A month or so after I started working with the Performance Project team back in July last year, I hired one of the guys, Nick to train me for two sessions each week.
For about 5 months we worked through a full body weights program designed to suit my goals and I followed a nutrition plan Nick set for me.
Some people have asked me why a personal trainer would hire a personal trainer.
Surely I can set and do my own workouts?
Why would I need to pay someone else to do it?
The truth is that up until working with Nick I had never been great at setting and doing my own workouts.
Come to me wanting to lose weight and I’ll be brimming with enthusiasm to create the perfect plan for you, but when it comes to myself, the motivation has often been waaay lower.
I’m not your stereotypical personal trainer who has lived in the gym since the age of 13, drinking vegetable juice and protein shakes and loving nothing better than to train every day.
I stumbled into personal training as a career, but I fell in love with it because I realised it gave me the chance to make a real difference and help people change their lives (sounds VERY corny I know but is the truth 🙂
Up until that point I had barely set foot in a gym, let alone been enthusiastically participating in regular workouts.
I played football twice a week but that was about it.
Since becoming a personal trainer 6 years ago, I’ve trained regularly in the gym but never to anywhere near the extent of what I could.
I would set a program and stick to it for a few weeks, but then get bored, or start testing out another method I’d read about.
In my own sessions I would work hard at times but there were many more times when I could have squeezed a couple of extra repetitions out, done a couple more sets, or had a little less rest.
Sometimes I would pass up the opportunity to train and go and do some reading instead.
Why?
Because like most people, training on my own, in an effective enough way to get results, is hard work!
On your own, it can often be not much fun at all. I would be standing there doing my own session thinking ‘God this isn’t much fun, why don’t I stop a bit early and go and have lunch’.
Training with Nick, I didn’t have to think about my program; he set me one, constantly monitored my progress and adjusted as necessary.
He was there telling me when he knew I could lift more, and he kept me on track so I could see how I was improving, rather than straying off to do a different routine because I fancied a change. Just having someone to be accountable to each week made a HUGE difference.
My training improved massively in those 5 months. I got to the strongest and leanest I’ve ever been and got a real buzz out of each weights progression I made.
These are some of the benefits I aim to help my clients feel when they work with me.
I stopped training with Nick after 5 months as I’d got to a point where it was now easy to keep going and progressing myself. My fire had been lit after seeing such great results and I’m training myself 3 times a week now. On a progressive program and still getting a little stronger every session.
Hiring Nick as my trainer was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Along with everything else, it also benefited and improved me as a coach.
I learned new methods from Nick’s extensive knowledge, and experienced what it is like to be coached by someone else.
In today’s world, staying in shape, eating the right foods in the right amounts, and training to improve your figure is not easy.
It requires discipline and hard work at times and having a coach to keep you accountable, motivate you, encourage you to do more and show you the best way to reach your goal makes a huge difference.
So if you’re struggling to achieve the results you’re after, I’d really recommend investing in a coach, even for a short space of time, to learn the tools you need for success.
If you’re local to Haywards Heath or interested in having an online coach, contact me here to find out more.
May 23