Should I Get a Personal Trainer? – 7 Considerations

If you have ever asked yourself “Should I get a personal trainer?”, then you are likely wondering how a personal trainer can help you on your fitness journey. There are many reasons why you may want to consider a personal trainer. You might have a big race you want to train for, maybe you want to lose weight, or maybe you simply just want to feel more confident. Personal trainers can help with a lot of aspects of your life. They can help not only with fitness but also with your overall health and your lifestyle.

From trainer-to-trainer, you can find a wide variety of education and specialization. If you know how to find the right personal trainer, then you can find a trainer that meets your needs, even if they might be unique.

1. You Need Help Being Held Accountable

If you have a hard time getting to the gym or sticking to a meal plan, then you might want to consider a personal trainer. Especially if they use client management software. If they do, you’ll have your personal trainer keeping you accountable using the latest technology to make them more effective. Clients management apps make it easy for you to communicate with your trainer, view your programs, and more. This also enables your trainer to more effectively keep you on track and hold you accountable.

Additionally, often times the main thing that is holding us back from real progress is commitment. Sometimes, doing something like hiring a personal trainer adds another variable to the equation which forces us to commit more of our time. If you are paying a personal trainer $75/hr to train you, you are definitely going to have more incentive to not make excuses.

Aside from that, how you do weighs on the personal trainers business. If they don’t hold you accountable, then you won’t get the results you want. That can reflect poorly on them as well. They oftentimes are invested personally too. A lot of personal trainers became a trainer because they are passionate about helping people.

2. You’re Not Sure Where to Start

When it comes to starting or restarting your exercise journey, sometimes it can be overwhelming. There’s a lot to consider and keep track of if you want to do it seriously. One main reason a lot of people ask “should I get a personal trainer” is that they can really help in kick-starting your fitness journey.

Personal trainers have a breadth of knowledge in exercises, nutrition, and other things like stretching routines. Not only do they have the knowledge, but they were trained on how to apply that knowledge to you in a personal program. If you end up hiring a personal trainer, they will not only show you where to start but they will help you find what type of fitness programs you like the best.

Here’s what a trainer can help you with:

• They can help you discover training types that work for you. You might not have an idea as to how you want to train or maybe you do. Regardless, a trainer is going to expose you to a variety of training types.
• The trainer can show you have to take care of yourself. Maybe you have a condition or past injury that prevents you from training a certain way. Trainers can help you get around that. They may even help find ways to train that help any conditions or pain you might have.
• A personal trainer will show you how to experiment with different exercises. They will teach you all of the practices you need to know to safely practice more exercises. They will show when to use a spotter, what form to use, and what form not to use.

3. You Want to Learn How to Exercise on Your Own

Yes, even if your end goal is exercising on your own, a personal trainer still might be a good option for you. Personal trainers will teach you a lot about different exercises and how to do them right. They will also teach you how to effectively go through a workout routine.

Aside from exercise, depending on their education, they can even give you advice on nutrition. They can show you how to tweak your diet to better accompany the fitness results you want.

Not only that, but a personal trainer will also debunk common fitness and health myths. You’ll learn that there are a ton of myths out there. It is helpful to have an expert to guide you through all that. Aside from the physical benefits of training with a personal trainer, you’ll gain a lot of knowledge too.

4. You Have a Chronic Illness or Condition

Many chronic diseases are preventable and very manageable with the right fitness and diet regiment. You should definitely consider a personal trainer if you suffer from a chronic disease. Many personal trainers are, at the very least, very familiar with what are the most common chronic diseases and their treatments.

There are even specific professional certification programs a lot of personal trainers take that help them specialize in chronic disease management. Here is a list of the best personal trainer certifications based on PT Pioneer trainers.

If you suffer from the following, the likelihood is you can find a personal trainer to help you out:

• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• COPD
• Cancer
• Asthma
• and many more.

If you do suffer from a chronic disease, make sure you check in with your primary care physician before perusing physical activity with a personal trainer. This is just to make sure everything is in check and you are in the right physical condition to exercise.

5. You’re Training for a Sport or Competition

A fantastic reason to consider a personal trainer is if you’re competing in a sport or competition. Or if you are considering competing in a sport or competition. It doesn’t matter what sport or event you are training for. You can probably find a trainer that has the know-how and skill set to help you.

Personal trainers, especially those who specialize in sports conditioning, know how to condition you in the right way for the specific sport you are performing. They will be able to give you exercises, drills, and in some cases – diet recommendations depending on their education.

Aside from the training aspect, they will also be familiar with typical injuries to watch out for and they will be able to train you so that you can best avoid those common injuries.

In addition to being full of fitness knowledge, personal trainers are great coaches and accountability partners. One thing that stands out, especially when you are competing for sport, is the need for accountability. Sometimes, you need something a little more to push you and give you that extra chip on your shoulder.

One thing worth mentioning is, personal trainers, especially seasoned trainers, are behavioral change experts. There’s literally a specialization most trainers get to help them understand behavioral change. This will really help out when training for a sport because your personal trainer will get to know you and your why. They eventually will help you dig down deep and push yourself beyond where you thought possible because it is literally their job to get to know you that well.

6. You Want to Improve Your Mental Health.

Many people struggle with various mental illnesses whether it be depression, anxiety, or a personality disorder. If you are someone who suffers from a mental illness, a personal trainer could be a great option for you.

There are countless studies out there that find a strong correlation between consistent exercise and an improved state of mental health. For example, according to the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), exercise can act as effectively as anti-depressants in those who have mild depression.

There are a plethora of reasons this is true, namely, exercise releases endorphins which are often referred to as “feel-good chemicals”. Additionally, exercise also increases blood flow to the brain which oftentimes yields an elevated mood.

Taking time out of your day to exercise also forces you to abide by at least some sort of schedule and can help you focus on something different throughout the day.

Lastly, people who suffer from mental illnesses are more susceptible to chronic diseases. Primarily because of sedentary lifestyles. As we have discussed earlier in this article, personal trainers are oftentimes experts in managing chronic diseases through exercise.

Disclaimer: we are not medical professionals. If you do suffer from a condition, whether it be a physical disease or a mental health illness, you should make sure you get checked out by a doctor before engaging in intense exercise.

7. You Want to Push Your Limits.

Whether you are getting bored with your current fitness routine or you just want to see how hard you can push yourself, personal trainers will definitely make sure they push you. This shouldn’t come as a shock, but personal trainers are experts with bodies. They know what to look for and what to feel for. They know how to push you safely.

Additionally, trainers take a very calculated approach. Before getting a personal trainer, maybe you were pushing yourself as hard as you could but you weren’t seeing any results. That is often the reason people ask “should I get a personal trainer”. A lot of times, if a trainer were guiding you through all that work you did, you would have better results. This could be simply because you were executing exercises incorrectly or you were missing a critical piece of your diet that you needed to hit your goals.

Whatever the reason may be, personal trainers will push you harder by simply holding you accountable, showing you how to be in tune with your body, and taking a calculated approach to your training.