How do you know if you need a personal trainer

Many people are accustomed to thinking that a personal trainer is only for the rich. Like your own yacht or Bentley with a well-trained driver in uniform. But why then does any self-respecting fitness club offer the services of a personal trainer, and they are clearly in demand?

Fitness without a mentor?

Of course, you can work out in the gym completely independently, obviously, it’s cheaper that way. And you can be proud of your independence and determination. Although it would be better to rejoice at your successes achieved as a result of a properly structured training process.

You can do everything yourself, even sew boots back together and repair your own car. But a specialist will always do it better.

And this fully applies to training. To achieve the desired result, improve your health, make your body sexy and toned, it is not enough to subject yourself to grueling training. You’ll also need to do the following:

• choose the right exercises and their intensity, create an optimal, individually selected program
• find the right motivation and consistently workout
• learn to perform exercises with minimal risk of injury and maximum efficiency
• Always keep your excercises at the peak band of difficulty for your ever-changing body

This can only be done by a professional with the appropriate knowledge and experience.

At the same time, it is not at all necessary to work with a personal trainer all the time. How do you know when you need to see a specialist?

Who needs a personal fitness instructor and when?

A personal trainer is needed if:

• You experience physical health problems: chronic diseases, recovery from an illness or childbirth.By choosing the wrong load or exercise, you can harm yourself. If your health is not good, it is much safer to start exercising under the supervision of a professional.

• It’s hard to know where to start. You won’t achieve much by using the “finger in the sky” method. An experienced mentor will help you choose the optimal program at the initial stage, point you in the right direction, suggest suitable nutrition options and a rational training regimen.

• No progress. Perhaps you have made a choice in favour of not the most suitable methods, or you are doing something wrong. There are also situations when even heavy loads do not bring the expected result, furiously fighting with dumbbells and exercise machines. The work is hard, but there are no results. A personal trainer will tell you why this happens.

• Lost motivation. This is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Having failed to achieve visible success over a period of time, many people lose motivation, become frustrated and quit. A good personal trainer is always a bit of a psychologist. He encourages when necessary, praises at the right moment, and sometimes gives a “magic kick” if your mood requires it. Good sports anger can work wonders.

• If your physical condition is far from perfect, and you feel embarrassed and uncomfortable during group exercises. Perhaps, having felt empowered, rejoiced at your own successes and believed in yourself, you will be able to overcome your complexes and continue to study in a group or on your own. But at the initial stage, the help of an attentive and friendly mentor is simply invaluable.

How to find “your” fitness trainer

Trainer Pro will match you with the perfect personal trainer for you, based on your initial discovery call where you go over a little bit more about your and your fitness goals. But how do you tell if the trainer is right for you during your complimentary assessment?

• Not everyone who offers their services as a personal trainer may be right for you. First of all, pay attention to the impression this person makes on you. It is absolutely essential that a potential mentor be likable and trustworthy.

• Pay attention to the instructor’s physical fitness. He must be fit, slim, in excellent shape. Otherwise, what kind of mentor is he if he doesn’t work with his own body?

• Age and gender are at your discretion. Some find it easier to communicate with a member of the same sex, while others are stimulated by the presence of a mentor of the other sex. As for age, older coaches tend to be more experienced. But at the same time they are more conservative. A younger instructor may be more active, energetic, positive, and more willing to innovate and experiment.

• Do at least one trial session to make sure you enjoy training with this particular mentor. Pay attention to how attentive the coach is to you and your successes. It happens that they begin to insistently offer you some kind of nutritional supplements. If this happens, it is better to look for another coach who is more concerned not with his own earnings, but with your success.

• Don’t think that a former athlete, winner of many awards, will necessarily be a good coach. A good coach is, first of all, a teacher, a mentor. He knows how to explain and show what not all athletes can do. The success of a coach is the victory of his players. 

Personal trainer: your ally in the fight for reaching your fitness goals

An ally and mentor, no doubt. But the main work is still up to you. A coach can help, give direction, support and encouragement, but they won’t do your work for you. Your new, slender body is in your hands. In the liters of shed sweat, in overcoming oneself and one’s laziness, in the will to win and the willingness to give up bad habits.

Undoubtedly, individual training can significantly speed up the process and give more noticeable and faster results. But you shouldn’t expect a miracle. This is your temporary assistant on the most interesting path – the path to harmony with your body, to beauty and health.

Expert commentary

Mike Stevens, a certified personal trainer in North York since 2010:

If you don’t want to get stuck at one low level for a long time, as happens with dozens of people, give yourself a chance to find a way out of stagnation with the help of a coach. There is no shame in seeking help from a professional. It’s a shame to give up the fight and leave the race.

I, too, was once one of those who thought that I could figure everything out on my own. I studied according to methods I read in books and magazines, and compiled my diet based on recommendations from the Internet. As a result, I went through a long path of mistakes and injuries. Stagnations, when there was not the slightest success, lasted for months. Due to poor nutrition, I was losing muscle mass, not fat. Do you want to go the same way? You have the right to do so. But isn’t it better to take advantage of other people’s experience to speed up successful results?

Why wander through the jungle alone when you have someone to guide you? When you hire a personal trainer, you are buying their knowledge and experience to achieve your goals.

What does a personal trainer give?

He develops an individual program for you, selects a diet, and monitors your progress. If necessary, he makes the necessary changes. Not a single step, not a single effort will be wasted.

Just think about it: not a single step in place. This is exactly what you pay a personal trainer for.

Adviсe:

Make sure the trainer is licensed to operate.

Make sure he has experience and specialized education. Don’t be afraid to ask for confirmation of your words. If he or she is evasive or gives vague answers when answering direct questions, walk away. There are now enough highly qualified trainers for you to be picky and demanding. Trainer Pro will ALWAYS make sure we match you up with the best possible in-home personal trainer in your area, that will have the knowledge and expertise to help you reach your fitness goals.