We’ve all seen the glossy magazine images of celebrities looking fabulous just weeks after giving birth or even dropping several dress size in a matter of months for their next high profile movie role.
Many of these celebrities attribute their perfect physiques to daily workout sessions with their personal trainers. Of course, this sounds fantastic, but most of us mere mortals don’t have either the high profile lifestyles nor the bank balances to match.
So can we really benefit from personal training?
There is no doubt that getting into shape and achieving one’s health goals can be difficult for anyone.
However many people successfully achieve their fitness and physique goals without using a personal trainer, and believe it or not, there are plenty of Hollywood celebrities out there that don’t have personal training. So why would you want to consider using one?
Studies show that the majority of the adult population do less than 2 hours of structured exercise a week, with many people doing no exercise at all.
For those that do exercise, they often struggle with both exercise motivation and with maintaining an exercise regime on a regular weekly basis. How many of us have joined a gym, only to have visited a few times and then stopped attending?
Statistic show that up to 65% of new members who join a gym, stop visiting within the first 2 months – quite a startling statistic.
If you struggle with exercise motivation, you don’t know what exercises to perform safely or you’re just not seeing any results from your fitness plan, then personal training could well give you the kick start you need to get motivated and to see results.
How To Bring Personal Training In On Budget
One of the most off-putting aspects of personal training is the high cost.
This in itself can make regular sessions with a trainer cost-prohibitive. But there are ways around this. In the light of the recent recession, many personal trainers are now prepared to offer special discounted deals in order to make their services more attractive.
Less Frequent Sessions
Firstly it may not be necessary to have several sessions a week. Many people just see their trainer one a week or once a fortnight to help set them goals and to assess their progress. This can actually make having a personal training less expensive than a monthly gym membership.
Review Your Options
Almost all personal trainers will offer you a free initial consultation to discuss what they offer. If a trainer wants to charge you for a consultation then stay well clear.
Arrange to meet with a few different trainers to give you some idea as to what each can offer you and of course whom you think you’d enjoy working with the most. Search around for the best deal for your wallet.
Share Personal Training With Friends
Ask if you can share your personal training sessions (and the cost) with a partner or even a group of friends. Many trainers are happy to offer partner or group sessions for a special price enabling you to have shared sessions at a fraction of what it would cost you to have private one-to-one sessions.
Get As Much Support As Possible
Many trainers will be happy to provide you with an exercise plan that you can follow on your own, and lots of trainers also offer customers phone or email support. Make use of this as much as you can, as the goal is to gain enough information to build a fitness program that you can maintain on your own.
There Are No Short Cuts
Remember, that whilst those celebrities may look amazing, they all worked hard to achieve it. A personal trainer can give you support, knowledge and motivation to help you reach your goals. But they cannot make your body miraculously change overnight and to achieve your ideal physique, you will have to work hard too.
Losing weight or obtaining that dream body is as much about what you’re prepared to do to achieve it and this means a strict regime and healthy eating too. Your trainer may want you to keep a food diary to ensure you’re not straying from the right path.
They may also set you exercise homework which they’ll expect you to follow. It’s important that you’re honest with your trainer (any yourself) so that you’re both working towards the same goals.
With the right support and motivation most of us would be quite surprised how much more we’re able to achieve with the support of an expert compared to just training alone.
We may not require daily personal training like the celebrities, but just a few sessions could get us on the right track to a healthier body and a more committed outlook on regular exercise.
