The Benefits Of Using A Personal Trainer

If you are looking to make positive changes to your health and wellbeing then working with a Personal Trainer could be the difference between making that change or staying the same. Too many of us are overweight, sedentary, unfit and losing our mobility day by day. There is no truer saying in the health and fitness world, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”

The average office worker will be sitting for 67 days a year at work, that is not including sitting at home or sleeping. Sedentary lifestyles can lead to weight gain and obesity, which in turn can lead to health complications like type 2 diabetes, some cancers, cardiovascular diseases and shortens our lifetime. There are also the effects being overweight and unfit can have on our mental health too. In the UK 63.8% of the population are either overweight or obese, this is a scary statistic for someone who has worked in the health and fitness industry since 2010.

In general, we all know that we should move more and eat healthy foods, but our lifestyle choices seem to come with many hurdles in our way, and the short cuts around these tend to be the unhealthy choices. I have had many a consultation where I have listened to the individual saying they want to lose weight, they tell me about the foods they are eating and the lack of movement they are currently applying to their lives, yet when advice is offered of “lets make a few tweaks to your diet and exercise” straight away they snap back with “I know all that”. Well, if you know it, it’s simple, apply that knowledge and make the changes.

That may sound a bit harsh, but it is the truth. Too many of us do know what we need to do to eat healthier and move more, yet still we don’t. There are bad habits and barriers stopping many of us from seeing the changes we want and need to make happen. Working with a Personal Trainer can help if any of the following are holding you back from making the changes you desire.

• I don’t have time – If you have a full time job, home to run, kids to sort and a hundred and one other things going on in your life it can seem that way. But a good Personal Trainer will help you organise your time and priorities you and your health. Remember, it’s just 30-60 minutes 3-5 days a week you need to find. That’s a maximum of 5 hours out of 168. When you put it like that it seems very achievable.

• Lack of resources – If you don’t have any equipment and are not a member of a gym no problem. A good Personal Trainer will usually have their own equipment and if there is a floor beneath your feet the human body can be the most versatile resource you have.

• Lack of confidence – We all suffer at times with low confidence but having the support of someone who has a can-do attitude, a non judgemental approach and starts you off with exercises that are suited to you and your level will change this very quickly, especially when you start to see your progress and hitting those goals!

• Lack of motivation – Seeing results, enjoying what you do and building that rapport with a Personal Trainer will soon quash this problem. A good Personal Trainer is a great motivator, they get to know you and what makes you tick, help you set realistic and specific goals, and they believe in you and your potential. They also make your training hard but fun, something you look forward to doing rather than wishing you were somewhere else.

• Fear of injury – Most injuries that occur with exercise are due to improper technique, overtraining or progressing too quickly. A good Personal Trainer will teach the fundamentals and make sure your technique is correct (that’s why there are mirrors in the gym, not for posing or perving), rain you in if you are doing to much and slow you down if you are trying to run before you can walk.

• Certain health conditions – If you have an injury or health condition that may be affected by exercise then my advice here would be to make sure the Personal Trainer you are working with is qualified in these areas. Injury rehabilitation or a GP referral qualifications are a good starting point. Also do they work closely with any other professionals like a good physiotherapist who you could work with as well.

• The cost – This is an interesting one, especially with the cost of living crisis we all face now in 2025. Our health should be right up there as one of the main areas we are willing to spend money, but if tends be lower down the pecking order. I’ve had potential clients tell me £40 an hour is too expensive, yet they will think nothing of having 10 pints at the weekend, or 2 take aways a week, or a take away coffee each day etc etc. This one comes down to what your priorities are, and having a chat/consultation with a Personal Trainer can help you to see the long term benefits of investing in your health and wellbeing, but you should never put yourself in financial difficulties if it does genuinely become too much. You can always take a break and pick up once you are on top of your finances, and a good Personal Trainer would recommend you take a break should this happen.

There are many other benefits too to working with a Personal Trainer, like variety in sessions and new exercises, fun training you enjoy with new ideas, accountability to someone and in most cases a new friend you trust and can confide in. So, if you are someone who wants to improve their health and wellbeing but are not sure where to start, just need someone to be accountable to or are being held back by any of the above reasons then have a chat with one of us. Don’t go with the first one you come across if you are not sure about them or feel you may not get on with them. For advice on this, read my blog on 7 tips to help you pick a PT that’s right for you.