Personal trainers are qualified professionals of physical activity and those in charge of developing a good training routine individually.

Training with personal trainer presents a series of pros and cons, so the choice will depend primarily on the practitioner. Each athlete trains in a way and any decision will be successful as long as it is practiced safely and healthily.

Train alone or guided by a personal trainer?

It is a question that you have surely asked many times. Each form of training has its advantages and disadvantages, especially depending on the athlete.

There is no clear evidence on what is best, although always working with professionals will help improve the exercise performed in training either directly with the coach or indirectly through different tips.

Take a look at each of the advantages and disadvantages and choose what you like most.

Advantages of the personal trainer

Of course, the quality of training will be much greater in the presence of a professional who supervises and guides you in your physical activity.

They are in charge of evaluating, analyzing and structuring a routine of improvement or maintenance of physical condition, so they know more than anyone the type of exercise that you must carry out at all times.

These are some of the advantages of training with a physical trainer:

1. Knowledge

It has the capacity and knowledge necessary to analyze your initial fitness level prior to the start of training, to then design each of the sessions based on your level and finally evaluate the progress made through a series of tests and measurements. With it you can at all times know your progress and help you observe the results obtained.

2. Security

Security issue especially in novices. The personal trainer will guide you to perform the correct technique in every movement to avoid injuries and train in a safe way. Perhaps it is one of the main reasons why the supervision of a coach in the gym is advised in the first steps of training.

3. Motivation

The personal trainer will offer you an extra motivation to continue with your routine that in many occasions is necessary to not give up. You will complete each exercise and the results will come much sooner than if the training is done individually.

4. Overcome your limits

They will help you to know yourself (overcoming your own limits) and your body, discovering which exercises will go better and as an initial step towards an autonomous training.

5. Personalized routine

It will individualize your routine. Many of the tips can be applied personally but if you want to execute a correct training, every exercise and diet should be planned in a personal and individual way.

Disadvantages of the personal trainer

However, despite the many advantages it presents, there are a number of drawbacks that can be found in personalized training.

Here are some of them:

1. Cost

In general, they require an economic cost that is not acceptable in these times. Hiring a personal trainer usually costs money and the vast majority of the athlete population see in it the main disadvantage.

2. Quality

In the profession of physical activity and sport, there is a great labor intrusion, so many call themselves coaches without being really qualified for their development and only work with their experience. Choose a good quality coach if your choice of training is individualized.

3. Timetable

If you like to work at your own pace, the personal trainer can be an inconvenience. You will be able to work according to your feelings that day, which will also favor the motivation to advance or go to train whenever you feel like it.

Regular exercise is one of the best recipes for maintaining good health. The problem is that not everyone has the disposition to stay in an exercise program on its own. How to achieve it? Who can help you? What should you keep in mind?

To start exercising regularly you need motivation and willpower, says certified personal trainer Carli Dieppa. She believes that it is vital to stay in a frequent exercise routine, especially if you do it without a guide or supervision.

• Are you one of those who start to exercise and in a short time you get tired?
• Or are you looking for an excuse not to continue?

Then seeking specialized professional help can help you achieve greater and better results.

In fact, in recent years, more people consider that hiring a personal trainer is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. More than anything, because they have realized that without the support and proper guidance of an expert, it is more challenging to start an exercise program.

“The coach will take you from the simple to the complex, will be aware that you do not get injured and that you do the exercises correctly,” says Dieppa.

It can also help you to keep eating healthy and do a proper routine, according to your physical condition, limitations or goals, says Dieppa.

She points out the most common mistakes among those who do exercises without any supervision. They are related to:

• the posture and
• how the activity is done.

“Because of that, they often get hurt and stop exercising, fall behind and eventually lose motivation,” warns the coach. But the person who is injured, Dieppa advises, should continue doing exercises, although not the same as before or with the same intensity.

“For example, if you injured a leg, you can work the arms,” ​​recommends Dieppa, who believes that the coach’s role is to prevent that kind of problem from occurring.

Another situation that often occurs, says the coach, is that many people say that they can not exercise due to a physical condition or problem that limits it. But that excuse is not necessarily true.

“Everyone can and should exercise. The important thing is that the coach knows what is the physical problem of the person to choose the right exercise routine,” emphasizes Dieppa, while stressing that the body needs constant movement.

