A Few Good Reasons Why You Should Invest in Someone to Make You Exercise

I was at kettlebell bootcamp the other day when one of the ladies was talking about how much she loves this class and that she hated working out before she learned about the joys of kettlebells. She use to hire a personal trainer to work her out but she admitted that half the time she did not show up and let the personal trainer charge her when she missed sessions. She stated that looking back on her experience with a personal trainer, "I will never understand why people would hire a personal trainer." I pondered that question and began a list of reasons why people should invest in a personal trainer and/or a group exercise class like the kettlebell bootcamp I am currently in. Let me know what you think, if your reason is not on the list, please comment and give us your reason:

• MOST PEOPLE BENEFIT FROM MAKING A FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO WORKOUT- Think about it. Most people are more willing to not blow off their workouts if they have already have paid for the sessions in advance. The I am too stressed, to tired, too busy excuses tend to go away. This way you will make yourself go to the class/session since most people do not like to waste their money. This motivates you to go and creates a habit of you getting you exercising. My wife and I are a great example: for a good month we woke up early and worked out with each other at home on our own, then as time marched on getting out of bed got harder and harder. Now with our bootcamp (we made a 4 month commitment to workout) we would be wasting money when we sleep in and my tightass will not allow for that to happen!

• IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN MEDICAL BILLS - A commitment to a group class and/or personal trainer seems expensive, but look at it this way. If your older self could go back in time and talk to you now he/she would kick you in the ass and curse you for not making the investment into your health. Believe me, I have seen way to many individuals now in their golden years who cannot enjoy their retirements because they did not train themselves the way they should have years before. They have a total joint replacement, are out of shape and fat since they can no longer exercise without pain and have poor health since they can no longer exercise or be active. Also now you have less money due to all the medical expenses you wasted your money on. Broke and miserable is no way to go through life.

• SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT AS GOOD AT MOTIVATING THEMSELVES - Most people aren't the greatest at motivating themselves to workout. We need help from a workout partner, a group class with a knowledgeable instructor, or a well qualified personal trainer. These people can get you motivated to workout and can usually push you farther then you ever thought you could push yourself. I know for a fact that this is true with the class I currently attend.

• TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE - You ever worked out in the gym and watched someone do a certain exercise and you cringe at the sight of them working out? Their technique is so poor that you can almost guarantee that they will snap a limb out of place right then and there. That is why there are instructors and personal trainers. They can make sure that you are doing the exercise perfectly. Because if you are not doing perfect reps, you develop bad habits and are going to end up in the doctors office anyways.

• BRING BALANCE TO YOUR LIFE AND BODY - The majority of us have some type of muscle imbalance in our bodies that we do not know about. If you begin an exercise program or train for a new activity (say a half marathon) without putting your body in the correct balance you can do a lot of damage. A good group instructor and/or personal trainer can help determine what weak links you may possess and help you to correct them so you can train/exercise more efficiently with bigger gains and make you less prone to injury. I would advise to anyone that if they want to train for their first ever marathon or 1/2 marathon, they need to get screened for movement imbalances and work with someone on preparing you for training for your upcoming event. Just running alone won't prepare you for a marathon or half-marathon.

• THEY HAVE A PROGRAM, YOU DON'T - Lets face it, we have all done it. We walk into the gym without any type of plan whatsoever. We look around to see what machines (I HATE MACHINE WEIGHTS! but that is for another post) are available and we have no idea how many sets, reps, weights we are going to perform. Every GOOD group instructor/personal trainer can set you up with a program that identifies with your goals be it weight loss, muscle gain, training for a sport, or general fitness. Without that program you are like a gerbil on that wheel, you are definitely doing something ,which is nice, but you aren't getting anywhere doing it.