The amount of options to choose from within the fitness industry may seem daunting. However, if you understand where you want to go, and the pros and cons of each service, aligning the right service, to your end goal will be a much simpler process.
Why does this matter???
GAINZZZ
Seriously though, if you choose the right option, versus something that isn't right for you, could be the difference between gaining 8 pounds of muscle and losing 10 pounds of fat, like a recent Central Athlete client testimonial within a year!
Personal training has been the de facto option for people wanting a customized fitness experience, but Is personal training the best option for YOU?
Our Founder, Jesse O'Brien, dives into some of the lesser known reasons why you should reconsider personal training.
1. No backend support - In order to truly progress from a physiological perspective, you have to look at fitness, beyond just training. Prototypical personal training is an exchange of money and a specific unit of time between the coach and client. This places a heavy emphasis on training and neglects aspects such as: stress management, sleep, nutrition, behavior and recovery.
2. Low value - At Central Athlete, we charge $115 per session for a personal training session. This MAY be the right vehicle for some people, but only high net-worth individuals may be able to afford this service, relative to the amount of time necessary to reach their goals. If this person needs to train four times per week, it will not only cost in excess of $1800 per month, but there is no backend support to truly help this person to reach their potential.
3. Not "teaching a man to fish" - I'll give you an example of a former client whom I trained for the better part of five years in is garage, lets call him Earl. Earl was 55 years old, weighed 220 pounds at 5'8" and built a garage gym where I would train him for three mornings per week for an hour. Each morning we would have a specific warm-up, move into our resistance training and then end with some easy aerobic work. The problem was, was that I (the coach) was necessary for him to wake up and train in the morning. Without me, he wasn't motivated to workout. I was the necessary linchpin to instruct each movement again and again every morning, three times per week for five years. In the end, I realized I had done the client a disservice by not letting him take ownership of his fitness journey as I slowly stepped away to move into more of a supporting role. Earl's progress was great for periods of time, but I ultimately left Earl in the same physical condition as when we first began.
4. Geographical limitations - If you are out of town, how are you going to have your personal training session? If you travel, which most everyone does, why does this need to affect your fitness? If consistency is the number one variable associated with positive client outcomes, why is't personal training aligned for this necessary part of life?
5. Sustainability - The sustainability of the fitness model you subscribe to, needs to be viewed from both the client's perspective as well as the coaches'. Where will the client be in one, three and five years? Same goes for the coach. Do you want to spend every other year searching for a new fitness option as your fitness deteriorates, or do you want to find the last fitness program you will ever need?
Central Athlete is proud to be pioneering Individually Designed Fitness. If you are searching for the last fitness program you will ever need, we can help you to investigate how adopting a new model of fitness will transform your body, movement and overall well-being.