6 Months Of Personal Training, 6 Lessons Learned About Fitness
I’m a big believer that everyone needs a Coach and that being coached is one of the best learning experiences you can go through.
Over the past decade or so I have had the pleasure of working with some phenomenal Personal Trainers who have coached me to personal bests, fast 5k times, 30 pounds of weight loss, and most recently helped coach me through some serious blood marker improvements.
As I finish up my 6th month of coaching, and close to 90 workouts over that time, I wanted to reflect on 6 key lessons I have learned, and re-learned, over this time span.
1) You can’t train hard every day.
When I was in my 20s, I thought every workout had the potential to set a personal best. As I approached my 30s, I had one workout a week that was top notch. Now, in my mid-30s and with a 5 and 2 year old in my house, one workout a month feels like I can throttle down and put up some numbers. Working with my Trainer, he told me to shoot my shot once every 6 weeks, and he would take care of the rest. Low and behold, I swapped trying to set personal bests for being consistent with showing up and my fitness has never been better.
2) Personal Trainer’s do more than write workouts.
Each week I check in with my Trainer and let him know what my schedule is going to look like. He then modifies my routine to match that schedule to reflect the time allotment I have and the intensity I am expecting to give. The program is more than ‘workouts’, the program is truly written for me and my lifestyle.
Personally, with my clients, I love when they tell me their scheduling changes and scheduling needs so I can better match their workouts. This helps with consistency and an improved overall feeling of success!
3) It’s okay to have favorite exercises, and it’s okay to do those movements multiple times a week.
I think we all think we need to ‘switch things up’ more than we really need to. Most of my workouts are the same for 6 weeks and each workout block always has chin ups, push ups, and squats…because those are my favorites…and I’m good at them…and that’s fun!
4) Working out with consistency should be harder than the workouts themselves.
Stemming from the first point on this list, a good Personal Trainer can write programs. An awesome Personal Trainer can help you come up with the strategies to execute that program.
That’s it, that’s the lesson learned.
5) The basics are severely underrated in the fitness industry.
In a world where technology and equipment are the most advanced they have ever been….planks, push ups, chin ups, and basic dumbbell movements still remain undefeated. They aren’t sexy. They aren’t the most challenging. These movements are easily progressed and that adds up over a series of workouts. The basics work, and they keep your training simple.
That’s a win.
6) One voice removes a lot of confusion.
I’m a Personal Trainer, but I am not an expert in Kettlebells. My Personal Trainer is an expert in Kettlebells. Training with him has given me one voice to ask questions to pertaining to this specific tool. No social media confusion, no multiple voices in the room…just one expert I get to ask questions to.
It might not be kettlebells for you, but having a Personal Trainer gives you one solid voice to answer all your questions!