Monique Rana - Five tips on getting the most from your Personal Trainer (part 1)

If you’ve ever hit a plateau in your workouts sessions, there are many ways of getting you to the next level. One of them is to invest in a Qualified Personal Trainer (PT) with experience, which can take your goals to the next level and get you the results you are after (within reason). However, Personal Trainers are not “genies” and cannot “magically” transform your body, if your goals are unrealistic and or you are not playing your part in achieving them then you will set yourself up for disappointment.

Below are some tips that can keep you getting the most from your PT:

• Book an Initial Consultation: Your Personal Trainer should go through your fitness goals, expectations and medical history with you. If you have suffered a heart attack, recently had surgery, have high cholesterol or high blood pressure and are on medication, then a Doctors Certificate maybe required. Exercise will definitely help with high blood pressure, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Be honest with your Trainer so he/she can give you a safe and effective workout. The initial consultation is generally not a workout session.
  
• Block book your sessions: If you have had an awesome workout session with your Personal Trainer after the first time, then pre-book a block of times with him/her and commit to your workouts. Good Personal Trainers get booked out fairly quickly, so schedule your sessions into your smartphone or diary and show up for your workouts. Most Personal Trainers/Gyms have a cancellation policy of 12-24 hours.
  
• Be on time: Or better still arrive 10 minutes earlier so you can get your warm-up in, ready for your workout with your PT. If you run late then you are eating away at your time and money with your PT, taking your 30-minute session to 20 minutes. Personal Trainers (PT) can’t afford to run late with you, as this will throw out their whole days schedule for other clients.
  
• Cut the chitchat: Catching up on how you felt after your last training session is beneficial to you and your PT to going forward. However constant talking is not productive. You need to be focused on the exercise at hand and any PT worth their weight in gold will not encourage conversation until after the session or stretching phase. You are there to workout not chit-chat.
  
• You are what you eat: No amount of exercise can hide the evidence of a poor diet. They don’t say that “abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym,” for nothing. If your PT has written up a balanced nutrition plan, then stick to it. Commit to a “healthy lifestyle,” when you make small changes to your whole lifestyle, they will become part of who you are and you’ll never have to “diet” again.