do people “need” personal training?

This question comes up a lot of times with people who are inquiring about personal training, and the answer is not cut and dry.  With this said let’s name the pro’s and con’s of personal training.

Pro’s:

1. It serves as accountability.

2. It can get you out of a rut that you might be in strength wise.

3. You get one on one attention

4. A personal trainer can help you think differently about achieving a goal.

5. It is motivating and people work harder when pushed by someone else.

6. Most people have poor posture and are simply out of shape.

Alright so these pro’s are good things.  Motivation and accountability are very important to people who might otherwise not come in the gym, and that serves right into number 6 because the vast majority of people are out of shape and have terrible posture.  Therefore personal trainers can help you think differently about achieving a goal while giving you personalized attention.  So what about the con’s?  Here are some con’s of personal training?

1. The training is only as good as science and the trainer are.

2. You have to do the program put forth or you will not see optimal results.

3. It can be expensive and is a hard step to take knowing that results will not be immediate.

4. Not all personal trainers can help you and sometimes genuine medical attention is needed.

5. Not all people need personal training.

6. Time is money and if you are young you could save money by learning on your own.

These con’s help us see the other side of the coin.  Training can definitely only take you so far, and there is no magic bullet, which can make it hard for someone to make a financial investment in personal training knowing that results will not be immediate.  Also, a personal trainer is trained in exercise, not in medicine, so in cases of genuine medical emergency, a personal trainer cannot do much for you except call the doctor.  5 and 6 are true as well, not everyone needs it, and if you are young then sometimes it’s better to spend the time learning your own body.

      So where does that leave us?  Do people need Personal training or not Blake?  Well it’s a case specific question.  If you are overweight, have metabolic issues (high blood pressure, high resting heart rate, type 2 diabetes), and are getting older and need help, then yes you need personal training regardless of the price because you cannot put a price on your health and your life.  Remember that the money you spend investing in becoming a healthier you is well worth it when you can live longer, feel better, and get to see your kids and grandkids grow up.  If you are in a rut and really need a fire put on you to get results, I’d say yeah you should definitely consider it although you don’t necessarily need it.  Sometimes you can just read a good book about different training styles and go from there, but if you have the desire and think that a personal trainer you know can help, then I would say invest the time and money into one and see what happens.  For these kind of people I recommend committing for one month, and if you see some results and want to continue then do so, and if you are satisfied then just do not renew.  For those who are young fit and hungry for fitness, I’d say no you probably don’t need a trainer.  You need to just start reading and learning by doing and get experience in what works for your body and what doesn’t work for your body.  Hilariously enough I am talking my way out of some potential clients by writing this but it brings a lot of joy to a young persons heart to learn something on their own and to work hard for it.  If you are extremely obese, have severe medical issues, or very bad structural issues, then you will eventually need personal training but you first need medical attention.  Go to your local physician, get on a good diet and get fixed where you need to get fixed, and then come see a personal trainer when you are ready to make definitive changes.  For the current time though it’s best to let a doctor clear you before doing exercise.

      Well friends I hope this helped.  I am a personal trainer but I do understand that deciding whether to commit to personal training is a big decision for some families and needs to be discussed and reasoned out before committing to it.  Paying for personal training and then slacking off will leave you with less money and still no results, so when you commit to personal training go all out!