Not everyone who hires a personal trainer gets the results they are looking for. If they did, we would all be paid like heart surgeons. When I perform an initial consultation with a client I ask if they have used a trainer before and whether or not they were happy with the results. The common response I get is, “He or she was very nice and the workouts were pretty good, but I didn’t lose very much weight.” I hear this quite a bit and it leads to my next question, “What was your part in it?” This often results in a long perplexing stare. Then I say, “Let’s look at it this way, there are 168 hours in a week and you are spending 2 or 3 of those hours with your trainer. What are you doing during the rest of those hours?” The responses are what will make or break how successful you are. You are forming a partnership with your trainer, and you are both equally responsible for your results. If one of you isn’t holding up his or her end of the bargain, chances are you won’t get the results you want. Below are 5 suggestions I recommend you employ if you are going to hire a trainer for in-home personal training.
Be very clear on your goals. Far too often I see trainers giving their clients generic programs that aren’t geared to any specific goal. It is a bunch of unrelated exercises that get changed sporadically with no beginning or end. Telling your trainer you want to lose 10 lbs of fat and gain 5 lbs of muscle is a goal. Telling your trainer you just want to tone, is not. Be specific and have him or her design a program that will get you there the quickest.
Ask your trainer for some assistance with your diet. Most trainers will have taken some courses and have a working knowledge of proper nutrition. If they don’t, ask for a referral to a licensed nutritionist or a dietitian. You cannot out-train a bad diet. I don’t care how many calories you burn or how much weight you are pushing, if your nutrition is off, you are spinning your wheels. I cannot stress this enough. Before I start with anybody, I ask them to keep a log of what they are eating and the first week I see them we make the appropriate changes. A number of my clients have sought out advice from registered professionals. If you have the means, a combination of the two gets the best results.
Do your homework. Being entirely dependent on your trainer’s presence is a big mistake. You need to be self sufficient and do supplementary workouts on your own. I make it a point to stay in touch with my clients throughout the week. Workouts that they need to do on their own are provided and they report back to me when they are done. Accountability on both ends is extremely important.
Stay consistent. That means keeping your appointments. We all have things that come up in our lives that are beyond our control. When you miss an appointment, make a concerted effort to rebook within 24 to 48 hours. Don’t wait until the following week. My clients with the best results are invariably the ones who are the most consistent. They don’t overdo it either, they just make it a priority.
Don’t resist changes to your program. If you truly want results, you need to get out of your comfort zone. When your trainer suggests adding more weight or repetitions to your exercises, or to try newer and more challenging exercises, make a point of being receptive. This is the only way to grow and get stronger. If you have a previous injury or an exercise legitimately causes you pain, that is a different story, but refusing to do an exercise because it is too hard is not a valid excuse.