How to know how long to keep your personal trainer

Deciding to hire a personal trainer is a big commitment, and inevitably you will become somewhat dependent on this person for motivation, guidelines, and general knowledge about fitness. There is one subject, however, that only you are the expert on: how to recognize the appropriate time to take off the training wheels and start pedaling on your own. These simple guidelines will help you reflect on the role your trainer is playing in your life, and whether or not it’s time to cut the cord.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Consider how long you’ve been with your trainer vs. what your original time commitment was. If you budgeted for two months of training and you’re now at month six, then it might be time to take the training wheels off and give it a go on your own.

2. Ask yourself if you’ve accomplished what you wanted with your trainer
   Sometimes we fail to see our own long-term progress because the gains have been slow and incremental. Take a step back and consider the true extent of the progress you’ve made in terms of strength, cardio conditioning, and nutritional changes. Try to measure these parameters with specific numbers and you’ll get a clearer picture of exactly how far you’ve come.

3. Make a list of exactly how your trainer improves your fitness routine
   Again, quantifying the effect that using a trainer has had in your life will help you know whether or not you’ve kept your trainer for too long. Perhaps you achieved all the results you were looking for in the first six months of training and have just been “spinning your wheels” since.

4. Calculate how much longer you can afford to pay for training sessions
   As a trainer, I acknowledge that the ideal client is one who is a “lifer”, or someone that will always use a trainer for every workout. But this type of commitment assumes that finances will never be an issue, and that personal training is an activity with its own line in your monthly budget. If you’re not one of these lucky few, then be realistic about the hit your bank account is taking from using a trainer and weigh out the results you see vs. the money you spend

5. Map out what your fitness routine would look like without your trainer
   Are you someone who truly will not come to the gym if you don’t have an appointment with a trainer? If so, then recognize that you might need to make a long-term commitment to training. Or maybe you’ll go to the gym and then proceed to socialize and take a steam for an hour before leaving without really working out. Make sure you have a clear and honest picture of what your fitness routine will morph into once you don’t have a trainer.

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[sam100]

on 11/22/2008 i have read this comment and i have a trainer at the moment and have worried whether i am with him too long but i know i wouldnt go the gym by myself or get the results i was also worried what others would say and my trainer i have been nearly a year now with them