Whether you are a complete beginner in the gym or have been training for years, a good personal trainer can be worth their weight in gold for your progress.
Whatever your goal, there are so many benefits that a professional and results-focused personal trainer can provide along your fitness journey.
While some people may see having a trainer as a luxury, the improvements to your health, fitness and physique that a professional trainer can bring make it a worthwhile investment in yourself.
Here are 5 benefits only a personal trainer can provide:
1. Support
A good personal trainer will be there to motivate and encourage you through those days that are tough mentally, not just physically. They will listen closely to your goals, pay attention to what you need to progress, make sure whatever you do is done safely and efficiently, and will make adjustments when necessary.
2. Challenge
A good personal trainer will always challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone, as that is where we know the biggest changes take place mentally and physically. Having an external motivator encouraging you to keep going, is a sure way to progress faster than when you’re left to your own devices.
3. Educate
One of the primary reasons for working with a trainer is to have someone to educate you on all aspects of health and fitness. This includes nutrition, exercise execution, workout programming, daily habit adjustment – everything that will give you a proper understanding of what is required for you to reach your goal. It is even more important if you are a beginner, because it gives you a shortcut to developing knowledge and skills that might take you years to learn on your own.
4. Hold you accountable
Accountability is the ‘secret sauce’ of success – studies show that having some level of accountability can improve your weight loss success by up to 30%. The gold standard of accountability is having a personal trainer – someone to keep you on track to your goal.
When there is someone there overseeing everything you are doing and tracking your progress, you are more likely to stay consistent and stick to the agreed plan. If you have made an appointment to meet your trainer for a session you are more likely to honour that than if it was just you planning your own session after work and missing it.
If you are supposed to hit a certain nutrition target by the end of the day, you will aim for that because you do not want to let your trainer down. Accountability is very important!
5. Keep it realistic
A trainer will be honest with you about what you can realistically achieve in the timeframe you have for your goals. They will show you how to minimise time wasted and maximise your results, but they will also not lead you into a false sense of security. They will also be honest when you are not consistent and not on plan. They will take a ‘tough love’ approach because sometimes we need a dose of reality to get us where we need to be.