Having a goal to “Get Fit” can mean so many different things. Most people want to lose weight. You might also want to build muscle, get stronger, or even fix a muscle imbalance. When you step into a gym to try and work toward these goals, it is very common to feel overwhelmed, with no clue about where to start. Many people turn to a social media page or a YouTube channel for inspiration and direction. While you can make significant progress with these resources, if you feel like you are flying blind in the gym, one of the best things you can do is work with a personal trainer.

A personal trainer, specifically one certified through an accredited program, can provide numerous benefits including expert guidance, injury prevention, variety in your gym routine, and accountability, as well as information for parts of your fitness goals outside of the gym, like diet and recovery.

There is a common joke among gym enthusiasts, “Any exercise can be a lower back exercise if you do it wrong enough.” A personal trainer can act as a second set of eyes during your workout, providing the correct exercises to meet your goals, as well as ensuring that these exercises are performed correctly. In addition to any goal you might have, a personal trainer can help you maximize your time spent in the gym by providing exercise queues, tips, and warm up techniques to help you prevent injury both inside and outside the gym.

One flaw you might find, should you take the route of following a workout routine you found on the internet, is that it can get boring very quickly, and you might quit if you aren’t excited to workout. A personal trainer can keep your workouts interesting, with different exercise variations that still align with your goals. The added time and financial commitment when you get a personal trainer can help you stay consistent with your effort, even when you normally might not feel like it.

Any physical goal, like losing weight or gaining muscle, will require more than just the correct exercise in the gym. The gym is actually less than half the battle. You also need to consider nutrition and recovery. These are areas that a good personal trainer will know about. Your trainer could provide you with recommendations on changes to make in your diet, how to increase the effectiveness of your sleep, and even some vitamins and supplements to help you reach your goals.

A trainer can do a lot to motivate you in your fitness journey, but the discipline to keep going and to do the things required to reach your goals ultimately comes from within. Your trainer cannot eat the protein for you, or get enough sleep for you, and certainly cannot lift weights and do the cardio for you. The JCC has personal trainers with expertise in these areas and are ready to help you achieve your goals! If you are interested in working with a trainer, send an email to fitness@slcjcc.org to get started.