Do you want a personal trainer?

You've had enough. It's time for a change. You don't like the way you look/feel. But you're not sure how to get the job done. You feel uncomfortable and intimidated at the gym. The next idea is to get a personal trainer. Let them show you the ropes put you on a program.

I've worked out for awhile, I'm not the poster boy for results by any means but I'm in decent shape. Last year, as I approached a milestone I decided I wanted to get serious about training. I've often been very skeptical of the ideas of personal training. I've had guys try and sell me on their services in the gym. I've seen what they've done with clients (borderline negligent at times). I interviewed a bunch of trainers at different gyms to understand their value proposition, background etc. I've spoken to others about their experience and a few things were recurring.
First step is that you should ask yourself a few questions.
  1. What's your goal? Do you want to bulk up, lose fat, increase your endurance. You need to be clear about what you want. Create measurable goals and work on them with your trainer. Ensure that they feel they're reasonable and you will be satisfied by meeting them.
  2. When do you want to workout ? Maybe you're a morning person and love to get into the gym at 6am but your trainer loves the night-life and drags himself in consistently @ 6:05 and trains you half-asleep.
  3. How bad do you want this? Are you just starting or completing a big project at work? Are you going to be on the road a lot? This question is two-fold. If you're going to plunk down some serious coin to get a trainer you better be prepared to commit to making changes (e.g. getting to gym 3x /week and changing your eating habits). Are you able to make this kind of commitment right now? Second, if you have a lot going on in your life and this is just a passing fad that you want to "get into shape" (whatever that means, see question 1) then let it pass. Try and work out with a friend see how committed you are to this goal. No sense in wasting good money on something you really don't care about. A trainer can motivate you for the session, for it to pay off you need to be accountable to yourself 24/7. Training is hard work to begin with. A trainer will push you to excel every session, but if you're not willing to give it your all then just save yourself some cash.

Comments

Anonymous said…
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