The importance of personal trainers in the gym
Today many gyms offer a personal trainer service in addition to the regular gym membership. Gym members can take advantage of the advice of a specialized trainer who will follow them during their training sessions helping them to achieve their goals. The personal trainer service has a separate cost compared to the subscription, a cost that in some cases can be very high. That’s why you need to choose your personal trainer carefully and think about the real convenience of this training methodology.
Who is the personal trainer?
The personal trainer is a sports technician who follows the training of his clients in an individual way. Unlike a normal gym lesson, the lesson with a personal trainer does not involve the presence of third parties. The coach can therefore devote 100% of his time to his client, helping him to optimize the time available to him.
To become a personal trainer, you must be a qualified sports instructor and have completed a special and recognised course for personal trainers.
The personal trainer usually works as a freelance professional, supporting various sports facilities or going to the home of his customers. He can obtain his own customers or he can leave the gyms to search for contacts and manage customers. In the latter case, the personal trainer may also be an employee of the gym.
Tasks of the personal trainer
Relying on a personal trainer means being followed during the training sessions in order to achieve your goals and do so without negative consequences for your health.
The personal trainer has the task of:
define with the client the medium and long term objectives, identifying realistic goals that the client can achieve thanks to a serious training. The personal trainer cannot make false promises, but must realistically assess the client’s situation and offer him a realistic perspective, clearly communicating what to aim for and how long it will take to reach the goal.
Set up a personalized training table that takes into account both the goals and the physical condition of the client. The previous level of training, the health status of the customer, as well as the time and budget available to the customer have a profound influence on the sports training program.
Follow the customer’s training by explaining the exercise, dictating the timing and correcting errors in posture or execution.
give advice on sports nutrition and, without replacing the dietitian, improve the dietary style of the customer to help him face with more energy the training.
become a point of reference for the customer encouraging him to find the motivation necessary to face the sacrifices of training. From this point of view, the personal trainer is a coach, a guide.
Training at home with a personal trainer
Some coaches offer a home training service. This option is usually more expensive than at the gym, but there is no additional charge such as a weight room pass or gasoline to get to the gym.
To do a workout that works, you need to have enough space and at least basic equipment. We also advise against letting untrustworthy people enter the house.
Why rely on a personal trainer
The reasons why you can decide to start a targeted course with an individual coach may be different. For example, there are those who do this because they cannot do their sport consistently and feel they need guidance and, in some cases, encouragement.
Some people, however, may feel inadequate in the gym and fear that they will not be able to train properly due to inexperience.
If you have serious health problems, you may want the advice of a professional to avoid getting hurt or aggravating your physical condition. Some diseases (obesity, hypertension, osteoporosis, etc.) require particular caution when performing sports exercises. The same applies to people who have to do rehabilitation after a trauma or fracture.
Professional sportsmen or semi-professionals who have to train for a specific objective such as a race will probably need the support of a personal trainer, who at that point will be very similar to an athletic trainer.
When the personal trainer is useless
Training with a personal trainer is never useless, unless the client has had the wrong idea of what to expect. It’s better to save money and continue training on your own if you don’t:
It is believed that training with a personal trainer solves all problems in a very short time.
it’s believed that training isn’t it tiring because “he’ll do it all anyway”
there is no intention to make a fixed and constant commitment
You don’t have complete confidence in your own coach.
How to choose a coach
The choice of personal trainer must be influenced by both technical and psychological reasons. In order to evaluate the technical level of the personal trainer, it is necessary to obtain his curriculum vitae, in which all his qualifications and his wealth of work experience must be reported. If the instructor declares that he has made experiences that he is not able to demonstrate, it is better not to trust him. In this regard, in addition to reading the curriculum, it may be useful to ask for references or rely on the word of mouth of people you trust.
Make sure that the personal trainer can work in the gym where you intend to train. If your gym is serious and professional, you may want to ask for the contact of your personal training instructors. This solution is very convenient if you already have a subscription and you do not intend to change the gym. The Club beauty factory in Rome, for example, offers its customers the additional service of training with personal trainers, and many other gyms throughout Italy follow his example.
Before buying a package of lessons, arrange an interview with the candidate. Even a simple chat will help you to understand if he is a serious and reliable person. Try a single lesson and evaluate the emotional impact: with a personal trainer you will have to set up a relationship of trust and cooperation, so also the sympathy that runs between you must be taken into account.