Hiring a personal trainer – is it worth the cost?
While we think nothing of splashing out £60 on a hair cut or £100 on a good night out, the large majority of us would never consider spending money on a personal trainer. For many of us, hiring a personal trainer is a luxury that is the preserve of Hollywood actors and highly-stressed chief executives.
And yet, most people who do work with a personal trainer report working harder, getting much better results, and understanding their health and fitness requirements to a far greater extent. Money well spent, surely?
Let’s take a closer look.
In 2016, gym membership in the UK hit an all-time high with 9.2 million of us holding a gym membership. Spending on gym clothing, shoes and additional equipment also rose, meaning that the market value of the health and fitness sector is now £4.4 billion – a rise of 3.2% on 2015 figures.
This translates into one in seven people in the UK with a gym membership.
However, how many of those nine million people actually go to the gym regularly is another issue altogether. Estimates say that one third of gym members never go to the gym after the first three months, with many, many more only going occasionally. So that is the cost of a gym membership and the monthly payments being wasted completely.
Which is where your personal trainer comes in. She or he will provide you with the knowledge, the motivation and the encouragement to get to the gym and make the very best of your time while you are there.
A good personal trainer will:
- Push you to your limits. Just when you think you can’t go anymore, you will be told to ‘do just 10 more reps’ and guess what? You will.
- Correct your form. A personal trainer can help you lift weights or perform exercises correctly, tweaking your movements so you are training as effectively as you can.
- Take an objective view: A personal trainer will tell you realistically what to expect from a work out and what you need to work on.
- Teach you new training methods: It is the job of personal trainers to stay abreast with all new industry developments, so they can teach you how to use new equipment or how to do new exercises.
- Help you overcome a plateau in performance. A personal trainer will be able to set you new challenges and new activities to lift you to the next level.
Don’t take our word for it. Here are some words of wisdom from people on the sparkpeople.com website who have started working with a personal trainer:
“When I first became interested in kettlebells I was “swinging” 5lbs. and having back pain. I had a spinal fusion last year, and it was very important that I not injure myself further. I found a trainer, and immediately he was able to determine that my form was wrong (I figured that), and when I left his gym I was swinging 30 lbs. without pain. I will see him once a month, and I drive two hours to get there, but it is the best time and money that I’ve ever spent.” RFTallent.
“I began seeing a personal trainer and was a bit skeptical at first. But, he has taught me things that I’d never have learned anywhere else. Plus, he pushes me more than I’d push myself.
It is pretty expensive and I’m not sure once a month would be worth it if you’re not committed to going on your own. I see my trainer twice a week and go in every day I don’t meet with him to get in some cardio. Getting a trainer isn’t signing up to have someone else do it for you, it’s just another resource.” Chemchick578.
And according to David Stalker, executive director of the Fitness Industry Association (FIA), personal trainers are key to getting the most out of your workout. “In my experience you work out five or six times harder with a trainer than you would on your own,” he says. “It depends how much you value the service. People are happy to spend hundreds of pounds on their hair or on a restaurant meal.”
Personal training – it all adds up to a good idea.
Find out more about personal training sessions at Kelsey Kerridge here