Is this the year you want to succeed in your endeavor and you decide to hire a personal trainer? Then you must take into account some fundamental criteria so that the money invested yields fruit.

Among them, Yariza Yulián, personal trainer at the Zonactiva gym, recommends that when choosing a coach you ask her what kind of certification and studies she has.

“There is an extensive number of certifications, and some of them only provide you with an exam that you can take online and do not require continued studies,” says Yulián.

She stresses that proper certification requires ongoing studies.

• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
• Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE)
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• Certified Strenht and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).

It is also essential, adds Yulián, the experience that the coach has regarding the interests of the client. For example, if you want to improve in a sport such as tennis, you should ask what experience you have in that area.

“There are coaches who focus more on seniors, others on athletes or those who have injuries,” explains the coach.

Another fundamental criterion mentioned by Yulián is the personality of the coach. One option to learn more is to watch different trainers in the gym and see their performance and how they train other people. “I would say it’s one of the best ways to choose a coach,” he advises.

The cost is also an important factor. In the USA, most coaches charge between $40 and $90 per hour, usually something around $55. However, this is an average and each coach has different offers. Julian also warns you to be careful if:

• You feel pains that do not allow you to move normally. But it is normal to have some muscle discomfort at the beginning of a workout.
• The coach is constantly using your cell phone while training you.
• Ignore your questions.
• It makes recommendations for strict and specific diets, supplements, pills, etc.
• The right person to make a specific diet is a licensed nutritionist

If you like sports and exercise, it may be an excellent option to work as a personal trainer on your own or as an employee. Of course, almost more important than this is that you like to deal with people since the psychological component of this work is crucial.

This profession seen from the outside can seem easy and straightforward, and that you just start right away. Well, nothing is further from reality.

One training session takes many hours of work behind (if you really want to make a good session, of course):

• designing the routine based on what has been worked in previous sessions,
• what will be worked on later,
• the objectives of the client, and
• the profile and objectives thereof.

Therefore, if you want to dedicate yourself to this, you must understand that you need to devote a lot of work, and above all time.

And once this is clear, let’s talk about training. Anyone who asks me if I can do a personal trainer course, I will usually tell him, yes, but that does not make him a good coach.

Being a good coach gives you, in addition to experience, good knowledge of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and a long etcetera. And all that you will find in the Bachelor of Science of Physical Activity and Sports.

Before you get on top of me, I must shield myself saying that it is true that there are excellent courses that touch all those topics, like those of the NSCA or those that the ACSM does for example.

But even so, I think that someone who does not have the preparation. It will cost you a lot to get that degree.

And leaving the training apart, a coach must also have other skills. Learned? Born with them?

Judge yourself:

1. Make sure of what you do

After all, training is health. If you doubt what you do, in addition to giving insecurity to your client, you can endanger their health.

You have to understand that exercise is not only for the body but also to live a healthier life.

2. The physicist matters, unfortunately

This point is the one that rages me the most. Many (too many) people think that if you do not have an athletic body, you are not a good coach.

I have met many great personal trainers and coaches with incredible knowledge and understanding of how humans behave. That is more important than having an athletic body.

3. Leadership

If you do not have leadership skills, then make it a priority to learn them (if you can).

A coach during the session is a leader. He motivates, encourages, and gives the model to follow (either physically or by his knowledge on how to lead a healthy life).

Very few people like to train and if the trainer is passive, is always looking at the mobile, is very quiet, just marks the exercises, etc., it is more likely that the client will not return and, what is worse, speak badly of what personal training is.

Like or not to train, your client has to enjoy the session, feel that he has worked and that he wants to arrive the next day with you.

4. Knowledge is also taught

As a client, you need to give importance to this. In my sessions, I try to get the person I train to work and learn.

I can not only say to do an exercise, and that’s it. I always accompany him with the muscles that are worked, why we do this and not another, what happens in his body when he does that exercise, etc. In short, I think that if you understand the training, you can get to take more advantage.

So if you like to exercise and sports, I encourage you to be one of those who care about the health of people, a training partner, a mentor for your client, a psychologist, a motivator, a leader, and very many cases, a friend.

But, yes, it starts at the foundations with a perfect formation. Because coaches, there are many but good, “two.”