Benefits of Having a Personal Trainer

NO, personal trainers are not just for celebrities and wealthy business tycoons. YES, at one point it was considered fashionable to have a one—but not anymore. If you are a newbie in exercising—or even a seasoned athlete—you will benefit greatly from personal training.

A personal trainer develops a safe and appropriate plan for you and then supervises personally to ensure you are doing it correctly. This is possible because of the knowledge he/she has gained from training and certification.

When to use a Personal Trainer?

Have you signed up at a gym, used it a couple of times and not been there lately? Maybe it’s because you have no idea what to do there.

Often in a gym you are lost as to what to do next (even though there are some trainers there).

This usually happens because these trainers are assisting a number of other people at the same time. So, they give you an exercise and then go off to show someone else something. This used to happen to me. I would be lost and then just leave the gym. If you are starting out for the first time, get yourself a personal trainer.

When you have questions like

what exercises are right for me,
what amount of weights should I lift or even
what cardio and for how long should I do it

the best thing is to get a personal trainer.

When you have specific goals and want to be guided in your workouts (as well as your pre- and post-workout) it’s best to get a personal trainer.

Benefits of a Personal Trainer

Getting started – For people who are working out in the gym for the first time it makes sense for them to sign up with a personal trainer. Gym equipment (if not used properly) can actually end up inuring you rather than doing you any good.
Personalized routine based on your requirements – Depending on your fitness level, health issues, and fitness goals, a personal trainer will make an exercise routine. For example if you have a knee injury your personal trainer will not include exercises which may strain it and also include exercises which will strengthen the same.
Proper technique and form – For exercises to be effective they must be done correctly. Hours of mindless workout will not do any good but on the contrary may just cause fatigue and injury. A personal trainer sees to it that the exercise is executed correctly.
Safety – Freak accidents in the weight room or with machines are minimized since there is supervision. Personal trainers also ensure that you are not pushing yourself beyond your capabilities which in turn prevent injuries like muscle pulls, sprains, strains, etc.
Motivation and accountability – It is almost like working out with a buddy. Here is this person who becomes your friend, who motivates you, pushes you to finish the counts and keeps you committed. Good personal trainers will call you up maybe half-an-hour before your time to ensure you are not bailing out on them. I remember my husband had once signed up with a personal trainer called Andy. Whenever my husband would bunk Andy would call up and actually give a lecture on how money was being wasted and how at this rate my husband would not be achieving his goals. After 2-3 such calls my husband rarely missed his workout because it caused too much guilt.
Better and faster results – Since your workout is focused (and pertaining to your requirements and body type) the results are better and faster.
New routines – A personal trainer will be able to see when a particular routine has stopped giving results and will work you out a new routine. This ensures you are constantly getting the most from your workout.

Can you afford a Personal Trainer?

While you will need to dish out a little more on your gym expenses it definitely is worth it. Besides, personal training is a lot more affordable these days and within the reach of regular people. Just remember it is for your own benefit and you owe yourself this indulgence.

Personal training at Talwalkars—a popular chain of gyms in India—a personal trainer working with you 3 times a week will cost you 8000 rupees for a quarter. If you want a personal trainer to come home to train you, it will cost you about 4500 rupees for a month. Depending on the gym and the popularity it may go up.

If this article has given you some ideas on becoming a personal trainer by profession—which is awesome—then refer to our follow-up post on how to become a certified personal trainer.

Try taking at least a month of personal training to start you off . . . then you could maybe continue on your own. Later, every 3 months you could go in for a refresher to introduce yourself to new routines. The results would definitely be faster and better.