Every year on January 1st millions of people vow to become more physically active, healthy, and fit. By February 1st, a large majority gave up their quest because they found they could not go at it alone. They did not have the knowledge, drive, or devote the necessary time to keep going.
How can this gap be closed so that people actually achieve their goals? There are several ways such as having an exercise partner (to keep one accountable) or enlisting the help of a personal trainer.
If you make the decision to find a trainer, what are the next steps? Well, to begin with, you will want to make sure you are safe for exercise. This could include talking with your primary care doctor if you have any health concerns. Should you have some physical ailments that might prevent you from working out, it might be a good idea to get that checked out as well. This is where consulting a physical therapist (the movement specialists), would be helpful and also to get specific direction for a safe training program for you. They will also likely be able to point you in the direction of an excellent personal trainer who will help further guide you toward your goals.
Next, decide what goal(s) you have for working out with a trainer. Without goals – what are you trying to accomplish. And finally, you will want to do your homework on finding a good personal trainer (more below).
This trainer is a person who (if trained appropriately) is knowledgeable about the human body and who will work with you to help you achieve your goals. A little caution must be taken when looking for a trainer due to lack to standardization regarding credentials. It is recommended to make sure the trainer is certified by ACE, NSCA, ACSM, or NASM, and even then it is wise to question or investigate the trainer’s background.
Back to the question of why you might need or want a trainer…
Some common reasons people may seek out a trainer include: struggling to get results in the past, having had past injuries and are not sure what to do to avoid injury, having a limited amount of time to workout and needing to maximize it, and those who may be intimidated by larger gyms states Don Larkin NSCA, owner of Reach Multisport and Personal Training. Larkin continues, people may need a trainer to assist developing a program to meet specific physical or health conditions, to help make training more fun, and provide the necessary accountability to get results this time.
Now that you are armed with why you might need or want a trainer – time to get moving to a healthier YOU.