Personal Training Advice

Personal Training Advice

The popularity of Personal training has increased exponentially in the last few years. Even as recently as the mid 90’s it was generally considered that to have a “personal Trainer” you had to be one of the “rich and famous!” This is certainly no longer true and although the majority of those using a personal trainer don’t have the space (or money !) to have gyms in their houses, most fitness clubs have on site trainers who can ensure you get the most out of your work out. Alternatively, quite a few Personal Trainers are happy to provide you with a “cardio” workout just by accessing the great outdoors!

Choosing your Trainer

So let’s assume you’ve decided you want to invest some of your hard earned cash in a Personal Trainer, the next step is to find one that’s right for you.

Your choice will depend on your personal motivation for exercising. If you’re concerned with losing some weight, you’re not going to want the same workout as someone entering the London Marathon and aiming to finish sub three hours!! Likewise, a semi-professional tennis player will need to work a lot harder than a recently retired office worker who’s never exercised in his/her life. This doesn’t necessarily mean that each of these individuals needs to choose different Personal trainers but, as with many things in life, it’s better to get an idea of exactly what you do (and don’t !) want before you go out and look for it !

The following are things you may find useful to consider when speaking to your prospective Personal Trainer:-

• Write down why you want to get the support of a Personal Trainer. Do you have any specific goals and/or time constraints (e.g. a wedding you want to get in time for ?!) as his/her  approach might well determine how quickly you can get ‘in shape!’

• Decide where you’d like to train - at home, in a gym, one-to-one (- the best but also the most expensive option) or outside in a park?

• Do you have a preference regarding the type of person you have training you ? An ex-Army Physical Training Instructor might suit someone who wants to be “pushed hard” but might be less suitable for someone who’s slightly self-conscious and never exercised before.

• Ask around. Now you know roughly what you’re looking for, ask friends and work colleagues about their experiences with Personal Trainers.

• Seek the advice of local medical professionals - your GP, osteopath or physiotherapist may well know someone they’d be happy to recommend.

• See what he/she is like before you start. Depending on what you’re most concerned about, ask your potential Personal Trainer what the routines he/she uses, his/her client base, working relationship with local healthcare professionals, experience, testimonials and website (?!)

• Is he/she professionally insured?

• Is he/she a member of the Register of Exercise Professional’s of the UK (REPs) (This is not, in itself, a legally binding safeguard but it’s a useful guide. REPs is not legally responsible for ensuring all its members are of a specific standard. However, although it’s self regulating it certainly appears to be taken seriously – and claims 70% of the UK’s Personal Fitness Instructors on its register. It’s interesting to note that Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and an increasing number of other healthcare professionals all now have a ‘protected title’. This means that it’s illegal for anyone to claim to provide such treatments without fulfilling strict guidelines regarding their training, ongoing continued professional development (i.e. keeping up to date!) and their commitment to a code of professional conduct. This protects the public and can reassure patients (and those referring them) that anyone they see can only legally be practicing if this is the case. There are, however, other healthcare professions which, amongst their ranks, number quite a few who believe that “statutory registration” is desirable. Apart from Personal Trainers, Pilates, for example, is now a highly regarded and well respected exercise provision but as the various different bodies that run Pilates courses are independent there is no legally binding regulation there either. As far as we’re concerned a legally protected Title would be good for prospective clients, reassuring for those referring clients to them and, therefore, good for the vast majority of Exercise Professionals working in the UK!)

Getting started

• Attend your first session suitably dressed – comfortable and relatively loose fitting and training shoes that have been recommended for the sort of activity you’re doing. The value of getting advice from a good sports shop cannot be overstated!!

• Eat a light snack before you start. A yoghurt, banana or energy bar will help provide you give you some ‘fuel’ for the session!

• Keep hydrated – it’s important to keep sipping water or a sports drink but remember that there are now said to be as many recorded cases of hyper-hydration ( - the effects of drinking to much ) amongst inexperienced marathon runners, for example, as there are those who are under-hydrated!!

• Leave your mobile in the changing room – your Trainer won’t appreciate it going off mid-session and anyway, you can’t train and chat at the same time!

• Work out a realistic programme with your trainer – there’s no point in agreeing to 4 sessions a week if you know you can’t do it.

• You’re paying the Personal Trainer, so you’re the customer! If you don’t like the way it went, talk to him/her – after all, if you go away uninspired you may not return and you don’t necessarily want that and your Trainer certainly won’t!!

• Don’t feel you have to prove anything! You’re doing this for yourself – not for your Trainer, the girl who’s spent the last 50 minutes on the treadmill or the super-fit looking guy who’s smiling benignly whilst lifting twice your bodyweight with his left hand!

•  This is the first day of your new fit life so try to use this as an impetus to eat more healthily, get enough sleep, drink alcohol only in moderation and, if you feel an injury coming on, get down to your Physiotherapist or Osteopath asap!!

• Exercise should be fun – so relax a bit and enjoy yourself! If you really hated it you may simply have learnt that you’d be more suited to Pilates, swimming or maybe joining an exercise class!?