Admit: at one point or another, you’ve wondered if a personal trainer is worth it.
We don’t blame you. After all, the idea of having someone show you the ropes in the gym and manage your progress so you don’t have to is pretty enticing.
“But what about the cost?” some wonder. Or, “what if it’s a waste of time and my money? What if I can do it on my own?” Well, we may be a tiny bit biased, but we’re also here to speak the truth. Some gym-goers certainly can and do achieve their fitness goals in the gym without having the guidance of a Coach.
But in our experience, we’ve learned it takes them a lot of research and a lot of trial and error to find a routine that works for them - and shows results.
Our entire team at Pure Elite Fitness started as regular gym-goers with various goals for themselves, and eventually found ourselves working with the same personal trainer. His name is Mike Dragovich, and he’s a Co-Founder of Pure Elite Fitness. And the truth of the matter is, we all had our reservations about personal training at first, ranging from bad past experiences with other Coaches to just not wanting to pay the cost.
For all of us, it took one training session to understand the difference in working out on our own and with a certified trainer.
Our story shows the effect of one individual fiercely passionate about creating sustainable and positive changes for other’s health. A true personal trainer is a Coach, someone you hire to help guide you through the world of fitness, but also receive accountability, encouragement, and commitment as part of the deal.
First things first. What does a personal trainer do?
A personal trainer, or “Coach” as we prefer to say, is a certified instructor and guide that leads you through the fitness world by evaluating your personalized needs, crafting custom routines, showing you how to properly carry out exercises, following your progress, and providing nonstop accountability and encouragement.
“But I already have a workout routine” you may be thinking.
Well, sure. But are you holding those weights properly? Do you know if your body is in perfect alignment when you’re doing a particular exercise? Are you pushing yourself to your limits? Are your sleep and/or working habits adding to or hindering your fitness progress?
Just as an example, one of Mike’s 50-year-old clients discovered he was holding the weight incorrectly when performing bicep curls, diminishing the effect of his workout. Another 26-year old didn’t realize she had improper posture when doing lat pulldowns, causing pain in her shoulder which she dismissed as a typical byproduct of the exercise. This would have inevitably led to an injury had she continued. In other more serious instances, clients had pre-existing conditions they weren’t aware of which caused certain workouts to be completely ineffective for them, if not workouts they should be avoiding.
Why are these examples important to point out? Because they demonstrate people of any age or fitness experience level might be missing key knowledge that could enhance their fitness results.
The other important factor to remember is that even if you are seeing results in the gym, they may only be short term or not even the original results you wanted. Other clients of ours have focused purely on cardio thinking they would slim down. What some were not aware of though was that while cardio can help you lose weight, it can also leave excess skin that doesn’t tighten up the way it does with strength training (Side note: did you know cardio releases fewer endorphins than strength training? Meaning weight training has ample added positive effects and is a necessary component to your workout regimen).
So our initial benefits of having a personal trainer include:
Individualized, safe training regimens for your age, body type and limits, and goals
An expert who will know how far to push you
Education on exercises and how to properly perform them
But that’s not all. Let’s keep going!
Goals and gains. Why personalized attention matters.
In the midst of their “is a personal trainer worth it?” thoughts, many overlook the importance of personalizing their health and fitness routines. It’s easy to go online and research exercises and popular diets, but will they work for your particular body type, age, body fat percentage, disabilities, medication use, sleep patterns, schedule, activity levels, or stress levels? Probably not.
All of these variables and more can impact the effectiveness of your time in the gym. As you continue down the road of fitness and health, your body will undergo changes that will then require updates to your fitness routine (it goes without saying your diet will need updates too). You will hit new plateaus or new levels of strength and endurance and will then require different exercises, different weight levels, and different meals to sustain the changes you want to see.
Perhaps you’re a newcomer to the gym and have no idea where to start. Or, perhaps you’re someone who has been working out for 6 months, seen some results, but now hit a plateau.
While some do find success with their online research, it can take months if not years for them to learn the ins and outs of proper fitness techniques and customization.
That is where a Coach comes in. At Pure Elite Fitness, we ask our clients to answer extensive questionnaires that provide a deep look into their day-to-day lives and anything that might impact their fitness and diet routines. Having a thorough 360 degree understanding of your starting point and your goals allows for a Coach to craft a fitness routine that is highly effective, sustainable, safe, and measurable.
This is the beauty of having a Coach - they can help you start big or pick up where you left off, giving you fresh exciting workouts. They will work with your schedule and obstacles to help you find the most efficient ways of utilizing your time, both in and out of the gym. We’re also confident you’ll be pushed to limits you didn't even know you had, making your efforts that much more fruitful.
The top insights here then, are:
Personal training saves you time - no research or stress involved in crafting new, safe workouts
You get fresh workout routines when needed, keeping you interested and excited
You learn more about yourself and what works best for you so that you can utilize this ne