Thinking about using a personal trainer to help you with your workouts? Read this first.
Credentials. There are many different credentials that a personal trainer can have, but there is little agreement in the industry about what credential is the best, or even necessary. Many health clubs provide the only training their trainers get. The trainer you speak to may have many letters after his name, but do you really know what they mean? Fortunately, what these letters mean is actually not as important as several other factors.
Rapport. One factor more important than credentials is whether the trainer really listens you, draws out your fitness goals, and caters a plan to meet your objectives. One size does not fit all. He should also try to gauge your temperament to cater a program that will stick to and can benefit you the most. If you came to lose weight and get toned and end up hearing about improving your balance and strengthening your "core,' it may be because this is what th trainer know or has been told to promote.
It's like the folk wisdom of it being bet not being taught how to drive by a family member. The reasoning is that you will not listen to someone you have a pre-existing, different sort of relationship with. In a similar way, if your trainer is ten years younger than you and has only been working out a few years himself, you aren't likely to have sufficient respect for his opinions and instructions to work with him effectively
Gym employee? Some gyms use the feature of available personal training as a benefit of joining the gym. This may be a good reason to join, but beware of the selling of the need for elaborate equipment and complicated routines. Part of the pitch is that you need the fancy equipment to train effectively. Generally, you can make most of the progress possible with only the simplest of equipment. Balance balls, kettle balls, and elastic bands of all kinds may be fine as far as they go, but don't let fads deter you from a clear vision of what you need to accomplish. The gym employee may also be encouraged by his employer to create the impression that what the new member needs is complex and detailed expert advice. However, the principles of exercise are simple and do not change. There is no need to make it complicated.
Independent personal financial trainers can be more objective and are typically better trained than gym employees. In order to limit competition, many gyms prohibit independent trainers from working in their gyms. Independents typically cost more than gym trainers. For the trainee who knows what he wants, they can often be worth the additional cost.
Beginners v. Experienced Trainee. Personal trainers can be very helpful for teaching the basics to beginners. However, it's easy for beginners to make lots of progress, even when they do things imperfectly. Experienced trainees actually need personal trainers the most. After a beginner's progress has slowed or stopped, a trainer's forcing effort, tracking results, and making fine adjustments become more important.
Discipline. Perhaps the biggest value a personal trainer add is a forced discipline. For many training objectives, intensity of effort is critical. We all suffer lapses of discipline. Having someone to answer to (or disappoint) can make all the difference. What we may lack in motivation can be partially made up in this way, but, of course, a personal trainer can only do so much in this regard. Writing your goals and posting them on your bathroom mirror can serve a similar function.
Can you do it yourself? The reason most exercise programs do not last is not because the trainee has not gotten the right advice. It is because he quit when the going got tough. Are you willing to consistently do the work? If you're not sure, a personal trainer may be useful. However, don't lose sight of the plain truth, that hard work is the key to physical fitness. That fact in unavoidable. The balls that you need are not the kind that your personal trainer can provide!
------
Robert Braun is Vice President of Sales at Treadmill-World.com. He has been using and selling exercise equipment over 30 years. For more information on
treadmills and home gyms, see http://www.Treadmill-World.com
