Back when I started out as a trainer I worked in a Virgin Active (which I absolutely loved by the way) where I got to meet all sorts of different people, body shapes and a wide variety of fitness related goals. Everyone was there for one reason or another, but ultimately everyone was there to better themselves.
What became clear to me eventually though was that everyone wanted to be better (fitter, slimmer, stronger, more toned etc) but very few people were prepared to actually do what they needed to do to achieve those goals.
What do I mean by this?
Well, let’s take the weight loss crew as an example. People would come to me and ask how can they lose their love handles, their belly, bingo wings and everything in between. I would spend ages with these people telling them exactly what they needed to do and then they would go away all positive and ready to go…
Only to do nothing about it.
They just weren’t prepared to do what they needed to do to get the results they wanted to get.
These were often the same people that would turn down the idea of personal training because they thought they could do it themselves.
So why does personal training get results when they couldn’t get results on their own?
The biggest and most important factors are Accountability and Motivation.
When you hire a personal trainer, you are investing in yourself. You have paid money to get a result which will ALWAYS get you a better result than not investing into something. If you don’t take your sessions seriously you are wasting your money and someone else’s time and therefore you are more likely to stay consistent because you are accountable not only to yourself but to someone else also.
Having a trainer will also mean that you feel that you have to stick to the plan and eat healthier because you have to give them feedback about what you are eating, how much you are exercising throughout the week and any other factors that will affect your goals such as sleep and hydration.
The second thing is that a trainer knows exactly what you need to be doing to get your results and therefore will keep your training sessions interesting when they need to to keep you motivated.
Training With Someone Else
Have you ever worked out with a friend? I bet you either worked out harder and had a great session, or you talked the entire session and didn’t do anything worth doing?
Having a personal trainer is a bit like having a friend to train with, except hopefully they won’t allow you to talk the entire session but will actually get you doing what you need to be doing.
Even from my own personal experience, I work out better when I’m training with someone or I have someone training me. It also takes the thinking out of the session which means I can focus on working out rather than thinking about what is next.
Safety
Injuries in the gym occur when someone is not paying attention, they are tired and lose focus or as a result of bad technique.
Having a good personal trainer watching over you will help to prevent you from losing form as they will be constantly reminding you or correcting you to adjust your technique. They should also be able to see when you are getting tired and know when you should stop or step in and assist you in some way.
Having said that, did you see I said “a good personal trainer”? Well that’s because I have witnessed with my own two eyeballs bad personal trainers being responsible for some very serious accidents with their clients. You would expect all trainers to be safe and yet there are some out there who are just oblivious to the world around them or the safety of their clients.
So, if you are looking to hire a personal trainer, I strongly suggest you observe them or talk with them first to get an idea of what they are like before you sign any agreements.
Will All Personal Trainers Get You The Same Results?
Absolutely not!
To many people, a personal trainer is a personal trainer; they all do the same thing. This however is not true.
Some personal trainers are better at training people for building muscle or strength, other personal trainers are better at helping people lose weight, and other trainers are more suited for other goals such as marathon training, sport specific targets and so on.
So my first piece of advice to you is; what is your goal and is that trainer specialised in helping people achieve that? For example, myself and the trainers here at Precision Wellbeing here in North Finchley are specialists in helping people between 30 and 60 lose weight. We are not generic run of the mill personal trainers and we do not train people to become bigger, run races or enter physique competitions; that is for someone else.
My next piece of advice is that not all trainers have the same experience or knowledge.
If I was looking to hire a personal trainer to get me results, I would be more interested in how much experience they have over the shape they are currently in. Some of the best trainers out there are not necessarily the ones in the best shape (although some sort of shape is important).
Would You Like To Know More About Personal Training With Us?
If you would like to lose weight and you would like to know more about training with one of our trainers then give us a call today on 0203 356 7060 or email us at info@precisionwellbeing.co.uk, or simply fill out the form below;