Today’s question is a special one; should I hire a personal trainer?
Not too long ago, personal trainers were only affordable to those of the highest income brackets. Usually a luxury staple of most celebrities and athletes, these gate keepers to muscle building have recently become a regular service offered at almost every level of gym and academy across the country. Trainers come in many shapes, prices, and expertise, ranging from your cousin Joe who once played a spring season of division 3 college football, to actual, certified, trained, and respectable members of some Nationally accredited organization.
The question of whether you should hire a personal trainer is well, a personal one. But, like you wouldn’t attempt to pilot a NASCAR Race car without prior specialized training, guidance, and co piloting, maybe trying to lift 200 lbs off of the ground, or operate machinery that can seriously maim you, without a teeny bit of advice, isn’t in your best regards, right?
The answer to the question is YES. If you can afford a personal trainer, even if just for one session, then the answer has to be a yes. Look, we understand that times are tough, and for many families, every dollar is accounted for. But your health simply isn’t an area of life that you can afford to skimp out on. During my five years working as a PT at one of the world’s largest gym franchises, I would see people get hurt on a daily basis. I mean, serious ligament popping, ankle sprains, back snaps, and the the most cringe worthy, being crushed by attempting too much weight on a squat or bench press. Any one of these injuries can lead to medical bills in the upper thousands, not to mention any lost wages from not being able to work or loss in productivity. For safety reasons alone, this is a no brainer, if you plan on seeing serious results in the gym, it pays dearly to get early guidance and assistance on any exercises you are unsure of. Even just one session can save you a world of pain.
The biggest complaint of the common gym goer is that they work out to no avail. Day in, day out, they trudge into the gym and complete their best imitation of an “intense” workout to no changes on the scale or muscle mass. As a trainer the reason could not be more obvious, most people have no freaking clue what they are doing inside, and especially outside, the gym! Newsflash! Even half of the gym staff are lost! An out of shape or fat personal trainer will not help guide you to your goals. This isn’t one of those areas where you can be sloppy and still be a master. IF you understand the basics of human fitness and know how to get someone into great shape, then how and why aren’t you in great shape? You literally work and live inside of a gym. So, on that note, second to just pure safety reasons, hire someone that you want to look like! Hire a fit personal trainer! At the least, one that is fitter than yourself! Chances are their lifestyle habits and the workouts they do themselves is what gave them their current physique. If you like the way a particular trainer’s arms look, then hire them and ask them for their arm workout. Like another trainer’s legs? Then hire them for two sessions of their best leg days. Given that humans are 99.9% genetically related to each other, if it works for them, it will most likely work for you. Not all workouts are built the same, it pays handsomely to learn the best workouts for your particular goals from a professional, and not some random Instagram model.
So with safety and quality of workouts aside, the third and largest advantage to hiring a personal trainer, especially from the beginning of your fitness journey, is direct access to applicable and useful knowledge. Getting into great shape is not common sense. If it were, then 8 out of 10 Americans would not be overweight or obese. These are doctors, lawyers, scientists, as well as nurses, truck drivers, and cashiers. Fat does not discriminate. It simply punishes the ignorant Hiring a fit personal trainer is your best direct window to the lifestyle that will have you looking like your dreams. A fit person becomes fit by living a fitness orientated lifestyle. You will learn not only exactly that trainers workouts they use on themselves, but when and what they eat, what supplements they take, how much water do they drink, what gear they wear, what stretches help alleviate pain, and what warm up best insures greater performance. Come loaded with questions for each and every session.
Leave no stone unturned. Think of a personal trainer as a Doctor of Fitness. The better they look and perform, and the more clients they have gotten results for is comparable to graduating from better colleges and working at better hospitals for doctors. You get what you see, and most importantly, you get what you pay for. With all the horrific and misleading fitness information blasted at us constantly through social media, it helps greatly to have a certified filter of nonsense. Not only will they keep you from making terrible life decisions like going on a Keto Diet, but they will give you actual, practical food advice to get you your results. Remember, no matter how great the workout is, 80% of your results will be seen from the food you eat. Eat like a trainer, look like a trainer, that simple.
A great personal trainer will be ready to help any one reach any fitness goal given due time. But, even if you cant afford that trainer’s full time, you can still hire them for a couple of sessions to get you started. Starting your fitness journey with a handful of effective and safe workouts, along with helpful and relevant diet and lifestyle advice, will get you to your goals in a fraction of the time. Instead of playing trial and error with your time and body parts, hopping from machine to machine in hopes of some miracle, why not hire a professional? Why not hire someone who already looks like the person of your dreams? Why not hire knowledge?
Or, of course, there is always your cousin Joe…