Do you need a personal trainer in the gym: pros and cons

Gym membership – status of success. A sports club is the best place for leisure. Fitness has organically entered the lives of Russians.

This is not an exclusively sports area. The goal is the aesthetic appeal of the body, an active lifestyle, proper nutrition, and high overall tone.

A limited number of people are involved in sports professionally, while a large number of people engage in fitness . The goals of supporters are different: losing weight, gaining body weight, sculpted muscles.

Fitness gives you a feeling of purposefulness and victory over your own weaknesses. As a result, a person comes to the unity of the physical and spiritual principles. This is largely due to the instructors.

The benefits of working with a trainer

Constant control of the technique of performing the exercise, without harm to health. You can read for a long time, watch videos on the Internet, but you will still perform many exercises incorrectly.
Monitoring your food diary, gradually changing your diet towards a more healthy one.
Practice proper breathing techniques during training.
A competent selection of “working weight” for the current level of health will be determined.
The effectiveness of classes increases significantly.
The trainer records all the training methods completed and determines what exactly is suitable for you.
A personal trainer is primarily an assistant when performing complex exercises where insurance is needed.
Working out with a trainer is prestigious; a person thereby shows that he cares about his health and social status.
Training always takes place comfortably, even at rush hour - because the trainer plans in advance what exercise will be performed next, thereby saving the person time in the club.
Interesting conversation on various topics.
Training that never gets boring. How long can you do the same programs and exercises month after month?
Many people need a person who will motivate them to achieve sports “accomplishments.” Otherwise, training in the gym can turn into an ordinary party, and such training will be of little use.

Fitness club HIT FITNESS selects trainers in St. Petersburg on a competitive basis. We employ the best of the best. This is why fitness is so effective here. Come to fitness in St. Petersburg with your son or daughter. For the little ones, they offer training in sambo, rhythmic gymnastics and cross-fitness.

Personal experience

I had 2 mentors. In the first club there was a middle-aged man, boring, somewhat pompous, and I didn’t want to meet him again. Which is what I ended up doing.

And there was a nice girl who invited me to training in messengers and social networks - she tried to motivate me in every way if I suddenly wanted to do a planned training session somewhere deep under the blanket. And I must say, she succeeded. In a word, I recommend that in the initial stages you take out an “Individual Training” subscription for several months, and you can change the trainer at any time.

No matter how logical it may be, you will earn your money for the club only with a trainer, provided that this is the first time you have decided to go to the gym. Otherwise, there will be lazy excuses, and the paid year will end unnoticed, and you still haven’t reached the door.

Frequent excuses

Gym visitor: “I’ll try to train myself first, and then after 1-3 months I’ll turn to a trainer for personal training” (I hear this especially often at the end of the 2nd free instruction)
Gym trainer: Personally, it is better to train right at the very beginning of your path to a perfect body. It’s funny: sometimes, doing an exercise incorrectly, you can, at best, simply not get the desired effect (and then questions arise: I went to work out for six months, but didn’t pump anything up), and at worst, you can get injured or undermine your health. The most important thing in performing exercises is technique. And you definitely need someone to “install” your equipment and monitor it for the first time. Because the desire to cheat when doing an exercise, especially at first, is off the charts (how can you train for 2.5 hours and still have the strength to go for a swim in the pool?) Many of us tend to feel sorry for ourselves. In other words, a person does not exercise with full dedication. So, he was slacking during training. And it was possible to train in half the time and at the same time with QUALITY. I just don’t understand the point: why experiment on yourself, risking your health? We, when we go to a dental clinic and after listening to the doctor, will not say to him, “Let me try to put a filling on myself, and in 3 months maybe I’ll contact you if I can’t do it.” By working with a trainer, you can avoid mistakes at the very beginning.

Gym visitor: “I already have 2 years of experience in the gym, and I know EVERYTHING”
Gym trainer: My dears, no one can know EVERYTHING. Even in my work I constantly learn something new from attending seminars, reading books, and analyzing scientific research. What was previously correct and proven can now be extremely dangerous. After all, science does not stand still, especially when it comes to the human body. Let me give you an example: I often see women in the gym doing a “unique” exercise – lateral bending – in a machine to work out the lower back (hyperextension). I come up and ask: “Why are you doing this?” They answer me: “I want to reduce my sides.” Dear women, by doing this exercise, you EXPAND your waist due to the hyperdevelopment of the oblique abdominal muscles. Don't do anything stupid! And this is just one example of such KNOW-ALLS, and there are many mistakes.

