Getting Fit: Personal trainers and what they can do for you

Is it really necessary to pay someone to tell you how to do press-ups? No, but one-on-one training can motivate you to reach your fitness goals. And it’s no longer the preserve of vain celebrity millionaires

As we edge out of winter, no doubt your mind and soul are ready for the sunshine. But how about your body? If the obvious answer involves splashing out on a gym membership, how can you be sure you’ll stay inspired to use it? Well, celebs like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow found a solution ages ago, and it’s one that has now become affordable to us mere mortals: hire a personal trainer.

What is personal training?

One-on-one exercise sessions, otherwise known as personal training, have their roots in post-War professional sports coaching where individual attention to training was crucial for winning. Years later, this practice came into its own in the States, Australia and South Africa where a personalised service was offered to non-athletes. By the 1980s, health and fitness centres were popping up all over the UK and trainers were being called into the homes of the fashionable and wealthy. Nowadays, personal trainers aren’t just hired by those who can’t bear sweating in public, but by people who know lack of motivation is the main reason they can’t get fit.

What is a personal trainer?

A personal trainer is an exercise instructor or sports coach with a high level of experience and advanced qualifications in areas relating to fitness assessment, exercise programming, diet and weight management, injury prevention and rehabilitation. A personal trainer should only practise in fields where he or she is qualified.

The key difference between a trainer and a basic level instructor is the ability to adapt programmes to individual needs and to prescribe safe and effective exercises for specific health problems such as osteoporosis or diabetes. But no matter what fitness goals you have, your trainer’s expertise should be your first concern.

What to expect from your first session

The main advantage of hiring a personal trainer is to get a safe and realistic fitness programme tailored to your specific goals. The initial consultation is key: when the trainer determines your fitness levels and health history, he or she will help you set both short and long term aims and then devise an appropriate programme to meet them. Any good trainer should take a heart rate count, blood pressure reading, flexibility assessment and a gauge of lung functionality. If you have any specific concerns or requirements, from general weight loss to a post-pregnancy shape up, they should be addressed here.