personal fitness trainer is that they have likely worked with numerous individuals who have similar goals as yours, and they know just the workouts and lifestyle habits that you need to be working on in order to see those improvements. They also have a background in formal exercise science education and can coach you up on your form to make sure that you are getting the maximum results out of each session.
Having seen other people in your fitness position, they can also help you set realistic goals if your goal is a little too ambitious for your timeline. Setting smaller goals based on your fitness level can help you not lose motivation while still getting you closer to your main goal.
Why NOT to hire a Personal Trainer
Don’t get me wrong, I believe a personal trainer can be a tremendous asset in whatever fitness goal you may have. Trainers can serve as a motivator, an educator and a source of accountability. They can be the difference between failure and success, and can help their clients learn lifestyle changes that can improve their health for the rest of their lives.
However, there are a few reasons NOT to hire a personal trainer. I should know—I am a personal trainer:
1. You Want A Quick Fix
Results happen slowly over a period of time and shouldn’t be expected overnight. If at any time you’re presented with a “solution” that will work instantly, whether it be from a personal trainer, weight loss coach or doctor, you should immediately be suspicious. Anyone who claims to have a program or product that will help you lose twenty pounds in two weeks is implementing dangerous shortcuts that can do much more damage than good in the long run. Results that last come from changes that last.
2. Money, Money, Money
Having a personal trainer will run you anywhere from $40 to $200 an hour depending on where you hire from and the trainers experience. To the average person, hiring a personal trainer is costly and is therefore something they feel they can’t afford.
When someone hires a personal trainer they often buy packages of 10, 30 or 60 sessions. Multiplying the hourly price with the amount of sessions you get can add up to a significant amount of money that you spend on a personal trainer. For people who has other things to spend their money on like their family, bills, mortgage, food, etc. it can be difficult to justify spending any of it on improving their own fitness with a PT.
Remember spending money on your health should always be a priority. It may be easy for you to dump $1,000+ on that new iPhone but spending $300 on a Personal Training Package makes you think twice. Invest in yourself every so often.
3. Making The Leap Is Scary
Hiring a personal trainer can be scary. When people think of personal trainers, a lot of the time they imagine someone yelling and screaming at them like Terry Crews as the «Euro training guy» from My Wife and Kids. For a majority of the time, this will not be the case. In fact, for 99,9999% of the time, this will NOT be the case. So don’t be scared of personal trainers. They will not bite.
And besides, it is your choice to pick the PT you want to train with, so talk to a few of them and chose the one you like. Some are scared of hiring a personal trainer because they think that they will destroy them in training, and that can be a scary thought. Remember, it is YOUR workout and you can choose your limitations. A good personal trainer will value your limitatios but also try to push you past what you think you are capable of.
Can I Hire a Personal Trainer?
There are a lot of things to consider when hiring a personal trainer. Making this commitment can help you to stay accountable, maintain motivation and reach your fitness goals. Anyone can find their perfect trainer if they try. Look for a FREE ASSESSMENT or discounted first session so you can try out your trainer without wasting any money!