Gym visitor: “I already worked out with a trainer a year ago: a waste of money”
Gym trainer: Let me explain, everyone is different. And a coach is, first of all, a person. After all, there are things in life when you don’t have a soul for a certain person. Not because he’s bad, but he’s just somehow “not suitable” for us. A trainer, like friends, needs to be chosen, and not something that could be imposed on you in the sales department or by acquaintances (like “This trainer is the current bodybuilding champion, he is a professional and has a bunch of diplomas, so you need to train with him”). During training, it is important not only that the trainer monitors your technique of performing the exercise, draws up the correct training regimen and nutrition, but also that he is communicative. Those. knew how to carry on a conversation, was responsive, moderately cheerful, etc. After all, I myself understand perfectly well that many come to the gym not only for results (be it losing weight or gaining muscle mass), but also for acquaintance, emotional release after a hard day at work, communication, understanding, support. A competent coach should be able to be different. And when people come to me and say that they worked with a coach before and they don’t need it now, that’s stupid. Not all coaches have to be the same. Unfortunately, because of past disastrous experiences with trainers, people do not want to try training with other trainers.

Gym visitor: “Your workouts are too expensive!”
Gym trainer: Let's see what people do on Friday evenings and weekends: drinking, billiards, cinema, meeting friends in a cafe. So, don’t we spend enough money on drinks in the evening? We leave little in the cafe for a portion of fat... oh, excuse me, julienne? That's right, quite a lot. But for health, getting at least 5 workouts is, of course, a lot. That is. It turns out that people value their health cheaper than going to a restaurant. I think that the price of five lessons with a trainer is NOT A LOT. Anyone can afford to exercise even once a week.

Every dollar you invest in personal training will come back to you in the form of a beautiful body and time saved. And time is an invaluable resource.

How to choose a mentor?

The last issue I want to talk about is the choice of coach. The first and most important thing is professional education , all kinds of certificates and diplomas. Further, no client is desirable behind him. Read reviews, ask someone's opinion about the person's professional experience.

It is worth remembering about psychological comfort next to a person: is it pleasant to be with him, is there an understanding between you, are you suitable in temperament. It is also important that you are heard and listened to, and in no case impose other people’s desires. Well, the last and most obvious point is that the mentor must be in excellent physical shape.

Choosing the right instructor

As soon as you enter the gym for the first time, you will immediately see the instructors' gaze directed at you. Each instructor immediately sees a new girl who does not understand fitness, whom he can direct to the path of truth (victim).

From my personal experience: from the very beginning of my visits, I was lucky to meet, as it later turned out, a very competent instructor who taught me how to properly work on the machines and perform various exercises.

Then, over the course of a month, instructors passing by me casually told me that I was doing something wrong. Each of them commented on the execution of the exercise in his own way, saying that each other advised incorrectly.

To be honest, it was funny for me to watch all this, their tackles were similar to the wedding dances of peacocks, when each of them tries to convince me that he is better than others in the hope of getting payment from me for his services. This happens not only to me, the instructors also court other clients of the gym in a similar way, I constantly observe this.

MOTIVATION ISSUES

It is difficult for beginners to discipline themselves to engage in bodybuilding. After all, training requires not only time and money, but also changes in lifestyle, the type and quality of nutrition, rest and wakefulness. Many people have to be dragged almost by the collar to the gym; there are always a bunch of excuses and reasons not to go there today. If it’s difficult for you to control yourself, then you can draw another plus in favor of a coach who will push you on during attacks of pathological laziness.

Opinion.

At the moment, the profession of a trainer is discredited, now everyone can complete 2-3 month courses and beat themselves in the chest, claiming that they are a trainer, promote themselves on Instagram and photograph their body and their workouts in order to sell their minimal knowledge of the training process for much more money than they are worth.

