As with most service providers in all facets of our lives, we know that there are some providers who are very good at what they do and others who we might want to avoid. Here are 5 common misconceptions about Personal Trainers that you should think about as you look to potentially work with one of our Certified Trainers.
1. Trainers will make you adhere to the “no pain no gain philosophy.”
Yes, it is true that one of our primary tasks as a Personal Trainer is to push our clients to a reasonable level of difficulty that they might not achieve on their own based on their current physical ability and physical make-up. Let’s face it, we all work harder when someone else is pushing us right? The key here is to know what we call “desired discomfort” versus joint pain or any type of pain that is undesirable. Scientifically, we know we do have to place continued increased physical demands on the body beyond what we do in a normal day in order to get gradual and consistent gains in strength, endurance etc. However; we should not destroy our bodies in the process. If you are getting regular aches or even worse injuries either during or after your workouts that is your way of your body telling you that an exercise or series of exercises might not be right for you. We will make sure you get results-but not at the expense of pain or discomfort which can cause serious setbacks in your exercise routine. Anyone who has their Orthopedic Doctor or Physical Therapist on speed dial is well aware of the setbacks injuries can cause not only to our physical health, but also our mental health as well. Looking good is important but functioning well and feeling pain free should be paramount in your programming. We will push you, but we also know when it’s time to maintain a level or to keep pushing based on your goals and physical improvements. Remember we do not need to kill ourselves to see results!
2. I want to “get in shape” before I work with a trainer.
This is one we hear a lot from people who express “wanting to get in shape” before meeting with a Trainer but most have no idea what that means specifically to them. How are they evaluating themselves getting in shape? If its just by what the scale says we know that is probably not the best metric to solely use to define our overall health. Our trainers understand that all people (just like us) come in all shapes, sizes, ability levels etc. We do not judge anyone so no one should feel anxious about coming to see us. Chances are you may never get in the shape you want without some help or you may quit because you are not seeing results so why not start the process right from the beginning. Let us take the guess work out of it for you and make sure do what is right for YOU and get you off on the right path from the moment you start exercising so you set specific and defined goals, exercise and live pain free and see optimal results. Don’t travel too far in the wrong direction only to find you then have to turn around and begin the journey all over again. Let our trainers take you on the right route to success from the beginning for all of your health and wellness goals.
3. Everything comes easy for trainers as it relates to exercise and proper nutrition.
Trainers are humans too and we can struggle with a lot of the same challenges that many of you may also be facing. Days where we might not be as motivated to exercise, exercises that we continuously need to keep practicing to get better at, imbalances/deficiencies that we need to correct in our bodies, challenges with nutrition etc. How many of us stick to movements that we are good at but avoid the ones that are more difficult to learn and perform? Who doesn’t love a good burger, a slice of pizza or some other food we really like? We are not robots so we just can’t be programmed to do this or don’t do that. The key is to have real strategies to make sure we are aware of all potential roadblocks that might come up and have a well thought plan to make sure these roadblocks do not sabotage our goals. In fact, some of the best trainers in our industry have come from backgrounds of being in very poor physical/mental shape and have turned their lives around and choose to work as a trainer because they want to help others achieve similar success.
4. Personal Trainers are solely for those looking to lose weight.
As I mentioned above, what the scale says does not solely define your overall health. Its one metric but not the only metric. So why do we focus so much on it? Likely it because its very convenient to get on a scale and be able to seemingly evaluate how we are doing with our exercise programs. The only problem is the number on the scale only represents vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity. Thus, our body weight certainly does not paint the whole picture of what is going on inside our bodies. How many of us have gotten on the scale and been up a few pounds and said I can’t eat today or I have to exercise to a ridiculous level today to offset what the scale says? This is not what anyone should be doing but yet it’s a behavior that is part of many of our daily lives unfortunately. We also know there are people who may look good, but they may not be as healthy as they appear on the outside or vice versa. Our trainers will certainly take into account your weight loss goals but we will also help you identify other areas of need which can also be evaluated objectively and that you can feel better about tracking and evaluating all while still working on what the scale shows. Remember if you are eating well, moving often and focusing on other goals as well, you can avoid the sometimes negative relationship many of us have with our scales. I have seen far too many people give up just based on that the scale says when they were already down the right path. They just needed to continue to stay the course they were on but the scale caused them to incorrectly change course or quit all together. True and real weight loss takes time so it is pertinent you have other short term benchmarks to be striving for so you are constantly seeing progress. Our trainers can help you with any of the other goals listed below as well as any others you may have while always keeping physical activity safe and FUN so its sustainable for the rest of your life.
-Weight gain
-Injury/disease rehabilitation
-Athletic Performance (regardless of level)
-Postural/overall functional improvements
-Pre/post natal
5. Trainers are overpriced
You cannot put a price tag on good health. I’m not just saying this because its my profession but because I have been coached and trained by others at various points in my life and the investment of money and time was worth every penny. Think about it, we have service providers who maybe clean our homes, mow our lawns or we go out to have someone cook for us. These providers save us time and time is money for many people. These providers are also trained in what they do to do it better and in a more timely manner. Why do we not feel this way about our health? If a trainer could help us see twice the results in half the time why wouldn’t we look to that provider to help us? Bottom line is we should not feel any bit of selfishness in looking at a service like Personal Training. Investing in our own health to me is the single best investment any of us can make. The best analogy I can think of is working with a financial planner. Hopefully, just like our exercise, we start investing at a young age and have someone help take the guess work out of what we will need to think about for us and our families future. Your planner would constantly be evaluating where you are, what you will need and when and how you should go about getting there. No different from what a trainer would do. Both providers have the goal of getting you to the joys of retirement through financial responsibility and regular physical activity throughout your life. No one wants to get to retirement and not have taken the right steps along the way to enjoy those years of our life. Just like investing, the earlier you can start the better so if you need help starting that plan as it relates to your health and wellness do not let another day go by. Let us help you create that path to a wonderful retirement so you can enjoy it to the fullest!