By Matt Gregory
If you’re on a quest to get physically fit and in overall better shape, you have two options: go it alone and do it off your own back. Or hire a personal trainer to help you along and professionally advise you. Personal trainers are, no doubt, the pricier option. In contrast to a gym membership that you pay monthly, a personal trainer is typically paid by the hour – usually at a similar rate to a monthly gym membership fee.
You may well have debated hiring a personal trainer, but you’ve probably wondered if they’re actually worth it. Well, wonder no more as we explore if it’s worth paying the extra money.
Price
The biggest thing that usually puts people off hiring a personal trainer is, as mentioned, the inflated price. At face value, you’re paying more for what is, essentially, less.
With a gym membership, you can attend the gym and use its facilities as many times as you like during the month, and you can stay as long as you like. You’ll have access to a wide range of quality-made US, EU or UK Gym Equipment, and you can use all of it should you so wish.
In the case of personal trainers, you’ll be given an allotted time frame, usually an hour, to complete your workout. You might get a gym membership included, depending on if your personal trainer works for the gym in question and what their contract is. If not, you may have to pay separately if you want to use the gym outside your person training sessions.
The costs can quickly mount up, but you need to weigh up what you’ll be getting for your money in order to decide if it’s worth it for you.
Timeframe
For those looking to get fit, they likely want to do so quite quickly. When you pay for a gym membership, you’ll be left to your own devices. If you’re not an expert in physical activity, you probably won’t know how to construct a cohesive gym routine. Meaning you may bounce between equipment, hoping to get the best results as quickly as possible. The issue is, without a proper, structured plan, you’ll likely find it takes a while to see any differences.
Personal trainers are experts in their field and will ask you what results you’re hoping to achieve. They will then put together a plan based on your results. With a professional at your disposal, you will be pushed harder and achieve results faster. Allowing you to get where you want to be in a shorter timeframe.
So, if you’re looking to get fit in time for a special occasion, such as a wedding or holiday, a personal trainer might be the way forward.
Additional Advice
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of hiring a personal trainer is that you’ll get both fitness guidance and nutritional advice. The vast majority of personal trainers will ask you to fill in a food diary after asking you what your goals are. They’ll do this so that they can help you maximize your results. After all, if you’re putting in the physical effort but your diet isn’t quite right, you could be hindering your efforts.
A personal trainer can help you improve your overall lifestyle. This isn’t necessarily something you’ll get at the gym. The internet does have advice, but it’s not always the most reliable and health and fitness tends to be personal to each person, so what’s online may not work for you.
We hope we’ve helped you to narrow down your decision between a gym and a personal trainer.
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