75 days more days and I will be hitting my one year anniversary as a personal trainer. I remember this exact time last year, reading and studying for eight hours a day / seven days a week. Highlighting, underlining and marking pages. The headaches, late nights and early mornings. Oh and the stress! Boy was I beyond stressed out. However once I drove over an hour to a huge building, went in to take a four hour test at 8:00 a.m and came out a Certified Personal Trainer was well worth it! It reminded me again at that moment, why I decided to become a Personal Trainer. Which this is something I do get asked a lot. 'Why?' If you know anything about Personal Training in the area I am at, you know it is not even close to about money. [Average salary in my area for Personal Trainer- $20-50k a year. That is a assistant, truck driver, sales rep] So why would you go into this field when you are married and plan on having FIVE kids...? Here is why!I remember first starting out in fitness and I knew exactly how I felt. Scared, clueless, embarrassed, so many emotions. But none of those emotions were positive. So I set out to help those, who felt just the way I did. To teach them ability and strength. To show them they are capable of getting the results that they dream of. I wanted to help change someone's life and prove to them that they can do it! I wanted to motivate and guide people. And the most important reason on why I dropped college in Nursing after spending two years in high school doing it to become a personal trainer, was I wanted to help people in their health and bodies before they got to the point of being 'too late.' I wanted to help people know the importance of their physical health and show them how it will help them in life! Physically and mentally!
Now not ever person becomes a Personal Trainer for the same reasons. And not ever trainer is the same. We are all different and all specialize / do things in our own ways. In picking a trainer though, you should always look for these few thing.
Patience
Communication
Professionalism
Education
Personality
However you may be thinking why you even need or should want a personal trainer. I thought the same also before tacking fitness on my own and learning all of what fitness consist of. It is way more than just picking up a set of weights. Check this out!
You are not seeing results! This can be where you have lost weight or gained muscle and at a stand still. You just started out or may even been working out but are not seeing the results that YOU want! A personal trainer will help evaluate your daily routine not just in exercise but with everything else to find whatever it is to benefit you and your goals. They will then design programs and set goals to receive the results you want!
Relationships!!! Some of my favorite time during the week is with my clients. You develop a relationship with your trainer like no other. Your relationship is very personal. There are not very many people whom you share your goals so specifically, who in turn will work so diligently to help you achieve them. Often that hour (or two, or three) a week you spend with your trainer, is the only time in your week that is truly devoted to you, your goals, and your successes. I have had sessions in which my client is angry and just wants to workout. There is no talking for the hour. I have had sessions with clients who have recently lost a loved one and their hour with me is their time to escape. I also have sessions with clients where they are so excited to share with me their personal successes and how what we are doing in training is translating into their life outside the gym. Often times intimate details of life are shared in sessions and I am so grateful that people trust me enough to allow me these details. It is these personal relationships and the intimate knowledge of who you are that helps the trainer work specifically with you and to hold you accountable to your goals!
You do not know where to start. 85% of people quit working out in the first two weeks of taking on a workout program. This is for many reasons but all wraps around that they just do not know where to start. Lack of setting goals [realistic ones], lack of knowledge on equipment, or lack of knowledge on what to do. Which can lead to frustration and lack of results. A personal trainer will give you everything that you need. Help in setting goals, designing personalized workout to fit those goals, teaching you proper exercise techniques and results!
You bored with the same workout! This is a major thing with myself. When doing a routine for a while I get bored... I get burned out of it and that will make you want to quit. However a personal trainer can help you switch things up by showing you different methods of strength training, circuit training and/or equipment.
Teach you proper technique and form. Watching all the you tube videos in the world and reading all the fitness magazines, does not substitute having a person by your side providing you immediate feedback on form and technique. It is very easy to hurt yourself in the gym. Trainers pay attention, cue both your mind and your body and help you achieve your goals more quickly by making sure you are doing each exercise correctly. They can help you develop better running form, improve your posture, and increase your strength by teaching you to recruit the proper muscles and making a mind body connection. With each exercise trainers will hold you accountable to proper form and technique preventing injury!
