Why You Need A Personal Trainer
If you have never exercised before, starting and sticking with a regime can be overwhelming. Being disciplined enough to train, irrespective of your circumstances, is no child’s play. Besides, in the beginning, it is tough to know what to do and the right way to do it. A complete exercise schedule takes time to progress into and follow. You can rightfully expect some to be tougher than others and you may want to refine them. But how do you know which or for that matter, what, you can tweak for the better?
The best thing to do is to get a personal trainer. An expert who can resolve your queries, design a plan for you and help you stick to it to achieve the desired results. With their expertise, they can draw on the best cardio, weight training and flexibility exercises and suggest the best for you. Their plan will take into account your comfort levels and body type and his specialist knowledge of exercises and their stresses as well as results on your body. He can also choose exercises that reflect the time you have available to commit to your workouts.
Here is what a trainer can do for you –
- Personalize and list the right set of activities for you – You might not know where to start, which exercises would be best to start with or how to plan your schedule. If you have already started, for all you know, you could be doing it all wrong. Your trainer can make the necessary changes to your exercise set or technique to make it right for where you are now.
- Put together a workable plan – A trainer will know how much and what type of exercises you can initially handle. They will develop a plan that is realistic and workable to keep you motivated.
- Helps set up and keep to a schedule – You need a plan that acknowledges your other priorities too. You may not be able to work out every day, or at the same time on all days. Sometimes, the trainer will not be available. If you have time but its irregular, a trainer can help with ways to keep track and suggest the best way to record your routine and performance in a workout diary if you workout somewhere else or if he is not available.
- Helps you increase productive exercise time – Sometimes, without motivation or a plan we continue with the exercise out of routine and don’t push. Having a trainer keeps a check on both and helps maintain a productive schedule ensuring you don’t lose focus or waste time on exercises below or above your capability.
When you exercise regularly and you are giving it your all, if you see little or no progress it is disheartening. If you are not losing/gaining the weight you want or reaching your targets, it is an indication that it is time to hire a professional trainer.
A few things a good professional trainer can help you with –
- Go through your current program – and make any changes for it become more effective and yield better results.
- Develop your motivation – If you know you are the type who sometimes doesn’t feel like doing your workout, that can quickly affect your overall target. A trainer can be at your back to support, challenge and motivate you even when you don’t feel like giving 100 percent. Eventually, your trainer will help you do more than you think you can do.
- Carefully scan your goals – Your own trainer will know immediately if you have set unrealistic goals.
- Make you responsible – With a trainer, you are more likely to commit and perform better on your weekly goals, since there is someone critically tracking your progress. You will be as answerable to them as they are to you as a paying client.
- Teach you newer exercises – Losing weight is not the only goal of workout. You have to build the core and strength muscles as well, and to do it all, improve on your cardio. This combination requires an understanding of training on the complete body and their ability to create a proper personalized regime. A professional personal trainer can help you with all of this.
If you are getting the desired results, you may still benefit from the expert opinion of a trainer. There will always be something you can refine or develop. For example, those aches after certain HIIT workouts could be addressed by seeking expert advice from a trainer for just an hour.
Once your initial routine is established, you can always go it alone for a while and check in with your trainer every couple of months or so.
Even for experienced exercisers, a personal trainer can be of great help with devising new workouts to add variety. The same set of exercises gets boring and unproductive. It can also lead to weight loss plateau, burnout or overuse injuries.
A trainer can help you overcome these in the following ways –
- Get you a new perspective on your workouts – A trainer can make your workout sessions fun by adding or removing exercises and refining them to suit you.
- Help you with some fresh ideas – Trainers know all about circuit training, strength training such as supersets and pyramid training and high-intensity interval training like the Tabata training. They can help you gain the necessary knowledge as you progress.
- Introduce you to different equipment – While we use some equipment, it is usual to not know the purpose of all the equipment in a gym. A trainer can introduce you to new equipment before you get bored so they can be challenging and fun too.
- Push you more with challenging goals – Sometimes you cannot motivate yourself and need a helping hand. A personal trainer is the best person for this. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is a vital part of his role. Being able to use this knowledge to your advantage well is an essential skill in any professional trainer.
4 Things You Should Look At Before Finalizing Your Personal Trainer
1. Certifications And Credentials
It is not easy to get certification in this field but it is mandatory for a trainer to hold a fitness certification in their area of expertise. Personal trainer accredited organizations include; The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American Council on Exercise (ACE), or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). A person having the right certification has had to prove their knowledge, understanding and skills.
2. Experience
A certification guarantees a level of competency in the trainer at the time it was gained and it is easy to argue experience is better in a trainer. The tried and tested work. However, the flip side is that new trainers have been trained in the latest theory and practice using the latest equipment. The best thing to do is ask around for personal recommendations either in person or on social media or ask if you can observe a session with a trainer at your local gym. Provided all parties agree. Don’t be afraid to shop around. You will, after all, be paying for the services of a professional.
3. Overall Personality
Every trainer has a style. It is important you know their individual style before committing to a schedule with them. Whether you like someone who motivates you with positive words and cheering, or who yells and challenges you and goes that extra mile to push you into more reps, is something you need to decide. At the end of the day, your trainer is being contracted to help you improve and focus on your ultimate target. Talk to the trainer and ask them to describe their style to find out what it is. Believe it or not, how they deliver the focus skills of their profession, will be a conscious decision they should be able to explain.
4. Thoughts And Philosophy
You need to know what the trainer believes in. His philosophy is his motivation for the decisions he will make about your workout. It will give you an idea of what you can expect from your workout experience and help you make an informed decision about whether this is a trainer you can spend the next several months, or even years, working on shared goals with.
Be sure to ask questions. Not only when you first meet a trainer, but after the plan is drafted and before you begin and throughout your time with your trainer as he helps you progress. If you choose to commit and stay, be mindful that engaging a professional trainer is not all about your trainer pushing. You have your integrity on the line to fulfill your part of the contract. This is usually to turn up when you say you are going to, ready to give 100 percent.
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