Over the past few years, due to the increased market, the fitness industry has required a large number of instructors and trainers, and universities, of course, have not been able to react in such a short time to graduate a sufficient number of specialists. In addition, the requirements for instructors and trainers are not clearly defined by law. In turn, due to such a high demand for trainers, fitness clubs have had to reduce their requirements for specialists and take risks to satisfy the needs of their members. Therefore, be extremely careful when choosing an instructor or trainer and remember that your health is at stake.

Is it possible to become a fitness instructor after 30, 40, 50

Of course yes. You can become a fitness instructor even at 40 years old if you are confident and ready to start from scratch. Don't be afraid to change your profession if your old job doesn't suit you. You will find your audience.

Statistics on the distribution of fitness club visitors by age:

16-24 years old - 22%
25-34 years old - 29%
35-44 years old - 18%
45-54 years old - 14%
55-64 years old - 12%
over 65 years old - 6%

Young people will see you as an experienced mentor they can trust. Peers and older people will feel comfortable working with a person close in age.

Advantages of a coach over 30 years of age:

Experience. Even if you have never worked in a fitness club, you already have life experience. It helps you organize your work schedule more efficiently and act more competently in unusual situations. You understand that you won’t be able to become a good fitness trainer without education, so study with greater dedication.
Responsibility. The instructor is responsible for the life and health of clients, whether individual or group training. With age, a person begins to pay more attention to little things. You will more quickly recognize the first signs of a client's deteriorating condition (eg, hypoglycemia) and help avoid loss of consciousness and injury.
Ability to communicate. You understand others better, anticipate people's reactions to specific statements, and easily maintain a conversation on various topics. Comfortable interaction with clients is a guarantee that the trainer’s schedule will be filled to capacity.

Changing a profession at 30-40 years old, on the one hand, is difficult because you need to maintain your income level. On the other hand, it is much easier than choosing a specialty at 16-18 years old, since there is already a clear understanding of the goal. Anyone who consciously wants to become a fitness instructor studies, gets a job in a prestigious club and quickly raises the earnings bar.

Basic elements of Primal movement

Primal Move's goal is to bring variety to life through playful, beautiful and mindful movement. With improved flexibility and coordination, you'll be able to enjoy everything you enjoy doing. You will be able to unleash your potential that lies deep within you.

Crawl

This is the primary exercise, to which more complex elements are then added. This is a pattern of lateral body movement where you move your opposite arm and leg at the same time.

It is important here that the hips do not sag, and the knees do not rise in a straight path, but to the side.

Trunk coordination

The goal is to connect the body, to begin to use it as a single whole. This part of the workout increases the connection between the upper and lower body so that you can handle heavier loads later.

Energy system development

This is the most intense part of the workout, where the main goal is metabolic preparation. It usually contains jumping for more physical activity.

Wellness training

If you have health problems, it is better not to exercise at all.

T.N.:

People who have contraindications for exercising in fitness centers should pay attention to personal wellness training.

The condition of the musculoskeletal system is affected by stress, a sedentary lifestyle, frequent use of smartphones and incorrect movement patterns, often formed in childhood. In this case, wellness training works great.

A common situation is that a man decides to strengthen his abdominal muscles and form the coveted six-pack. He almost certainly does not think about the fact that the abdominal muscles support internal organs and maintain posture. Let's say this person is a little stooped. If you work on your abdominal muscles without strengthening your back and straightening your posture, your slouch will only get worse. A strong press will pull the ribs down, and therefore the entire vertical line of the body. Other subtleties of training are taken into account for postural asymmetry, chronic diseases, high or low blood pressure, spinal hernia... Independent training can aggravate these problems!

How long does it take to train to become a fitness trainer?

It all depends on the courses chosen and the place of training, as well as the presence or absence of an initial knowledge base of the future trainer. Here are just the approximate terms of training, because each school or training center has its own programs:

first level hatha yoga instructor - 2-week course;

group program trainer - 40 hours;
personal trainer - 70 hours;
CrossFit trainer - 40 hours;
Level 1 gym instructor – 12 hours.

You need to find out the training time for a specific area in each training center. At the end of the training you will have an exam: you need to tell and show everything you have learned.

After basic training, you can always take improvement seminars. They usually last from 4 hours to 2 days. At such seminars you can learn as much useful information as possible and consolidate it with practice.