The economy is not good, really. Well, my basis is I’m losing clients left and right. Reasons are mostly due to budget constraints where my clients would prefer to join free classes or do their own exercise routines. One client raised this question to me asking if it is advisable to be one’s own personal trainer?

To be fair, my answer is yes. There is nothing wrong about being one’s own personal trainer. In fact, that would mean a huge savings on your end because you don’t have to pay gym or trainer fees. Having a personal trainer is certainly advantageous because you have someone to check your progress and motivate you always. But, there are also no hard and fast rules saying you should not or cannot be your own trainer.

 To become your own trainer:

You should start by setting goals for yourself. Write them down if it will help you become clearer on what you want to happen. Likewise, ensure that these goals are achievable so it would be easier for you to follow through and you don’t get frustrated. Ensure you plot down timelines and expected results as well because having them will push you to complete your routines on schedule and always with the outcome in mind.

Next step is to find yourself a fitness workout buddy. This person should be someone who is as committed to your goals as you are and not someone who will allow you to “skip” your routines when you don’t feel like working out. He or she may be a friend or anyone you trust. The whole point here is for you to feel a sense of accountability – to your goals, your schedules, and your expected results.

After you lay down your initial plans, consider also the food you eat. Do you need to follow a certain diet in order to achieve your goal? Should you eat more or less of a particular food group? What lifestyle changes need to be changed? Of course, all these depend largely on what you want to happen. You might want to consult a dietician to know which foods would complement your exercise routines if you want to, say, lose unwanted pounds.

Most important of all, whether it is weight loss or weight gain or firmed up muscles that you are after, never forget to perform your exercises. Find ways on how you can increase opportunities to exercise through different types of activities. Weight loss is still unsuccessful if you indeed lost weight, but in the end, gained flabby arms. It does not have to be an hour’s worth of exercise, but at least, you have to ensure that you’re not a potato couch everyday. Move and work out those muscles and soon, you’ll see, without the help of a trainer, you still get the same result.

I have been going to the gym for quite some time now and I have learned that there are 5 important elements that my fitness program must contain. These elements will keep me in shape and healthy as long as they are in my fitness program. So ask yourself, does your fitness training program have these essential components to get you going and healthy in any way? Here is a list of important fitness program elements that will lead to a well-rounded training program.

Cardio-Pulmonary
The most important thing to have in any activity or exercise is to have a healthy heart. Without it, you cannot undergo any intense fitness training or you will have difficulties performing even simple activities of daily living. So, in able to have that healthy heart, you must also have healthy lungs. Heart and lungs go together because if one is not in perfect shape, then the other one might not be able to perform its function very well. This type of exercises is very important especially to those people who have history of cardiac diseases. Simple walking, running, cycling, swimming or any kind sports can improve the ability of your heart and lungs to do their jobs. Others also believe that this type of workout helps you control your stress level.

Flexibility and Core Strength
Have you seen that all athletes need some stretching exercises before engaging into any kind of sports or any form of intensive exercises? Well, stretching is very important to prevent injuries not only to our muscles but also to our bones, ligaments and tendons. It also allows those joints and muscles to be flexible enough to avoid any spasm or stiffness.

          

Strength
This form of exercise is used to get those muscles powerful and strong while staying slim and healthy. Weight-lifting is one of the activities under this fitness training. You need to start from lifting light weight gym equipment, such as dumbbells, to gradually increasing those weights. Persons who are engaged into this type of workout needs to take a lot of protein in their diet. Protein helps to build and repair damaged muscle tissues. And because our muscles are expanding during strength exercises, protein prevents injury to these muscles.

Rest And Relaxation
One of the most important components in fitness training that is often neglected is rest and relaxation. Your body needs to have a time to workout and at the same time a period of rest. Your body needs to regain those energy lost during exercise. Relaxation on the other hand lets your body and mind to loosen up and unwind.

Nutrition
Most people are not aware of what they are eating. Nutrition is important to include in any fitness program because having the right kinds of food will provide the proper nutrients needed by our body. Calories, for one, are considered necessary because they are like fuel that produces the much needed energy by our body. However, any food should be taken in moderation because too much intake might result to weight gain.

Well, ask yourself again. Does your fitness training program have all the crucial elements needed? If not, then better have a program that will incorporate everything mentioned above so that you will have a healthy body and life.