{Guest Post}- Working With A Trainer? Here's What You Need To Know
January 2022 is a huge for fitness. Lots of people are looking to achieve new goals, revisit past goals, and take action on goals for the now. And for some, you may consider employing someone to help you achieve those goals.
(If you want to check out a past article on why New Years Resolutions kick ass, click here)
This week I have a guest post from a friend of mine, Kyle Harper. Kyle is Personal Trainer and Program Director of a Parisi Speed School down in Texas. He so graciously sent me this amazing article to share with you all on what to expect when you start working with a Personal Trainer for the first time.
Kyle brings up lots of good points. Many think that working with a Personal Trainer is just about getting shit pumped during each workout and I can assure you, it's so far from that.
With that, I am going to let Kyle take it over from here!
What to expect when working with a coach/personal trainer for the first time.
With the new year many people (maybe you!) will be looking to change up their fitness routine and join a class or hire a personal trainer. This is a big step, and a great step for so many reasons -accountability, motivation, education, and in my experience the client favorite-taking the guess work out of what to do.
Stepping out of your comfort zone and starting to train 1 on 1 or in a group setting is intimidating. Here are four things to expect from your coach & your new group as you step into a new world of training.
Be prepared to set goals.
In your first meeting with your coach, it is a guarantee that you will be asked about your goals, so be ready for this conversation. And with this, we want specifics. “Get stronger” or “look better” doesn’t cut it for us, we need specifics. We need “I want to be able to squat x” or “I want to be able to play with my grandchildren on the floor”. This is where we like to start, and we dig a little bit from there. Training is about behavior change, so finding your why is important to us. Once you have your why clearly identified, it becomes easier to stick to the process. This is where it all begins.
Soreness is not our goal.
No pain no gain, right? Wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, sessions will be a challenge and you will be sore, and I guarantee it will be in places you didn’t know existed on your body, but it is not our goal. In your sessions, movement quality is most important (and pain free of course). You will be doing movements you have never heard of that seem silly and have even stranger names: Dead bugs, bird dogs, pallof presses, then we bring in turkish and Romanian things.
When we ask, “hey, were you sore?” this isn’t a moment for us to pat ourselves on the back, or flex on you, it is a question to gauge what we had you do. It gives us a simple and effective way to gain feedback on the previous session.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
This may be one of the hardest things to remember as you go through your journey. This isn’t about what you can do vs. what others can do. This is all about what you can do on Day 1 vs. Day X. Strength gains, physique improvement, movement improvement, pain free living are all things to look for here and they will happen!
Unfortunately, comparison is all too easy to do, especially in a group setting, so remember, some clients in the group you are joining have been there for years.
I see this all the time in our gym. I have three women in particular (all over 65), who have been a staple in our program for 7+ years. Every month, we have new members, 20 to 30 years younger than them come join their group- and the sessions always end with, “WTF, those ladies are insane” or “I just got demolished by grandmas”.
So instead of being discouraged, be motivated of the picture of consistency and hard work over time and you can be where you never imagined.
Your wins are your wins.
You are going to crush your goals and people will notice! The first thing you will want to do is credit your coach, class or program, But the reality is, you get the credit! You made the commitment to prioritize your movement and your goals. You changed behaviors and created habits to be stronger, healthier and feel better.
When you come back to us with that first win, whether it is dropping a size, getting a compliment on your physique or getting up and down from the floor with your grandchildren, be ready, because you are about to see your coach go wild (and it will most likely be a little scary). There is nothing better, or more important to a coach, than seeing you win!
About Kyle Harper:
Kyle Harper has a B.S. in Exercise Science from Texas Lutheran University, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and an ACSM Certified personal trainer. He has been in the industry working with adult and youth groups since 2010. He is currently the Parisi Speed School Program director at Guadalupe Regional Wellness Center in Seguin, Texas. You can connect with Kyle at Harper.kyle@yahoo.com or following him on Instagram @ coach_kyle.harper
Okay, 2022 is here. This is a HUGE bench mark for a lot of people to take action on their fitness goals.
This exactly why I created 'Start Here'.
Goals, action steps, training, FAQ resources, all in one {FREE} program!
Download yours RIGHT NOW below