You want to be challenged! A lot of times during workouts you may be tired or just go half butt. A personal trainer will motivate you and push you to push past any obstacle. They play a huge role in encouragement also. They help you find your strength and prove to yourself that you can do more than you think you can!
Learn how to exercise on your own! Many people think you have to stay with a personal trainer, well forever! Or think of a long term commitment. Which some people do and there is nothing wrong with it at all. However taking a couple sessions with a personal trainer, they will help you and give you the knowledge on building your own workouts [leaning muscles and exercise to target them]. They also teach you everything listed above and below this, they set you up for success not only with them but for when you feel comfortable to take it on by yourself!
They give accountability and motivation! Trainers are experts at this! You have a set appointment. Your trainer will be there waiting for you with a smile on his/her face each and every time you show up. They help you to not only develop your own personalized goals but to also develop a realistic and achievable plan to attain these goals. Trainers have the ability to believe in you even when you are feeling at your lowest and don’t believe in yourself. “CAN’T” is not in a trainer’s vocabulary.
If you have/had an illness, injury or any condition. Someone may stop attending the gym due to an injury. Trainers will teach you how to use equipment properly so that you do not injure yourself. Trainers will also work with you to prevent injuries in everyday life by helping you increase your balance, flexibility, and core strength. They are able to focus on specific exercises that will benefit you based on your activities of daily living. And in the chance that you have suffered an injury, trainers are able to work with you to safely exercise, keep your range of motion, and get your strength back. Just recently, I broke my leg. My trainer did not let me stop working out. After communicating with my physical therapist, we were able to develop a plan for me to keep up my upper body strength and begin rehab on my leg. A personal trainer will not let you use an injury as an excuse to not workout!!
You are training for a sport or event. If you are in high school/college playing a sport or training for a marathon, 5K, body building competition a personal trainer can help you progress in the stages needed to fully succeed in your sport/event! Some personal trainers however specialize in certain categories and have experience in some, so look into your trainer and see if he/she is a right fit for you!
You just want to workout from home! This is a lot of people preferences for whatever reason. [time, comfortability, etc.] However they are clueless on what to do. With or without equipment. This is what I love doing with my clients but a personal trainer can do two thing here. 1. Do in home-training. or design programs for you to do at home or wherever fitting into whatever equipment you have to meet your goals! [what I do and LOVE!]
You need a fresh perspective / idea on fitness, nutrition and health. There is an overwhelming amount of fitness, nutrition, and health information available. It is impossible for the average person to have time to sift through this information for what is most valid, accurate and up to date. It is the job of the trainer to stay on top of health trends and continue their education in order to provide you with the safest and most accurate information in the industry. Is that new fad diet really effective? Will I really get a bikini body by doing that popular workout? Is it true what I read in this fitness magazine? These are just some of the questions trainers deal with on a daily basis. Trainers are able to use their education, knowledge and experience to provide you with tips and tricks to help you develop a healthier lifestyle. We are constantly sharing recipes and ways to contend with obstacles in your nutrition such as “candy in the office”, or how to manage menu’s when dining out with friends. Often trainers are the first to say, “Hey, you’ve been complaining about this for a little bit. Maybe you should go see a doctor, massage therapist, nutritionist, etc.” We see you on a regular basis and are able to recognize if something is different or just not right and are happy to point it out and refer you to the appropriate expert. We care about your health and well-being! And we will hold you accountable to taking care of yourself nutritionally, physically, and with your overall health!
Need solid, consistent and NON- JUDGEMENTAL support. Not everyone has your best interest in mind. Your trainer, though, only cares about you and your success. Your trainer will be there. Each hour you spend with your trainer is an hour to focus on you and only you! They will provide consistent feedback to help you better yourself and achieve your goals. Most importantly, the trainer is able to do this without making you feel inadequate or judged. We have all gone into the gym and worried about what we look like doing an exercise or compared ourselves to someone else. Trainers don’t judge or derogate. They help you to see all of your successes, big and small, even when you can’t see them yourself. Through this support, trainers will hold you accountable and motivate you, despite your feelings about yourself!
Personal trainers are more than just someone at the gym that gets to 'boss you around'. They are people of passion and want to help you! Check with a personal trainer you know and get to know their WHY!
No comments :
Post a Comment