Many people find Personal Training scary or intimidating but we got the intel from one of Simply Gym personal trainers. Kim Griffin tells us about the physical and emotional benefits of Personal Training and what some of her clients think about having your very own PT. Hiring a Personal Trainer can have a huge positive impact on both your physical and emotional health. Here are just a few examples of the benefits of having a PT in the gym; as I’m the trainer and not a client myself, I thought it was best to ask a few of my clients about some of the benefits they experience from having PT sessions throughout.
PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF PERSONAL TRAINING
GENERAL HEALTH
We know that there are lots of physical benefits of exercising – it can help to prevent and manage disease and age-related declines, such as your cardiovascular, bone and joint and heart health; your cognition and brain functioning; and gastrointestinal and digestive problems. Having a PT can be a great first step towards becoming a healthier person because they can provide you with a personalised training programme that suits you and works around your lifestyle, your job, family and other commitments you have.
AESTHETIC
Whether your goal is to lose body fat, build muscle or to gain weight, it is your PT’s job to guide and teach you the best methods to help you to reach those goals sensibly and effectively. There’s so much information out there about ‘how to lose weight or get toned’ so it’s easy to end up taking a route that isn’t necessarily the best for you, which can stop you from getting the results you want. Instead of worrying about how to train, how long for, the best exercises to do, your technique and so on, you simply follow your PT’s instructions, focus on pushing yourself and get results much faster!
WEAKNESSES/INJURIES/POSTURE
A programme should also be tailored around any injuries or imbalances you may have. A PT will coach you through exercises in the correct way to help you to strengthen any weaknesses or injuries that you experience; whilst avoiding exercises that may cause aggravation and more pain. They can also help you with your posture – so many of us sit down for most of the day nearly every day at work and this can cause an array of postural problems. Your PT can provide you with the correct exercises to strengthen your back and core muscles which can reduce back pain and improve your posture for better functioning in and outside of the gym.
‘I feel for me especially as I’m not confident with weights being taught the correct form and reducing the chance of injury – which was a massive concern of mine.’
EMOTIONAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF PERSONAL TRAINING:
I have a Degree and Masters in Psychology and one thing I notice in the industry is that the mental and emotional health benefits of exercise are often overlooked.
MENTAL HEALTH
Exercising in general, in any form or at any intensity, can have a positive effect on a person’s mental health and well-being. It can help to reduce or manage symptoms of depression and anxiety, and research has found that, for some, exercise can be close in effectiveness to psychological therapies or the use of medication*. I conducted research for my thesis looking at this among university students and found that increasing physical activity helped to reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety, and improved their overall mental well-being.**
*This is not a substitution and you should always discuss your symptoms and treatment plan with your GP or specialist
**If the research side of things interests you and you want to read the work that I did, contact me as I’m happy to send my thesis across to you
CONFIDENCE
Going to the gym can be a scary experience, but having a PT who can guide and motivate you can be a huge help. You can learn a lot from just a couple of sessions with a PT regarding the gym itself, specific exercises, how to reach your goals; they can push you to lift that bit more weight or go for a couple more reps which you may not have done by yourself. This will make you feel more confident, and once you get into a workout regime, your confidence and self-esteem only improves and becomes more positive. Many of my clients start off feeling anxious about meeting me in the reception area of the gym initially, but within a few weeks, are comfortable training by themselves in the gym outside of our sessions and absolutely love it.
‘Helps a lot with my confidence and when I’m confident, I’m happy’
‘A PT helps you to navigate the gym which can be daunting, scary and a bit embarrassing if you are new to this environment, you don’t want to look or feel foolish. It keeps me motivated, as I am answerable to the PT, who in turn gives structured goals, motivation and encouragement, all of which has a positive effect on physical and mental health.’
‘I also feel it’s built my confidence as you know from our sessions, from the start I would only work out in the women’s section and had a complete lack of confidence in pretty much everything I did.’
POSITIVITY
We all get days where we’re not feeling like going to the gym or doing anything but having a Personal Training session booked, can help a lot. It’s an element of your PT’s job to keep you accountable, to motivate and push you, and to help you to feel more positive. You’re more likely to turn up to the gym if you have a session booked in, you can switch off and follow the session that your PT guides you through. You’re guaranteed to leave feeling accomplished which helps to improve your mood tenfold!
‘You support me in the gym and always bring positive energy. I don’t think you’ve ever been any different with me. It’s important to have positive people around you, and you push me to be better and to keep achieving my goals. So I know training with you is always going to be a positive experience.’
‘Personal Training sessions keep me motivated, and I like the fact that I just turn up and get told what to do. No matter how I feel before the session I always come out feeling like I’ve achieved something in the session and worked hard.’
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/KimGriffinPersonalTraining/
kim@kg-pt.co.uk
