Signs You Might Need a Personal Trainer
Jake Newby
| 3 min read
It is totally possible to achieve your fitness goals without a personal trainer. But in some cases, and for some people, personal training can be a gamechanger. Maybe you tend to skip workouts and would like to be held accountable. Or maybe, you want to be sure you’ve got proper form.
Personal training isn’t for everyone, and it obviously comes with a financial cost, but if you’ve asked yourself, “Should I hire a personal trainer?,” these points may lead you to your answer.
You don’t know which workouts will help you achieve your goals
Look around the room the next time you’re at the gym. Everyone you see is there for a different reason and has a different fitness goal. Some people are training for specific athletic events. Some are looking to add muscle or lose body fat. Others just feel good knowing they got into the gym and broke a sweat after a long workday.
Your specific exercise goal may revolve around losing weight, bulking up, toning muscles, or increasing cardiovascular endurance, and a personal trainer can help you reach that goal through expertise and personalized training.
You lack motivation or would like more accountability
There’s no shame in skipping workouts. Our lives and schedules can be hectic. Plus, not everyone is a self-starter. If you respond well to being held accountable and exercising at the same times of day each day you work out, a personal trainer can support your goals by helping you stay consistent. Sometimes, the mental battle is the entire battle.
You don’t have to envision a drill sergeant situation, either; find a personal trainer you are compatible with, and who can motivate you based on your personality. This may take a meeting or two with multiple personal training candidates. Just like finding the right hairstylist, finding the right personal trainer may take a bit of time. It may take some calling around or extended research online.
You are recovering from an injury or live with a certain health condition
It can be tricky to get a lot out of your workouts if you were recently injured, deal with a chronic condition or have a health condition that causes physical limitations. The last thing you want to do – especially if you are a novice or haven’t exercised in a long time – is aggravate an old injury or trigger a health episode.
Personal trainers are trained to know proper form and technique. When lifting weights, you don’t want to strain a muscle, and when doing cardio, you don’t want to do damage to your joints, so form and technique are important. Knowing how to execute certain workouts and demonstrate good posture can help you avoid injury. And if you have certain health conditions that your personal trainer knows about, you can avoid overexerting yourself during exercise.
Before even vetting personal trainers and hiring one, talk to your primary care physician about your fitness goals. They can provide expert analysis based on your physical and medical history, and whether certain forms of exercise are right for you.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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