We all know a personal trainer can help us get fit, but will personal training support our general health?
If you want to learn how to exercise more effectively and improve your fitness levels, either generally or for a specific outcome, you might turn to the help of a personal trainer to do so. But if you have broader goals of wanting to increase fitness levels AND improve your general health, will personal training actually help you reach your goals? Let’s take a closer look at how personal training can support our general health.
Furthering your knowledge
One of the primary reasons to go to a personal trainer is that they are the fitness experts, and they can teach you a lot about how to correctly use your body when exercising. There is always going to be a right way and a wrong way and, unfortunately, the wrong way can lead you to hurting yourself. This is why it is always best to exercise with the help of a professional like a personal trainer.
If you want to take your understanding even further, you could think about becoming a personal trainer yourself. The best personal training courses teach you all about how to use your body and which muscles are hit by each exercise. Deciding to go on a personal trainer course, or even just looking at some of the information provided on these training websites can really help you to further your understanding of exercise and what you can expect from a personal trainer.
More than exercise
As you will see, there is quite a lot of difference between an entry-level personal trainer course and the higher-level options. And, in most instances, qualifications and experience will be reflected in rates charged for your sessions. If you do not have any major health issues and just want some help with basic fitness techniques, a basic level instructor will be fine.
But if you want a personal trainer to support your general health requirements, to help improve your levels of fitness and to offer advice on diet and maybe other aspects of your lifestyle, you will need to seek out someone more qualified and experienced. You may also wish to consider a CHEK Practitioner (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiologist) such as Cris Ramis who has a number of informative articles published on Healthy Life Essex. As Cris explains:
Many of us will know what to expect from a Personal Trainer. But what happens when the trainer has a holistic approach to training; when his skills and knowledge are enhanced so that the gap between a Personal Trainer and a Physical Therapist is bridged? Then you have a CHEK Practitioner (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiologist.)
A CHEK practitioner will not only consider exercise and diet requirements but other lifestyle aspects including sleep quality, energy and stress levels. They will also know when a client should be referred to other skilled therapists such as physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists and hypno/psycho-therapists.
Whatever your reason for engaging a Personal Trainer or CHEK Practitioner, there are some simple steps you need to take before you begin your sessions:
1. Decide what you really want from your training sessions. Try and be as specific as possible: if you are beginning any journey, you need to know the end destination in order to plan the route!
2. Do you have any specific requirements or health issues that would affect your decision? For example, if you are vegan you may want to consider a vegan trainer such as Feral Health Coaching. If you have any health conditions, you will need to ensure your trainer has the specific knowledge to support you accordingly.
3. Search for an appropriate instructor locally. If you are based in Essex, use could the Personal trainers in Essex directory. Personal recommendations and or comments on social media are useful but do remember people may have specific requirements that may be totally inappropriate for you.
4. Once you have selected perhaps two or three potential personal trainers, ask for information regarding their qualifications and experience and, very importantly, ensure that they are insured. Tell them about your specific requirements and ask how they think as a personal trainer they can support your general health.
5. Before you commit to the training programme, arrange to meet the instructor. As with most relationships, there needs to be a good personality much. An instructor may have the best qualifications and experience in the world, but if you don’t gel you are unlikely to gain the most benefit from training sessions and also be more likely to give up quickly.
A good personal trainer will not be limited to offering one specific diet. Dietary requirements should relate to your goals and existing physical condition A general diet such as the Mediterranean Diet may be suggested, or a clean-eating diet that will help you lose weight and feel great, or maybe you need a more specialised diet if you need to build body mass.
Ensure your chosen personal trainer has sufficient knowledge and experience to help you adjust your eating habits to effectively support your general health requirements as well as your specific fitness goals, whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle.
Put the Work In
Of course, you also have to want to work at it. If all you are doing is turning up once a week for a training session and then not eating well or exercising around it, chances are that you will see very little changes in your health.
You need to commit to changes to your lifestyle if you want to be healthier overall. Only with the right discipline and a willingness to change your current living habits will you see any progress elsewhere in your body. It might be an easy change to make, or it might take a lot of conscious effort. Either way, you need to focus on making good choices that can benefit your health overall.
Can a personal trainer support your general health? Absolutely – if you choose wisely! They know how to approach exercise in fun and interesting ways. If you feel like your health could be better, you should think about reaching out for their expertise now. They could completely change around your attitude to health and fitness and could get you ready to take on the world with a fresh outlook to your own personal health!