Should I Hire a Personal Trainer
Should I Hire A Personal Trainer?
This is a very common thought that people go through whether they are a beginner or an advanced athlete. Many professional athletes or fitness competitors have a trainer or coach, so maybe there is something to it.
Physical Fitness is very similar to many other hobbies or skills in life, it is part science and part art. It would be similar to compare it to learning a language. You can learn a language completely on your own, you can use apps, online guides, readings, etc. and that will get you there. Most people take this route, but if you want to learn very quickly you could accelerate that learning curve by hiring a language teacher. The reason is you will have the answers to all your questions right at your fingertips. Also, you will have someone listening to you and correcting you whenever you make a mistake. A Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach works that same way.
To decide if you should hire a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach you should consider the following.
Can you Afford it?
This is where most people’s minds go when they are first thinking about hiring a Personal Trainer and rightfully so, they are not cheap. You must first decide a budget on what you can afford but there are many options.
- A Full-Time Personal Trainer - This is someone who is with you all or most of your workouts creating a workout plan and guiding you through every session. This is the most expensive option but you will receive the greatest amount of feedback the most often.
- A Part-Time Personal Trainer - Same as full-time but just not with you every training session. This might be a good compromise to save yourself a little money.
- A Fitness Coach - A Fitness Coach is usually someone who does not train with you. They create a workout plan for you, meet with you regularly to adjust, and educate/teach you along the way. This a great lower-cost solution for many people. Many advanced athletes will choose this option because they know 90% of what to do but need that extra guidance for the finer points.
If you can afford one of those options potentially a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach might be right for you.
Do you Have the Knowledge?
This is where many people struggle. Starting out is difficult and knowing how to do everything in a workout or gym has a learning curve. If you lack the knowledge of how to program or how to execute an exercise. You might want to consider hiring a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach.
There are other options such as purchasing a workout program or following sites like this one to educate yourself on fitness and what you should be doing. There are also many free online videos to help you get started that are on the internet. But this does require you to take a little time to plan this out.
Are you Doing Things Wrong?
This is where more advanced athletes fall into vs. beginners. In the beginning, it’s easy, you are doing things wrong but that is expected you are a beginner. As you move on you get more confident and you are seeing results but because you are seeing results you may not know if you are doing things correctly or not.
This is where advanced athletes usually want to take the next step and start cleaning up the little bits of their nutrition, form, programming, etc. to take themselves to another level. It is very difficult for us as people to recognize something we are doing wrong, that is just human nature. Having a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach may be able to help you in that realm.
Do you Need the Motivation?
This is what most Personal Trainers or Fitness Coaches will say their clients need them for. If you can afford personal training and need that extra motivation, committing yourself to a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach is a great way to keep you accountable. Someone who is dedicated to motivating you and not only pushes you during workouts but gets you into the gym.
Should I Hire and Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach
If you answer yes to the three questions above you may want to consider hiring a Personal Trainer or Fitness Coach. Other than that there are many online guides (like this website), tutorials, videos, etc. that can help you on your journey. Another option is to join a class or group training session, this is a lower-cost option where the cost of the trainer is spread out amongst all the participants. Not only do you get someone to get feedback from but you also get the extra motivation from the people around you!
Should I Hire A Personal Trainer?
Many professional athletes or fitness competitors have a trainer or coach, so maybe there is something to it.