March 29, 2024
One of the questions I get asked most often as a physical therapist is, “Why do you work with a personal trainer?” I am so glad you asked. I have been working with my trainer for 14 years, and I have no plans on stopping any time soon. Here is a list of my reasons why!
Safety:
First and foremost, working with any trained exercise professional is the best way to work out safely. A personal trainer is a certified expert in exercise form and safety. It is the trainer’s job to select exercises that are challenging but appropriate for your specific body and health conditions. The trainer is also an external set of eyes watching your movements. I find, even as a physical therapist, when I am working out and doing something challenging I can forget about my form. It is so helpful to know my trainer is watching me and ensuring I do not do anything that could cause me harm. He also helps to take my ego out of the equation. If he sees me lifting a weight with poor/ unsafe form, he will either stop me and correct it or modify the movement/ weight I am lifting so I can do it safely.
Responsibility:
Working out is something I see as a responsibility on numerous levels. I first see a responsibility to myself to keep my body as healthy as possible. I never want to be the person who has to say no to an activity or an event with family and friends because I do not think my body can physically complete the task. I also want to make sure I live a long and healthy life avoiding as many of the chronic diseases and conditions of poor metabolic health as possible (heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, etc.). There is also the responsibility as an adult to model for my nieces and nephews what a healthy and active lifestyle looks like. It is also important to model how important it is to show an example of making and commitment and taking the time to do something that is just for me and my health. Finally, I feel a professional responsibility to work out and exercise for my patients. I have always felt like it would be hypocritical to ask my patients to exercise and care for their bodies if I am not doing the same thing.
Accountability:
Through discussions with friends, family, and my patients one of the biggest challenges to working out is finding the time. Every person has a list of responsibilities, duties, and commitments they must carry out every day. It can be very easy to let less “immediate” tasks fall off that list. It is so easy to say, “I am busy today, I’ll work out tomorrow.” Let’s also be honest, working out can be hard and uncomfortable sometimes. When you are not feeling your best physically or emotionally the last thing you think you want to do is be more uncomfortable. That is where the accountability factor comes in. I have had the same standing appointment with my personal trainer since 2013. I know no matter how I am feeling or what is going on in my life I have made a scheduled commitment to be there. My session is early in the morning because that works with my schedule. It is NOT because I like working out in the morning (sorry for all you early birds out there!). However, I know it is good for me to get up when I don’t want to and go work out whether I want to or not. There is also the piece of the financial commitment. As silly as it sounds there is power in putting your money behind your commitment. Not only should everyone be looking at exercise/ personal training as an investment in yourself (in my opinion), but if you are paying for something you are more likely to show up. It is much easier to skip a free workout like a YouTube video or going on a run than it is to skip something you are paying for. The trainer has also made a commitment to you and is going to be there. Skipping out on your session then has also wasted their time. Scheduled sessions with a personal trainer add time, social, and financial accountability into your workouts.
Motivation:
No one wants to do 50 burpees. If I am making up a workout I am going to do myself I will pick some exercises that are challenging and some easier exercises. Either way I am probably picking exercises I like or am good at. Choosing the hard things in life is difficult for everyone. We do it day in and day out in our personal and professional lives thus making it more challenging to do in our free time. I work with a personal trainer because he makes me do the hard things. In a way, it makes doing hard things easier. I don’t have to think, I don’t have to decide. I put my trust in his skills as a trainer and do the things he tells me to do. I know he has selected the exercises or activities based on my goals for fitness and health we have established together. I know he is selecting things that are hard for me because he wants me to challenge myself and get better. After 14 years of working with my trainer, I also know how proud of myself I feel after I complete the hard things. I also feel pride when I complete something I did not think I could do, and that motivates me to keep coming back. My trainer likes his clients to select goals or races/ events to train for. He likes his clients to have something to work towards as motivation during sessions. Through his encouragement, I have completed races and endurance events I never would have attempted by myself. The motivation of setting and goal and then completing it is very powerful.
Social:
I do not like working out by myself. When I work out by myself the voice in my head telling me I am tired, or sore, or hungry is too loud. Working out with other people silences that voice. You can look at the social aspect from multiple different aspects. If you are doing one-on-one sessions with your trainer they are the voice in your head. Most of us have rather negative self-voices pointing out our weaknesses or flaws, but your trainer will point out your strengths and your accomplishments. There are very few things that make me glow more than an unsolicited compliment from my trainer. I also like to workout in groups with people who are also committed to their health and fitness. I have two workout partners (one of whom is my husband) and we split the cost of our sessions. I love the conversations we have as a group about all sorts of different topics. Working out with my husband provides an opportunity in our busy schedules when we can combine exercise and quality time. Lastly, I have met my closest friends through the gym and fitness. My group of friends met through our trainer’s group classes. Not only do we all have the core values of fitness and health in common, but bonding over shared hardship is a very real thing!
Ease:
I love the ease of working with a personal trainer. I touched upon this earlier; I adore showing up for my workouts and not having to think. Like many of you reading this blog post, I must use my brain all day at work. The older I get the less reserve I have for being smart or creative outside of my job. It is my responsibility to get to my sessions on time and ready to work hard. The rest is out of my hands, and my job is just following directions. I appreciate the hard work and thought my trainer puts into creating every session so I do not have to think. Knowing I have put my complete trust in his hands makes it so easy for me to get my workouts in.
Creativity:
Don’t tell my trainer I said this, but he is one of the smartest and most creative people I know. He can make an hour-long workout with anything. He once ran an entire class where we each only had a single weight plate for equipment, and that class kicked my butt! He brings a unique perspective to workouts through his education, training, and experience. I fall into the trap of doing the same exercises when I create my own workouts. It is easier and it involves less thinking (see above regarding my aversion to thinking). My trainer always has a new exercise or a new way to make an old exercise challenging. He also puts sequences of exercises together in ways I might not think of. In any field it is important to get varied ideas and perspectives from different people. “You only know what you know,” is a quote I have heard throughout my life. My trainer knows different things than I know, and his creativity keeps workouts interesting and challenging. I think feeling “bored” or repetitive during exercise is another boundary people see when establishing a long-term workout habit/ routine. Having a trainer that brings their unique creativity into your sessions eliminates this barrier. His creativity also helps with my professional development. I love it when he demonstrates a new exercise or a different way of doing an “old” exercise and I can bring it to my clients in the physical therapy gym. I strive to be a lifelong learner, and I am always looking for new opportunities to expand my own practice and “exercise library.”
The moral of this story is if you don’t have a personal trainer and are interested get signed up! We are proud to be working collaboratively with personal trainers at Portland Physical Therapy in the brand new state-of-the-art gym at our new location at 1020 Congress St. Inquiries can be sent to info@pptmaine.com. I hope to see you in the gym!
Author: Laura Sugrue, MSPT, OCS