You've decided you want to get fitter or lose weight. But where do you start? There are just so many options available. From the gym to running and boot camp to yoga, the fitness world is yours to explore. There are benefits and downsides to all of them and a lot of it comes down to what you enjoy. However, if you struggle to stick to your exercise regime or you have a specific goal in mind personal training might be the way to go. A good Personal Trainer will help you reach your goals.

WHAT IS A PERSONAL TRAINER?

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​​A personal trainer is an individual trained and certified to train individuals to become fitter and healthier. You should ask a personal trainer about their qualifications before hiring them. The industry is not regulated and anybody can call themselves a personal trainer. If you want to make sure, ask them if they are registered with REPS or CIMSPA, both will only register individuals with recognised qualifications. Look for someone who has a minimum qualification of Level 3 Personal Training. If you are after weight loss an additional nutrition qualification would be useful and if you have an underlying health condition look out for an Exercise Referral qualification.

TOP 6 BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH A PERSONAL TRAINER

1. ​Setting and Achieving a Goal

Before you begin working with a personal trainer you will need to decide your goal. Do you want help to lose weight? Do you want to feel fitter or perhaps train to be able to run a marathon? A personal trainer will create an exercise and nutrition plan that will ensure you meet your specific goal. Without a personal trainer, it is easier to let your exercise plan fall by the wayside, to work less hard when you are a little tired, or even just give up on your goal. A good Personal Trainer has extensive knowledge of goal setting (and achieving!) as well as habit creation.

2. Motivation and Accountability

You could decide to get fitter by going for a run or to the gym every second day and if you are highly motivated that may work. However, what happens if it's raining and you don’t feel like going out or after a couple of weeks you decide you aren’t really improving or get a bit tired so have a day off? If you have a personal trainer session booked you are more likely to attend on a regular basis. Your trainer will then motivate you to keep going when you get tired or are feeling like you are not improving as much as you would like.

3. Results

Not only will a personal trainer know how to create sessions that will meet your goals but they will make sure you are constantly improving by increasing the difficulty or intensity of your workouts. A common pitfall of training by yourself or attending group classes is that your body adapts to the exercises and you stop improving. You need to keep challenging your body in new ways or you will stop seeing results. Personal trainers have been trained to encourage and support you whilst pushing you a little bit harder each session.

4. Training Where and When It Suits You Best

Working with a personal trainer means you can book in your sessions at a time that suits you best and when you feel most like exercising. You may love a local fitness class but it if runs at 5:30pm and you can only make it every few weeks then you will not get the benefit you wish. Don't like the gym? No problem, there are lots of personal trainers who train their clients outdoors or even visit them in their homes.

5. Variation

Not only will a personal trainer create an exercise plan to suit your level of fitness and goals but they will change the exercises regularly so that you don’t get bored. Most great personal trainers will be up to date with the latest science on fitness and training and will be able to show you new exercise techniques and ensure each session they work with you is full of variety.

6. Personal Tuition

There are many benefits of joining an exercise class but the one thing it can’t give you is 1:1 tuition for the full duration of the class. By hiring a personal trainer, you will have their full attention for the whole session which means you will never be doing exercises incorrectly. Every position and move will be done with the correct posture. Having a personal trainer can be especially beneficial if you are returning to exercise from an injury or have never done much exercise before.