Starting a new training and/or nutrition program is usually really exciting. In the beginning you’re super duper motivated and ready to commit for life. Okay, or at least for the 21 days of the “fix” or 8 weeks of boot camp, right?
For the first week, or maybe even a few weeks, you’re feeling awesome, mentally and physically. Heck yes, you’ve got this! You can’t wait to sign up for the next round after this one is over!
Then something inevitably happens. Work picks up, the weather sucks for a few days in a row, your kid gets sick or you stay out too late drinking margaritas around the fire pit with your neighbors. Maybe it’s not even any of those “life things” that sidetracks you, but you simply get frustrated because the scale isn’t moving even though you feel like you’re doing everything right.
A few weeks pass and you realize you haven’t been to the gym or boot camp or even to your basement “gym” in 10 days. You find yourself thinking, “How did I end up back here again?”
Besides the fact that it might be time to make an actual long-term commitment and investment in your health (for more than 3 or 8 weeks at a time), it might also be time to realize that you need a coach to help you actually achieve some sustainable health and fitness results.
Everyone always wants to talk about how much you will lose when you find a nutrition or training program, but today let’s talk about what you’ll gain instead!
5 Things You’ll Gain by Hiring a Good Personal Trainer to Help you Achieve Your Health and Fitness Goals!
1. Accountability
Look, we are good at making excuses and convincing ourselves that we really don’t have time, life is too busy, we deserve to take some time off, etc. Hiring a personal trainer who can hold you accountable until this whole exercise thing is a non-negotiable habit in your life may be just what you need.
If you find a great trainer and schedule your sessions ahead of time you’re a lot more likely to stick to a program long-term. Not only are you paying for the sessions, but someone is counting on you to show you to show up and work hard even when you don’t feel like it.
An unexpected bonus here is that your coach should keep your workout time interesting for you and help you determine goals that make you WANT to keep showing up and keeping getting better. A good trainer will be really excited about helping you hit your goals and making continual progress.
2. Challenge
Show up at the gym. Look around. Try to find a machine that’s not taken or located near the always-stinky guy. Sound familiar? Blech.
No wonder most people get easily tired of going to the gym. If you’re not learning a new skill, practicing a skill, working towards a goal or having fun, eventually you’ll lose interest. The desire to lose fat or look better only gets you so far. A good trainer can help you look a little deeper to find your WHY and continue challenging you/helping you grow.
3. Strength
If you are not challenging yourself and you’re doing the same “easy” things over and over again, you’re not going to get stronger. A good trainer will write you a program to help you progressively get stronger and will record your workouts so you can see your progress. You may start out deadlifting with a 12K kettlebell and realize a few months later you’re deadlifting 185 pounds on the bar. Amazing! And yes, this type of progress really does happen!
Another unexpected bonus here! You will likely find that as you get stronger in the gym, you also get stronger outside of the gym. Building strength takes time and patience, but a trainer who is a good fit for you will help you stay patient and keep you coming back for more even when you feel like giving up.
4. Confidence
Sure, you might be nervous for your first session with a new trainer. Maybe you are a little intimidated because you are a newbie to strength training. Maybe your trainer has an awesome body or is super strong so you think he/she is going to judge you.
Don’t stress! We all start somewhere and remember, your trainer wasn’t born with a six-pack. Heck, she was probably a little overweight in college and had to work really hard to get where she is today. Learn from her healthy habits instead of feeling bad about your own. Focus on what you can do instead of what you wish you hadn’t done in the past. It’s done and you can’t change it!
Your trainer is not judging you. If you have a long way to go to get to your goals, your train is excited about the future. She knows you can do this.
After you get through the initial few sessions, you’ll likely feel so much more confident walking into your sessions and even into the gym in general. Once you know what to do and you have a plan, the anxiety tends to step aside.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of lifting more weight than you ever thought you could or pushing yourself through the end of a tough workout. Getting strong, working hard and seeing results gives you the confidence to be the best you, inside and outside of the gym.
5. Results
If you’re not being held accountable, constantly challenged, getting stronger (and more fit) and feeling more confident, you’re likely not going to get results, at least not sustainable results.
Sure, if you are starting from a place of very low activity and staying consistent with more movement you’ll get some results on your own, even if your program sucks. However, you’re going to hit a plateau faster than you’d like and most people aren’t sure what to do at that point. Eat less? Exercise more? Maybe not.
Maybe you just need to eat and train smarter and you need someone walking with you side-by-side for awhile.
Listen up, you’ve heard it before, but you only get one body. Treat it like the well-oiled machine it is and you’ll reap the benefits of a hot body and a much more confident you!
Want to live a better life? Invest in yourself, have fun, form relationships and create sustainable habits. The best type of program for you is the one you’ll do. Consistently. For a long time…like forever.