Nicola Poole – Inspired Coaching.
Enlisting the help of a personal trainer is essentially paying for the services of a qualified professional fitness coach or trainer to help you with your gym based training needs. What you get for your money varies. Check out my other blog on personal training costs here to explore this subject.
Why Use A Personal Trainer?
Many people out there may think “I don’t need a PT. I’m good at doing this myself.” Or, that personal training is only for beginners or lazy people. But, actually I work with a vast spectrum of different people all with their own reasons for training with me. From complete beginners to advanced gym goers and even personal trainers themselves come to me for assistance.
Everyone is of course different, but after years of being a personal trainer here are some of the reasons why people come to me for their training requirements.
It takes the thinking out of what to do in the gym. When following a programme you can turn up, do it and leave knowing that your training is making the progress you want without the hard work of planning it yourself. It’s hassle free training for those with busy lives.
Expertise utilised. Client’s often worry about if they are doing exercises correctly or not. Parting with my knowledge and experience is a great confidence booster.
Accountability. You have booked and paid for your session slot so not going isn’t an option anymore.
Specific goal programming. Some people have very specific needs which client’s often don’t know how to plan into their training. Giving this task to a personal trainer is a lot easier and also speeds up the progress made.
Motivational support. Unfortunately in my job I meet many people who have hit rock bottom both physically and mentally. Having someone there to guide and reassure them through their training sessions is important for some.
Gym space confidence. Gyms can be daunting spaces to begin with. Having the moral support and direction from a personal trainer gets people feeling like they belong in that space a lot quicker.
Specific health needs. If you have an injury, long term illness or medical diagnosis that needs to be taken into consideration when training using a suitably qualified personal trainer can help manage and improve this.
Body acceptance or neutrality. Using an inclusive coach like myself can help you find acceptance and contentment by challenging how you think about movement, wellbeing and food.
Health investment. A client once said to me that by using my services they were future proofing their health. I had never thought about it like that before, but it’s so true.
Who Uses A Personal Trainer and How?
How personal trainers work and the services they offer are different so this is a guide based on what I do but I expect there will be similarities with others in this industry I’m sure. I place my client’s into 1 of five categories, these are based upon their training age, budget and coaching needs. It’s not a one fits all by any means but generally it works.
1. The Programme Upgraders – short term, ad hoc clients who are confident in the gym looking to refresh their training programmes as and when they feel the need. This is a budget friendly way of using a personal trainer’s services.
2. The Returners – client’s block book 4-6 week sessions at a time to get new programmes, learn new exercises or focus on new goals. This type of client dip in and out of personal training throughout the year and vary in training experience. Another budget friendly way of doing things.
3. One to One/Two Regulars – client’s book weekly or biweekly sessions on a long term basis. These people like having long term goals under the guidance of a coach. Consistency and accountability are important to them.
4. Group Training Regulars – weekly training which offers all the benefits of personal training but at a smaller price. These client’s enjoy the social aspect of being with others, enjoying their support and motivation as well as the coaches. This is a very budget friendly way of training.
5. Sports Specific Trainers – client’s who want to add strength and conditioning training to their schedule to help improve the performance in their sport. This can be short to long term.
As you can see, regardless of your training needs and experience there are a variety of options to suit everyone. A good personal trainer will be flexible and offer services which suit all types of gym goers.
If something I have mentioned above takes your fancy then please get in touch to discuss further. Nicola.
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