How to Improve your Health & The Value of Hiring a Personal Trainer

“In this article I want to share how hiring a personal trainer can ensure that you reach your health and fitness goals while changing your life forever”

I do believe that the greatest gift that we will ever possess is our physical body and we have a great obligation to take care of it. Making the choice to live a healthy and physically fit life is one of the most important decisions you can make. And it is a decision. I would venture to say that many Americans see their physical health as something that they want to improve, but the idea of achieving a body that works for them and something that they can be proud of is a bridge too far to cross. This is very unfortunate because I believe that most of us can radically change the trajectory of our health and physical fitness, regardless of where we are currently at, or how many times we have tried and failed. The sad fact is that most people don’t truly believe in themselves enough or comprehend what they are capable of. I find that this mindset is the main stumbling block when it comes to improving one’s health. The other question that is asked is, “Is what I am going to do worth it?” Growing and improving always generates three things: fear, uncertainty, and discomfort. And the value of hiring a good personal trainer removes much of the fear and uncertainty and ultimately removes the discomfort of not improving to reach your goals.

Before I give the other various reasons of why someone should hire a personal trainer, let me just give you the solution to improving your health and physical fitness. At MECA we call these the 5 pillars of training and transformation. These are the habits that allow our clients to be successful and make progress. So, when it comes to health and fitness there are just a few things that make the difference. Think of it as the 80/20 rule.

They are……

Nutrition – eating a diet based around single ingredient or whole foods
Sleep – getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep nightly
Water Intake – Drinking about ½ your body weight in oz – example a 200-pound person would drink 100oz of water per day.
Resistance Training – 3 to 4x a week
Daily movement – walking 30-60 minutes a day, riding your bike, or playing a sport that you enjoy.
Stretching – 10-15 minutes per night

At the end of the day, that is really it. If you do these things for the next 60-90 days and beyond; you will be a radically different person.

So how does hiring a coach or a personal trainer come into play?

Belief: The greatest gift that I can give as a coach to a client is my belief in them that they can improve and achieve. As a coach, it is easy to do this because I have overwhelming evidence that the people we work with get life changing results. I see this every day. It is what I do and how I have decided to spend my time on this earth. I would also venture to say that if you are in a position of influence or leadership of any kind. One of the greatest things you can do for others is to help them believe in themselves. If you’re a parent, mentor, friend, teammate, co-worker etc. you have this influence. Listening to others with an open mind and giving them the gift of your space and attention is cool. You truly will never know the impact. From personal experience many people have come to me years later and told me that what I said make a tremendous impact on their life for the better. Most of the time, I don’t remember saying anything or much at all, but just listening and being there. Most people just don’t believe in themselves enough and I think that building confidence and belief is the single greatest value a coach has.

Developing a plan of attack and following through: I just gave you the 80/20 on how to transform your health and physical fitness. But what makes progress much faster and perfected is the individualization of the training process. We train humans, not robots! Tailoring a plan to someone’s strengths, weakness, and building habits that fit into one’s lifestyle makes all the difference. When you have a plan and someone to help you execute on the plan; you are setting yourself up for success that might otherwise be unrealistic or impossible to achieve. Many people have financial advisors to help them save for retirement. The same is true for your health when hiring a personal trainer – is that you are building the compounding habits of health and physical strength as you age. Some of us are in a good physical position, while others need a complete lifestyle overhaul to get back on track so we can age well and be physically fit and healthy.

Expertise in the Training Session: for most of us, strength training is a lot like learning a foreign language. When I go to public gyms, most of what I see is not providing the user any benefit and many of the “free weight exercises” is putting the person in danger of an injury. Hiring a personal training ensures, proper exercise execution – which is how to properly perform the exercise with good form and technique. Loading – how to properly and progressively overload the exercise so the muscles are getting stronger, and the brain is learning how to complete the exercise with greater levels of efficiency. And finally, pushing the client 1% beyond what they felt comfortable or capable of that day. This daily effort of reaching beyond what you thought you were capable is one of the best ways to build confidence.

In closing, I love being a personal trainer and strength coach. And I can honestly say that everyone in our organization absolutely loves what they do. Personal training is a fairly new profession. It’s only been around for about 30 years. My favorite part of the job is seeing success and progress from everyone in all walks of life. It takes a special person to want to improve their physical body and have the belief that tomorrow will be better than today. Honestly, thank you for reading this article and giving me your most valuable gift – which is your time and attention. I hope I provided value of the 5 habits to improve your health and a greater understanding of what goes into personal training. At Michigan Elite Conditioning for Athletes (MECA), we provide one on one personal training at our private facilities in Novi, Royal Oak, and Cascade, Michigan. We would love the opportunity to work with you or someone you might know to help to take your health and fitness to the next level.

With Love and Gratitude,