The next level

Liz Parry finds out the benefits behind working with a personal trainer

If you’re looking to transform your body and your fitness routine, but don’t know where to start, a personal trainer could help to put you on the right track. Even the most seasoned gym-goer could benefit from some guidance and input from a professional.

“The right personal trainer will formulate a training programme that is specifically created for your body, age, dietary restrictions and goals,” says Akash Vaghela, senior personal trainer at UP City, London (www.upfitness.co.uk). “This will ensure that the possibility of you achieving the result you desire turns from a ‘maybe’ to ‘definitive’. A personal trainer is accountable for you and your results and the right personal trainer will be deeply invested in the outcome of your training.”

“Whilst you can get amazing results on your own, for most people the reality is that they need someone to work with in order to push themselves past their natural sticking points and forwards to reaching their full potential,” adds Keith McNiven, founder of Right Path Fitness (www.rightpathfitness.co.uk). “Having a personal trainer to track and monitor your every move, providing encouragement all the way, is the quickest and most efficient way to achieve this.”

Taking it to the next level

So, what are the benefits of working with a personal trainer as opposed to just working out at the gym?

“The main benefit is that a personal trainer will take your workouts to the next level by devising a personalised programme for you that is specifically tailored towards your unique goals and capabilities,” says Kevin. “But they will also make sure that you get every element of that unique programme right, by offering constant instruction and guidance to ensure that every minute you put into your workouts is maximised to getting the results you want.

“Above and beyond that, a personal trainer will motivate and push you to achieve more than you could ever have achieved on your own. There’s also nowhere to hide! The extra accountability when you have a personal trainer stood beside you monitoring your every move is an amazing motivator. All this helps to push you further and to get better and quicker results than you could ever hope to achieve on your own.”

“Building the physique of your dreams is never just about the time you spend in the gym,” adds Akash. “The nutrition and the food you eat has never been more important if you are truly serious about making a change. Having a personal trainer to create, develop and adjust your food plan during your training will have a tremendous impact on you achieving the best result possible.”

Forging the right relationship

“The most important thing is to meet the trainer as soon as possible,” says Kevin, “as you’ll be relying on them to motivate and drive you on to achieving your fitness goals. It’s important that they have the right personality for you and that it’s someone who you can forge the required relationship with.

“Aside from that, make sure you carefully check the trainer’s credentials and qualifications – you need evidence that they have the right knowledge and skill-set for the specific goals that you want to achieve. Ask if they have worked with clients that want to achieve the same things as you, and ask for specifics of how they helped previous clients achieve these goals. On a more practical level, you should consider things like cost, availability and location of the person who would be training you – the best results from personal training come with consistency and you can only achieve this if it’s quick and easy enough for you to attend the required sessions each week and fit them into your schedule and lifestyle.”

Case Study

“I feel happier than I have in years”

Rose, a 31-year-old London operations director, lost 27lbs and almost halved her body fat after 16 weeks of working with a personal trainer. Rose had struggled with her weight for years and this was causing her great unhappiness. She decided to take definitive action by signing up to a personal training programme with Ultimate Performance.

She said: “My confidence was rock bottom, I didn’t feel myself and had even stopped going to certain social events because I was so self-conscious of the way I looked.”

Rose admits she initially felt “terrified”, but soon found herself enjoying the training.

She said: “It felt good to get a sweat on, work to my max for a full hour and then be able to feel the benefits of it for the following few days. My sessions were during the day, and as work was two minutes away, I did this three times a week over my lunch hour.”

Having completed the programme, Rose is delighted with the results. “It’s changed me completely,” she said, “both in the way I look, but also in the way I feel about myself. Before I started, I (without sounding too dramatic) was a shell of the person I knew I could be – and this transformation got my confidence back. It feels great to be eating sensibly (not unhealthy or extreme dieting), going the gym and having a balanced approach. Mentally, I feel happier than I have in years.”

For more information, visit www.upfitness.co.uk

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