How to Decide If You Need A Personal Trainer

Member

By writedesign
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating:

(5 Ratings)

Personal trainers help you meet your fitness goals.

Starting an exercise program may seem like an insurmountable task and that's why people turn to personal trainers for help. Hiring a personal trainer can help you get acquainted with the gym, make you feel more comfortable while working out and help you meet your fitness goals. This article will help you determine if you need to hire a personal trainer for the short-term or long-term.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Decide on a gym.

First decide on which gym to join. Be sure to reference "How to Choose a Gym That Meets Your Fitness Goals" in the Resource links below. If you don't want to join a gym, you don't have to. Personal trainers make house calls too.
Step 2

Hire a certified personal trainer.

Hire ONLY a certified personal trainer. There are many certifications out there - American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is one of the most reputable. That's not to say that the other certifications aren't valid. I know many excellent trainers who have other types of fitness certifications and are superb trainers. It helps to ask them for references before working out with them. Ask people in the gym too. Members often keep an eye on personal trainers so they can learn new exercise routines.
Step 3

Sign up for sessions.

Now you have to decide how many sessions to sign-up for. This depends on your goals, your ambition/will power, your temperment and your budget.

If you're like me, you'll just want to have a personal trainer show you how to work each machine, then go off and do it yourself, full steam ahead. When I first started, I found that I didn't have the patience for small talk while working out and I didn't like to have someone standing over me while I push weight. My husband found this out quickly when we first met. He stood over me on a chest press machine and tried to motivate me to do more repetitions, but I just became irritated. We've never worked out doing weights together since, and that was 12 years ago.

There are many serious personal trainers out there who get down to business (no small talk), but the 'hovering over' part always kept me from hiring a personal trainer for the long-term (and that's why I took courses and became a personal trainer myself).

If you have this temperment and full throttle ambition, hire a personal trainer for only a few sessions to get you started.
Step 4

Get a 2-for-1 deal.

If you have a lot of will power and ambition to keep up with your workout but prefer to work out with a buddy, enlist a friend and get a 2-for-1 deal with a personal trainer for the short-term. Sign-up for 2-3 weeks of sessions (3 times a week) to help get your routine on track with your partner, then ditch the personal trainer and motivate each other on your own. Make sure you choose a partner who's not a slacker or you will find yourself alone in the gym a lot. Keep each other accountable and things will go fine.
Step 5

Lose weight.

If you're the type of person who prefers a buddy to work out with and you know you won't go unless a personal trainer is always there waiting for you (and you don't have any reliable workout partners/friends), you definitely need to hire a personal trainer for the long-term. This doesn't mean you need to break your budget when you hire a personal trainer. Sign up for 2-4 sessions a week for a month or two. Once you start seeing results, you'll be more inclined to go to the gym and do some work on your own.

You shouldn't completely give up working with the trainer though, especially if you want to lose a lot of weight. The trainer is your lifeline to a 'new you', so keep him/her on board as long as possible. Consider the money you're spending on your training sessions as the money you won't have to spend at the hospital down the road. Exercise is a healthy investment and it usually costs less than hospital bills. Don't feel guilty about spending money on your well-being.

If you get sick of your trainer or you find your personalities don't match, hire a different one. It's always good to switch up your routine when you're trying to lose a lot of weight. Don't feel guilty about switching trainers either - this is about you, not them. (Just don't bad mouth them to the next trainer because they might be friends.)
Step 6

Make friends.

If you just have a lot of money and want someone to keep you accountable in the gym (or just think the personal trainer is cute and want to get to know him/her), go ahead and hire the trainer for the long-term. The personal trainer you choose will be very glad to have your business!

Comments

tundranut said

Flag This Comment

on 3/9/2009 This article made me miss my personal trainer. I read with interest your statement that the money invested in training sessions now won't go to the hospital down the road. So true. Great article. 5*

Lilfix said

on 2/25/2009 Great article...Very helpful information...thanks for sharing...RRCR5*

ravencroft said

on 2/21/2009 I think I will hire one for a short time, when I get the money but I also like what you said, that since you didn't like them hovering around you just became one yourself. Way to go!