Have you thought about the benefits of hiring a personal trainer? If you haven’t worked out in months or even years, it can be hard to know where to start. And if you’re anything like me, then you’ve retired your fitness efforts to a rare thing you do when you suddenly have a burst of motivation (and maybe shame) after scrolling past an attractive model with a killer body on social media.

That twinge of, “damn, I should really get back in the gym” is common, but the execution is a different story. A lot of us try to implement a workout schedule that then falls victim to other priorities. Or we get a spark of inspiration to sign up for a gym membership that we swear we’ll use and…then we don’t.

Motivation is a tricky thing when it comes to moving your body and prioritizing your health, but there are ways to make it easier. For me, hiring a personal trainer was the key to finally following through. Here’s why:  

How Hiring a Personal Trainer Helps You Set Fitness Goals

So maybe you want to “get in shape” or “feel better,” but what does that really mean? These goals are generally abstract and they can leave you directionless when you step into the gym. Setting smaller, more reachable fitness goals is a crucial part of being successful in those larger goals. When hiring a personal trainer, you’ll receive access to a fitness expert who will help you determine what those goals should be.

When I went to my body assessment with Patrick, a personal trainer at X3 Sports, my fitness goals were along the vague lines of “lose weight,” “get toned,” and “feel stronger.” I hadn’t put much thought into the milestones of those goals or what it would look like to reach them. By hiring a personal trainer, I learned that the first step was to do a body composition test. 

As I stepped on the analyzer, which looks a lot like a scale, Patrick printed out my results. The analyzer revealed my fat percentage, fat mass in pounds, BMI, weight, and more. Patrick walked me through what these numbers meant and helped me set a concentrated goal of losing 12.01 lbs in 3 months with personal training sessions twice per week.

With my new, more focused fitness goal set, I finally had clarity on what I was after. Losing a pound a week seemed entirely possible and I felt much more motivated to put in the effort to get there.

When hiring a personal trainer at X3 Sports, you will similarly receive help setting a pointed goal based on your body composition, diet, the time you have to dedicate to working out, and your bigger picture goals. After you have that main fitness goal set, your trainer will work with you in each session to set and achieve smaller goals for things like reps, weight, and endurance. These incremental goals will help you along the way to reaching your ultimate target.

A Personal Trainer Will Educate You On Health and Fitness

You will need a baseline knowledge of health and fitness to stay on track. However, most of us are so busy with work, family, friends, and the daily grind of life that adding a workout plan to our schedule and dedicating additional time to learn about nutrition and targeted exercises can feel unfeasible. 

Thankfully, when hiring a personal trainer, you’ll have a wealth of knowledge right at your fingertips who can easily educate you about health and fitness. With a fitness professional like Patrick as my guide and teacher, I have much more direction in my workouts and diet. Patrick will plan my workouts to target certain areas of my body while explaining to me why this exercise is important.

Similarly, hiring a personal trainer helped me plan my diet and nutrition in a way that maximized impact and led me closer to my goals. Patrick taught me to avoid carbs like pasta and bread on days I don’t work out and to load up on protein on the days that we focus on my legs and back. When hiring a personal trainer, you will receive manageable tips like these without feeling overwhelmed.  

This baseline knowledge of health and fitness will supercharge your fitness journey without you needing to spend hours on research.

Personal Training Gives Your Workouts Structure

Have you ever tried to work out on your own and ended up so sore that you could hardly walk the next day? A lot of us head to the gym and aimlessly start doing reps and exercises that we know how to do (or think we know how to do). While you may have felt like you got a good workout in, going too hard and putting too much stress on your body at once may leave you feeling unmotivated or too sore to go back the next day or the day after.

By hiring a personal trainer and building a well-rounded workout plan, you’ll be able to build muscle and burn calories at a steady rate. A personal trainer gives your workouts structure by planning circuits, weight training, and cardio exercises that deliver an impact on your fitness, without straining your muscles or hurting your body.

Trust me, you will definitely still feel the burn and be sore after a personal training session, but under a guided framework, the fitness payoffs will be much greater.

Hiring A Personal Trainer Will Give You Accountability 

The top reason I wanted to work out with a personal trainer is for accountability. I’m the type of person who would never miss a work deadline or plans I set with a friend, but when I’m left to my own devices in my health and fitness, I will easily skip a workout with whatever excuse I can rationalize at the moment.

According to a study by The American Society of Training and Development, I’m not alone in feeling this way. People are 65% percent likely to meet a goal after committing to another person and their chances of success increase to 95% when they build ongoing meetings with their partners to check in on their progress.

When hiring a personal trainer, you are committing to an accountability partner who will help you follow through with your goals. Your personal trainer will help you stay on track by holding you responsible for showing up to your sessions. 

Beyond just showing up, hiring a personal trainer will also help you squeeze more out of each exercise by giving you encouragement and tips along the way. Patrick will often add reps to my sets if I give a rep less effort or add weight if it looks too easy for me. On your own, you may sacrifice a set to finish early, but a personal trainer gives you that push you need to follow through.

Working out with a personal trainer is an investment in your health and fitness that truly pays off. By hiring a personal trainer, you’ll find the motivation to exercise in a way you never were able to on your own. A personal trainer will help you with the planning, education, structure, and accountability to empower you to your fitness goals. 

X3 Sports’ Qualified Trainers Are Fueled By Data 

At X3 Sports, hiring a personal trainer is a high-value proposition that can greatly enhance your broader fitness goals. Our trainers use a comprehensive individualized dataset to determine exactly the types of training that you should be doing and the type of nutrition that you should be consuming to more efficiently reach your health and wellness goals. With five locations across Atlanta, Athens and Marietta, and convenient gym hours and class times, we meet you where you are, when you’re ready to sweat.

Are you ready to take your strength and weight loss goals to a new level? Are you ready to start feeling more fit, energized and confident? Hiring a personal trainer can rapidly accelerate you toward the body and life of your dreams.

 Schedule your Free Body Assessment today to get started and to see if hiring a personal trainer is right for you. Stop by an X3 location to check out our world-class facilities for yourself. The community at X3 is full of life and energy and we guarantee you that after one class you’ll see the value in dedicating your time and energy to this practice. Book your first class with X3 Sports for free today.