Personal Training – Huge Help or Waste of Money?

Personal training – when do you need it and why? Is it necessary? If you hang out here often then you know I spend a fair bit of time at the gym. I do a wide variety of group fitness classes to stay interested and challenged. When I first joined years ago I often saw people of all ages working with a personal trainer. Initially I thought it was for people who were hard core gym rats, but I tried it myself and I was surprised, so thought I would share what I learned. The fact is, personal training has some major benefits.

Personal Training and You

The thing about having sessions with a personal trainer is that they can help those new to working out and seasoned pros. Their knowledge can be applied to everything from the obvious physical part of training to some nutritional advice in some cases. Let’s take a look at how personal trainers are more than just a way to upsell gyms.

Beginners

How often should I work out? Is cardio enough? Should I lift weights? How much weight should I lift? What kind of exercises should I do? These questions and about 5 billion others are what circle through the beginner’s mind when they set out on a quest for fitness. Of course, you can Google all day long, but a personal trainer can explain things in a way that’s easy to understand.

Personal training is more than just movements. It’s imparting knowledge to you that you can use long after your sessions are over or after you’ve outgrown the need for a personal trainer.

Intermediate and Advanced Individuals

Personal training can also be quite beneficial for intermediate and advanced level folks, as well. Having someone there with you allows you to push yourself hard and still stay safe. It also allows you to try new things to get your body even more in shape. The body gets used to movements over time, and a personal trainer can help you keep your body guessing. Their advanced knowledge of anatomy and various exercises means that you’ll always be getting 100% out of your workout.

My experience with a personal trainer was positive. It didn’t cost much extra and it helped me to map out the number of repetitions and the weight level I could handle. The trainer I used even wrote down the settings for certain machines so that I knew where to adjust each one. Seems simple, but he noted small flaws in my technique such as keeping your elbows bent at a ninety degree angle for one of the chest weight machines.

Personal Training Helps

Not at all. Personal training is by no means the only way to get in shape. While it can be beneficial, not having a trainer is by no means a fast track to failure. Think of personal training as a bit of a cheat sheet or like one of the video game guides your kids use. You can get through it on your own, but a guide can make things so much easier.

Personal training allows you to learn as you go, drawing on the knowledge of your trainer and absorbing it in a way that’s hard to do through the written word. That being said, don’t feel like a lack of a personal trainer is going to derail you, it won’t. If nothing else, just do your thing until you feel like you’ve hit a wall and then sign up for a few personal training sessions to get yourself moving in the right direction. After that, go back to flying solo for a while. Remember, you can sign up for personal training at any time, and many times, you can sign up for individual sessions.

If you’ve wondered about personal training sessions, do what I did. Sign up for one or two and see how they work for you. I’ve found that they can be a great help. Give it a try. But don’t think that they are required for success.