Hiring a personal fitness trainer may be one of the best decisions you make in your fitness journey. A good personal fitness trainer understands your goals/ limitations and works with you to help you achieve results. They keep you motivated and accountable. They can be your best ally in the gym.
A good personal fitness trainer does not aim to make you dependent on them. It’s not about asking a personal fitness trainer and performing exercises. You don’t just want supervision. True success really looks like confidence in the gym. It happens when you know your way around the machines and learn to ‘listen’ to your body. A trainer will liberate you by helping you understand the science behind the process. They will help you interpret how your body responds to the work you put in.
This blog explores the many ways a personal fitness trainer helps you gain confidence and liberates you from dependency. At Paragon Body, we have long-term clients who swear by this philosophy.
From “Tell Me What to Do” to “I Know What to Do”
Most people go through the motions in a gym as per instructions. A good personal fitness trainer is not just an instructor. A trainer can give you a routine and ask you to follow it. They can demonstrate the exercises and help correct your form. You know what to do, but what about why?
A personal fitness trainer helps clients understand why the exercises are chosen. It is better to understand which muscle group is targeted for proper execution. This will help you be aware of the correct form and maintain it. The movement pattern is broken down to help clients understand the goal. The focus is not on the execution of isolated exercises.
Even in the routine, you have reps, sets, and rest breaks. There is a logic behind it. A fitness trainer explains the reasoning behind the plan. This helps clients better understand their workout plan.
This information equips clients to make decisions. They can decide when to cut back or push on. Clients learn to move away from blind compliance and towards making their own decisions.
When Form Corrections Become Self-Corrections
When clients understand the science and logic behind the routine, they don’t wait for the personal fitness trainer to correct their form. They start self-correcting and perfecting their form. Once clients understand the basic concept, they begin to listen to their bodies. They start being more aware of their bodies. They can self-correct using cues and mirrors. Working out in front of a mirror can help you assess yourself.
Trainers have experience with many clients. They can alert you about the common red flags for poor form and advise you on how to compensate for them. When you are aware of the possible ways your form can be compromised, you tend to be more aware of yourself. This information can help reduce the risk of injuries, and it builds your confidence.
The Day Clients Stop Needing External Motivation
Motivation cannot be the driving force of your fitness journey. It happens in bursts and cannot be sustained. Discipline will keep you going and will help you make it a routine. A personal trainer eases you into a routine. Once you get used to a routine, you don’t need a trainer to motivate you. Motivation becomes an internal drive. You start becoming accountable to yourself.
Some people start their fitness journeys to look better, to fit into smaller sizes, or to lose fat in a particular area. It is better to know the “why” behind your efforts. This will help you stay on track even on hard days. A personal fitness trainer helps you zero in on your “why”. When you have that figured out, you come back to it for motivation.
You might not have a cheerleader all the time, but when you know your reason behind your efforts, you will not need one. You become your own cheerleader.
Understanding Progress Without Obsessing Over the Scale
Most people rely on the scale to measure success. Your weight can fluctuate because of a variety of reasons, and not all of them are linked to the efforts you put in the gym. It is misleading to believe that the scale measures your progress.
A personal fitness trainer helps you understand that success is measured by tracking strength, endurance, and movement quality. As you make progress in the gym, you will notice an increase in these parameters. These can be your guide to measure your progress. Some progress markers are subtle. You might not notice but a personal fitness trainer will.
When you hit a plateau, you feel demotivated and often think “How can I beat this?” or you may think “Nothing seems to be working to break this plateau”. A trainer will normalize plateaus and explain that they are part of the process. You start to think of them as little bumps on your path to fitness, and with a different approach, they become easier to navigate. When you hit plateaus, your confidence takes a hit. A trainer can create confidence even when you don’t see any visible changes.
When Clients Can Adjust Workouts Without Panicking
Your energy levels fluctuate. Some days you really feel it, and some days you don’t. Most people skip their workouts when they don’t have the energy. A personal fitness trainer will train you to modify your workouts on days when your energy levels are not so great. They teach you to adjust the volume, intensity, or rest periods without quitting.
That does not mean that trainers push you through every hard day. They help you recognize when to push and when to pull back. Pushing through may not be advisable all the time. Trainers help you understand the difference.
Some people feel guilty when they miss a session. A personal trainer will help you lose the guilt and focus on recalibrating. Your fitness journey should be a learning and pleasurable journey. There is no place for guilt in that journey.
When Confidence Replaces Question Marks
When you have trained with a good personal fitness trainer, you no longer second-guess yourself. You will walk into the gym with confidence and know your way around it. You will be able to train on your travels, change gyms, or train solo. Your friends may also come to you for advice!
A good personal trainer tapers the supervision gradually. You start to rely on yourself. Your trainer may check in with you periodically. If you change your goals, you can rely on your trainer to update the program for you. You feel accountable to your trainer, but it will not be an obligation anymore.
Last Set
A personal fitness trainer helps clients reach their fitness goals. It starts with constant supervision and graduates to independence. Independence is the ultimate luxury. It helps you train whenever and wherever. You become more attuned to your body, and you own cheerleader.
Fitness becomes a lifelong skill with a good personal fitness trainer. It is not a subscription with an expiry date. This philosophy at Paragon Body attracts serious, committed clients. Visit us and join our community today!