Visit ten commercial gyms or fitness centers and ask them why you should use a Personal Trainer and you’ll get ten different answers, based on why you should use a Personal Trainer from their facility. The problem with the advice you receive from these professional salespeople is that the advice is based on sales goals and is designed to help build the resident personal trainers’ businesses.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a personal trainer who works at a large commercial gym and I also want to build for business. Gaining access to gym members who have been sold on the virtues and values ​​of personal training certainly makes that job much easier. But I would prefer that my clients decide to use a personal trainer (preferably me) for valid reasons and with a realistic view of what they can expect to receive for their hard-earned dollars.

Let’s start from the beginning; Why is it better to train with a Personal Trainer? Essentially, there are ten reasons why most people choose to hire a personal trainer and they are:

1. You are not seeing results. Many people begin an exercise regimen with one general goal in mind, usually to lose weight, and work like crazy for weeks, months, and even years without any noticeable results. A good personal trainer will begin your journey with a comprehensive pre-exercise assessment questionnaire and will have a detailed discussion with you about your goals, motivation, and past exercise history. Only then, after understanding where you are currently and where you want to go, will they begin to formulate an exercise and nutrition plan specifically for you. Included in the pre-exercise assessment will be body weight, girth measurements, and possibly even skinfold measurements taken to establish a baseline against which your future progress will be measured.

2. You don’t know where to start. No personal trainer worth spending your money on will assume you have any prior knowledge of anatomy and physiology, nutrition, or exercise science. The reason is that if we assume that each client is a blank canvas and develop the workouts based on the principles of solid technique and progression, each client has the opportunity to learn the safest and most effective way to develop their strength, cardiovascular. fitness and insurance against unnecessary injuries. Most people who join the gym don’t know how to exercise effectively or safely and there’s no one better to teach you how than your personal trainer. A large number of people will download a templated workout from their favorite website or get advice from their “fit” friends. The problem with this approach is that you may not know how to use the equipment safely and the training may not have been tailored to your individual needs and/or limitations.

3. You are bored with the same old workouts. I know from personal experience that if you don’t change up your training regularly, or add interesting cross-training options to the mix, you get very bored with training and less likely to even try. Bang, there goes your motivation. A good Personal Trainer will be continuously reviewing your progress, how your body is adapting to the exercise and evaluating your motivation. If any, or all, of these indicators show signs of plateauing or if he’s less motivated, he’ll switch up his routine and add some variety to his training to keep it interesting and continually challenge his body.

4. You need to be challenged. If you’re like the majority of the exercise population, there will be days when you just don’t feel like pushing yourself to the max or just feel like lazing around. A personal trainer won’t let you pull out the BS excuses for not exercising. He’ll push you through the last two reps and encourage you through the set when the weight seems too heavy. He will be your conscience, your mentor and your encourager, but he will not be your Mother.

5. You want to learn how to exercise on your own. Even if you want to exercise on your own, it’s a great idea to hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to learn the proper way to exercise. This is especially true if you want to learn about the muscles in your body, how to work those muscles, and how to complete the exercises with good technique. A few sessions can teach you about your body, how it works, and what you can do to get the most out of it through exercise.

6. You need responsibility and motivation. Personal trainers come with built-in motivation. You’re investing money and time in your health and fitness, and there’s nothing like a standing appointment to get up and moving. A good Personal Trainer will also provide responsibility; therefore, if you do not show up for an appointment, you will be contacted directly to find out if you completed the missed training on your own time. You’ll be asked regular questions about your eating and sleeping habits to make sure you’re keeping up.

7. You have a specific illness, injury or condition. If you have specific conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, or old injuries, working with a personal trainer, who may work with your doctor, physical therapist, or chiropractor, can help you find a program that fits your unique circumstances, help heal. injuries and avoid problems later. Keep in mind that you want to find a trainer who has experience with your issues, and make sure that the trainer works closely with your doctor or physical therapist to get the best experience.

8. You are training for a sport or event. Whether you’re training for a marathon, football season, or some other type of sport or event, an experienced personal trainer can help you decide what you need to do to stay strong without detracting from your other training. It can also help create a training schedule and lay out a periodization plan for the next event. Just make sure they have experience in the sport you’re training for, as not all coaches do sport-specific training.

9. Wants supervision and support. Some people know how to exercise for the best results and know how to exercise safely, but still want to have a personal trainer nearby to oversee their workout and provide support (including spotting heavy weights) during their workout. The personal trainer then becomes more of a training partner.

10. You want to exercise at home. Many people have a nice collection of home exercise equipment but are unsure how to use what they have or lack the motivation and discipline to exercise. A Personal Trainer can show you exactly how to use what you have, and the knowledge that your Trainer will arrive at a specified time on the specified day will motivate you to get the job done.

Now that you have some really compelling reasons why you should use a Personal Trainer, the next question is: How do you choose the best one?

It could be funny and just say, “pick me!” but there are some fundamental criteria, and non-negotiables, that you must insist on seeing. The first of these is an appropriate and recognized qualification in fitness or exercise science. As an absolute minimum, the Personal Trainer must have a Certificate III and IV in Physical Fitness. If they have a Diploma in Fitness or a Bachelor of Sports or Exercise Science, then so much the better.

Second, if they do not have additional qualifications, eg certificate or diploma level, in nutrition or dietetics, they should not offer nutritional or dietary advice beyond the scope of the National Dietary Guidelines. If, on the other hand, they have additional qualifications in Nutrition and/or Dietetics, they can help you analyze your diet and offer you guidance and nutritional advice.

The third factor to consider is your specialization. Each Personal Trainer has been educated to a level that will enable them to offer support and guidance to a wide range of people with a wide range of goals and challenges. However, I have yet to meet a single personal trainer who does not have a specialization or preference for a particular type of training. If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and your goal is to lose weight and manage your condition, there would be no point in partnering with a Personal Trainer whose specialization or preference is bodybuilding and competition. It would be equally useless for an aspiring bodybuilder to team up with a trainer who specializes in post-pregnancy weight loss. The experience would be disappointing and frustrating for both parties.

Ultimately, compatibility is a key factor in deciding who you should trust with your health and fitness journey. You may have found the best personal trainer on the planet, but if he has a huge ego and has a hard time relating to you, on your level, he is not the man for you. Take time to sit down and chat, find out about the Trainer’s background, his personal fitness journey, and what he enjoys doing at the gym. If you find a kindred spirit who has all the qualifications and a specialization that fits your needs, this is the Trainer for you.

When you find the perfect Personal Trainer, don’t make the mistake of putting money along the way to achieve your goals. Investing in the right personal trainer will be worth every penny. Let’s say you are asked to spend $50 per session twice a week to get the Trainer of your choice. In isolation, $100 may seem like a lot of money, but you need to put it in context; How much is your life and health worth in the long run? If you eliminated all junk food, cigarettes, and alcohol from your diet, how much would that save you each week? If you could stop taking the medications that currently keep you healthy, how much would you save? Dollars should not be the determining factor.

It’s very easy for me to say “I can get you in the best shape of your life” and indeed many of my contemporaries do exactly that in their advertising, but what does that mean in the context of your life? I’d rather say, “I can help you find the strength of purpose and discipline to stay fit and healthy for the rest of your life.” This is a reality we can commit to and make happen. Only you can change your life; I can teach you how and help you achieve it.