13 Apr Should you hire a personal trainer?

Are you planning on starting an exercise program, or trying to improve upon the one you’re on? In some cases, consulting with a personal trainer in the short- and even long-term is a good idea.
However, In many instances, people can get by just fine without paying extra money to work with a trainer.
Here are some factors to consider when trying to decide if you should hire a personal trainer.
EXPERIENCE – A licensed and experienced personal trainer usually has a great deal of information they can share with someone.
NEW IDEAS – I recently consulted with a personal trainer to get some new workout ideas even though I have been active in numerous areas of fitness for most of my life. It’s always nice to get a fresh perspective and I am enjoying doing the new workout program a trainer helped make up for me based on our conversation.
DO IT YOURSELF APPROACH – Obviously not everyone needs to go to a personal trainer in order to get more fit or stay in shape.
Many people out there who haven’t been very active can make big changes all by themselves, if they can find the willpower to get off the couch and exercise a few times a week and also improve their diets.
Sure, there are right and wrong ways to lift weights and better ways to set up walking or running programs, but the simple truth is that just about any added effort you put into fitness will help you lose weight and get stronger.
Certain people, though, will benefit more from working with a personal trainer.
APPOINTMENT REQUIRED – People who are extremely busy, such as a businessman or stay-at-home mom, may only have a one-hour or 30-minute time slot each day in which they can work out. They often benefit from going to a trainer in that instance.
It allows them to not only get training instruction and encouragement, but makes it more likely they’ll exercise because there is a time slot booked and accounted for. If an appointment wasn’t made it would be much easier to skip the workout, then all of a sudden a person misses three workouts in a week and before they know it they’ve hardly worked out at all in a month.
QUICK FIX – Another category of people who benefit from a personal trainer are those who need to get results quick, such as someone who has a wedding date coming up, a photo shoot or maybe they want to look great for a reunion.
As stated above, just about anyone can make noticeable changes on their own, but a trainer can help someone make even better improvements. A good trainer can add muscle and trim fat, while actually sometimes cutting down on the time your workouts take. To make wholesale changes it can be a little dangerous for someone to try and work out too hard if they’re not under the close eye of a certified trainer.
COST – Cost is the first thing many people consider when thinking about working with a trainer. For some a trainer is not really needed, but for people who fall into some of the categories I’ve described it may be worth it.
After all, you can’t pout a price on health and happiness and if you’re physically fit life usually feels a lot better.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com