Wondering what all the hype is around a personal trainer? Have you considered hiring one but are unsure if they are worth the money? The answer of whether you need a personal trainer is different for everyone. Additionally, you may not need one now but could find yourself looking for one in the future. Here are a few thing to ask yourself and consider before making the investment.
1. What are your goals?
First, determine what your goals are and how realistic it is for you to achieve them. Personal trainers are trained in establishing SMART goals and should have the experience to help you determine a realistic goal to set. Of the active clients I currently have, most fall into these categories: weight loss, building muscle, personal record for a specific lift, and accountability.
If you find that you don’t know what your goals are, identify one. Once you have an idea of what you’re aiming for, then decide how you will get there. If you are unsure of how to accomplish this goal, I’d say you need a personal trainer or a fitness professional to help. You can do this by asking for a consultation with someone and go from there.
It doesn’t need to be a big commitment but at least you know you’re off on the right foot. And sometimes, you may just need someone to help you determine the outline of your goal and make sure it is attainable.
2. What tools do you need to accomplish your goal?
Once you’ve determined your goal(s), you’ll want to figure out how to reach it. When reaching a goal, there are many things to consider. How many times should you be exercising a week and for how long? What should the intensity look like? Do you have the information necessary for recovery outside of the gym? All of these factors should be considered to help you be most successful.
I’ve covered this before, but you need to have a plan when you are exercising. This increases your ability to stay consistent and ultimately reach your goal. However, your plan needs to be able to support your goal. If you are unsure exactly how to reach your goal, you may need a personal trainer.
3. Have you plateaued or hit a standstill with your current progress?
More often than not, I find someone who has attempted to do it themselves and has fallen short of their own expectations. Usually, it is a result of #1 and/or #2 on this list. Having a realistic goal and knowing how to accomplish it are a feat in itself.
However, there are times where I come across someone who has been successful in achieving previous goals but are at a standstill or stuck at their current spot.
It’s like anything else. There is always someone out there that can provided a fresh perspective or can provide the missing piece to an already great program.
For example, in the past I’ve worked with people who want to workout but don’t necessarily have goals of eating right. While I can’t give them a specific meal plan to reach their goals, there are certain tips that can help someone have a better understanding of what they are consuming. Once they were able to be more mindful in their eating, they saw progress in the gym. Additionally, if someone has been doing the same workout for too long, the body will adapt and therefore progress will slow down or halt.
In situations like this, you may need a personal trainer to help you identify areas you can focus on to generate new stimulus on the body or an entirely new workout plan to switch things up. Even with a current workout plan, the beauty of training is there are so many different variables to change. You can switch up the volume, intensity, duration, etc. Minor tweaks like this can make an old workout come to life again. Consider the need for a personal trainer if you find yourself stuck or bored with your current routine.
So, when do I not need a personal trainer?
Well, there’s many reasons why a person would not need a personal trainer or maybe now isn’t the right time. Assuming the above questions have been answered, my take on not needing a personal trainer comes down to these factors:
1. You can’t dedicate finances to it. Ultimately, personal trainers usually cost above and beyond your gym membership and they often charge in packages. Personally, I work with people in the Metro Detroit area and I make home visits and gym visits. You’ll want to assess whether or not you can afford to pay for one. The price varies per person and by market. On average, you will most likely be paying anywhere between $40-$80 per session depending on who you go with.
2. You have injuries, illness, etc. Certified personal trainers cannot and should not be treating any injuries. We are not doctors and we are not physical therapists. Therefore, you will usually fill out a questionnaire that determines your readiness to work with a personal trainer. If you have any illness, injuries, etc., you’ll need to get clearance from your health care provider before considering a personal trainer.
3. You aren’t sure what you enjoy doing yet. Let me start by saying, this is my personal opinion as a personal trainer. You are investing your time and money into hiring someone to help you. Wouldn’t you want to make sure you enjoy lifting before you invest in it? Recently, I had someone reach out and ask if they should ditch their OrangeTheory (OTF) workouts to lift more. It might surprise you, but I said no. At least not yet.
It depends on what your goals are. Ultimately, a high cardiovascular workout is going to be different than weight training. And while something like OTF provides a mixture of both, there are benefits to just lifting (without cardio) that OTF’s standard class format doesn’t provide. So, before you go ahead and ditch your beloved cardio class, try a couple lifting sessions with a friend or search around for a guided workout class without cardio (I hear OTF has a Lift45 class?)
Ultimately, no matter your goal, you want to find something you enjoy doing and can be consistent with. Once you’ve had a few experiences of weight training and are ready to commit a couple days a week to, you may need a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Just make sure you’ve decide it is something you want to pursue before you start looking for someone. Searching for the right personal trainer in itself can take some trial and error so you’ll want to make sure you have at least items thought before you begin your search.
Personal training is not right for everyone and it may not be right for you, at the present moment or ever. I recommend taking your time to find what you enjoy doing first and then find someone to help you get there if it is necessary. Looking for a personal trainer but don’t know where to start? Let me help you figure out where to find one and what to look for!
