Debunking Five Common Myths About Personal Training
With both Personal Training and Outdoor Training expected to be among the top fitness trends in 2022 (according to the AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE), it seems the world is catching up to what we’ve known, preached, and lived for over 25 years at Innovative Fitness.
If you’ve been reading our blog for any period of time, you likely already know that we’ve always incorporated outdoor adventure as part of our ethos and typically host a variety of outdoor adventures (ranging from HIKES, to PADDLE-BOARD ADVENTURES, to ski trips, to TREKS ACROSS ICELAND, or visiting MACHU PICCHU).
If you think you’re not a good candidate for personal training, we’d like to take the opportunity to debunk some of the most common personal training myths and misconceptions:
1. “I need to get fit before I hire a Personal Trainer.”
This is one we hear all the time. It usually sounds something like: “I’ve gotten so out of shape, I need to get my fitness back to where it was before I hire a trainer to push me to the next level.”
The reality is, working with a Personal Trainer will help you get your fitness back a whole lot faster than you’re likely to be able to on your own, and help push you to that next level (whatever that may be.)
Although how much you know, or what you’ve been able to do in the past can help shorten the path to future success… your fitness level is about what you do consistently, day in and day out.
Results are the sum of our consistent actions. A Personal Trainer can help you filter out the fluff so that you can focus your energy on consistently executing the most important actions that will fast-track your results, whether that be getting back to where you were, or reaching a whole new level.
2. “Personal Trainers are only for people who want to look like a bodybuilder or bikini/figure competitor.”
While just about every competitive bodybuilder or figure model has a Personal Trainer, most people who hire Personal Trainers have absolutely zero intention of ever standing on stage in their bathing suit.
For many, it’s simply a matter of outsourcing their health and fitness management to a professional in order to dramatically reduce the amount of work and decision making they would otherwise have to do for themselves.
The truth is, there is no shortage of fitness information out there. Someone motivated enough, and with enough free time has almost unlimited information available to them via the web.
This unlimited information, however, is oftentimes more of a curse than a blessing. It means that you have to filter through all of that information (and misinformation) to a) figure out what is true and what is bunk and b) determine which of the true information is most appropriate for you, given your current situation and goals.
A good Personal Trainer filters all of that information for you and provides you with clear actions in order to get you from where you are to where you want to be, and then helps to hold you accountable to performing those actions consistently in order to reap the benefits.
3. “I don’t have time to go to the gym on my own, so there’s no way I’ll be able to make personal training fit in my schedule.”
This is probably the most common story that people tell themselves when it comes to their health. “I don’t have enough time” is the oldest story in the book. The reality is that nobody has time; those who value their health and fitness enough make time in their schedules for it.
There are many personal training clients out there who have more than ample knowledge and understanding of what it is they should be doing, however, knowing themselves well enough to understand that they won’t do it without it being firmly scheduled in their calendars, they avoid this self-sabotage by hiring a Personal Trainer.
For many, having a human being waiting for them to show up for an appointment that they’ve already paid for is what makes all the difference between whether or not they make time for their health and fitness.
4. “Personal Trainers’ entire lives revolve around the gym. They can’t possibly understand what I’m going through.”
While you can absolutely find examples of Personal Trainers whose entire lives revolve around the gym and the kitchen, the same can be said for people working in other industries. No matter the profession, there will always be those who take it to the extreme.
The truth is that most Personal Trainers are regular people who value health and fitness and have decided to make it their profession. They’re likely more than happy to enjoy a beer on a patio, or indulge in the occasional serving of decadent dessert. And most Trainers will follow the 80/20 rule: if you make healthy choices 80% of the time, there’s no need to sweat the occasional glass of wine or piece of cake.
Most of them also deal with challenges very similar to your own. They’ve got family commitments, bills to pay, long hours at their job (often working the hours that most other people don’t, so that they can be available at the times that their clients are able to train), etc.
They’re regular people, just like you. It just so happens that their area of expertise is health and fitness.
5. “Personal Trainers are sadists who just enjoy seeing people suffer physically.”
If you look hard enough, you can find these trainers out in the world, sure. But the reality is that most people who become trainers do so from a place of caring for others. They want to make the world a better place by helping people live healthier, more fulfilling lives.
In fact, one of the most important lessons a good PT can impart on their client is the difference between “training” and other forms of time spent in a gym setting. If you finish every single session plastered to the floor in a giant pool of sweat – you’re over-training (though a good ass-kicking sesh has its place).
A great Personal Trainer will develop a training plan that includes some seriously challenging sessions, absolutely, but they will also include some lower intensity sessions to balance those out and ensure that your body is getting the recovery it needs in order to actually improve over time.
