What your personal trainer wants you to know

WHAT YOUR personal trainer wants you to know

In my role at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness I talk to prospective clients daily about committing to a healthy lifestyle.  People have so many ideas of what trainers do, what trainers think, and what it is like to be a part of a fitness facility.  It takes a lot of guts to walk in the front door.

I had a lot of those thoughts myself – I did not grow up in the fitness industry.  I have a Masters in Business Administration.  I married into this crazy beautiful world and I am so glad I did.  What I have learned is that personal trainers are some of the most kind, caring, and compassionate people you will ever meet.

I asked our trainers last week what they want you to know.  Our senior, trainer, Katie Norwood wants you to know that trainers are not here to judge you.  Schaeffer Grierson wants you to know that she is 100% on your team.  Mike Wilcox wants you to know that healthy living doesn’t need to be so hard.

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Most people are very nervous about joining a fitness facility.  Trainers are so used to this.  Most of the clients that we see are people that haven’t worked out in a long time, or have never worked out in their lives.  If you knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t need us!  We want you to know that we are not here to judge you.  Our job is to encourage you, motivate you, and help you feel safe, confident and comfortable as you are working out.

These are the common concerns we hear from our new clients…

What if I can’t do the exercises?   No problem – my job is to find exercises that you can do that will still challenge you.  You will be able to do the exercises I choose for you.  If not, I will modify the movements to ensure that you are successful.  We are going to start slow and build the foundation from the ground up.  Getting started in a new training program, I am going to give you the time to reconnect to your body.   My best advise to you is to give yourself grace as you are getting started in a new training program before getting discouraged.

What if I can’t make it through a workout?  It is my job to create workouts that match not just your goals, but what your body can handle. We  will check in with you throughout the workout and if something feels too challenging, say so. As a trainer, I also watch you closely and que into your breathing and other signals and will encourage you to take a break and come back to the exercise when you have recovered.  You are going to get much more out of a workout by using proper form than by powering through and killing yourself.  PS: my goal is not to kill you in any workout.  I do want you to work hard but I want you to feel great when you leave our session.

What will my trainer think of me?  A relationship with a personal trainer is… very personal.  We are going to be digging into all aspects of your life that are very personal.  How often is it appropriate for a person to ask you what you had for breakfast, or how much water you drank yesterday, and maybe even (gasp…) what your pee looks like.  We want to know what is going on in your life and how everything is going for you.  We are going to ask questions about your exercise and eating habits. This  may make you feel vulnerable –  revealing those answers, but we are not to judge you.  We just want to help you achieve your goals and be your best self.

Remember this:
– You’re stronger than you think you are
– You know more than you think you do
– It gets easier with time and practice

Also remember, it is ok to feel every emotion possible. It is ok to look silly during an exercise.  You probably will… we look silly when we try new things, and if you don’t, you’re not doing it right.  Trust me, we have seen everything – you can’t scare us, you can’t surprise us.  We are the least judgemental people you may ever meet. We want to better your life and make you feel comfortable in every situation life hands you. When you struggle, it is our job to give you the confidence to overcome that obstacle. No one is perfect at every exercise and if they were, they wouldn’t gain anything – being perfect is not the point.  Life is all about evolution and growth.  Let us show you how fun it is to try something new that you didn’t think you could do.

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Your success is my success.  Truely.  My job as a trainer is to cheer you on and challenge you to live your very best life. Whether you are working towards a specific goal or are just trying to be the best and healthiest version of yourself I will always be that person on your team who has your back.

Your success as a client is my success as a trainer, when I see someone hold their first plank or nail their first squat with perfect form I am cheering out loud and am so proud of that person. When embarking on a health and fitness journey it is scary, things are changing in your body and your mind and you may feel like there is no one who understands but we do.  We see people making these beautiful transformations on a daily basis.  It is the best part of our job.

If there is one thing I like to remind our clients – you are not alone.  As your trainer, I will be there every step of the way. As a client you, feel comfortable telling your trainer when you are struggling or have a slip up.   That way, we will be able to reach out and help you stay motivated to fight to overcome obstacles throughout your health and fitness journey.

The moments when you think you just can’t hold on for one more second we will be there to remind you that you are strong enough and you have it in you.  We also have enough experience to know when your  body needs to rest. I believe in you, now all you have to do is believe in yourself!

trainer profiles for blog

Healthy living doesn’t need to be that hard or complicated if you follow a few simple habits on a daily basis.  I am not saying that these habits are easy to implement into your daily life.  I am saying the habits are simple.  See the blog on Habits for Massive Impact.  These are the habits that we are talking about: eating breakfast, nourishing yourself throughout the day, eating whole foods only, drinking water, and getting active.

When you are developing these habits, it is important to give yourself time to make the changes.   I see people get frustrated all of the time when attempting to improve their healthy lifestyle.  Sometimes expectations are incredibly high or setbacks can derail the best of intentions.  Just like any other aspects of our lives, being healthy takes a bit of practice.  As a trainer, it hurts to see clients beat themselves up over not being perfect.  The most important aspect is that you are TRYING and that you are unwilling to give up or give in.  And when we consistently try, we get better!  Whether it’s eating the right way, or accomplishing a feat at the gym.  Often, if things do not go according to plan, the tendency is to get frustrated, degrade oneself, or just give up all together.  Learning to prepare & cook food, schedule & stick to a exercise plan can change your life but it takes time…  You are going to make mistakes along the way – the first time that you cook quinoa, it may turn out like goo – the key is to roll with it, learn from your mistakes, laugh a little and move on.

It’s important to understand that most people who live a consistent, healthy lifestyle have worked hard over time to develop skills and habits.  These skills and habits are what makes healthy living simple.

Get your head right… I say this with the utmost respect. Healthy Living, just like any other aspect of our lives is as difficult or as easy as we tell ourselves it is.  There are many reasons people do not make their health a priority.  People are so busy these days – we have time constraints, financial limitations, family obligations, and careers to manage.  Often times our health and fitness falls to the bottom of the list of priorities.  We must work to remind ourselves daily that when you take care of your health, you are improving the quality of all other aspects of your life.

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There you have it – What your trainer wants you to know.  I hope that through this article you were able to find one common theme – these trainers truly care about their clients.  They care about helping you live your very best life.  They are 100% on your team, they want you to be successful, they don’t care to judge you, and they want to show you that healthy living doesn’t have be be so hard.

If you want to hear more from our trainers, send us your burning questions and we will answer them in future blog posts.  We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Happy Training!

Paige

Join our Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/
Join our private Facebook Group – Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness.  We created this Facebook group to create a community of like minded individuals supporting each other in pursuit of their health and fitness goals. This is a place for you to ask questions, share resources, build relationships, support each other, and celebrate each other’s wins. We will be posting in here daily all things healthy living. You will learn the strategies and techniques that we have used to help our clients live their very best healthy life.

Learn more about our KickStart Program!
http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/kickstart.html
The KickStart Program is designed to help you form healthy habits that you can sustain for a lifetime.  The program includes 14 group personal training sessions and a complete whole foods based meal plan.  Click the link above to learn more.

Schedule a call
http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/lets-get-started-consultation.html
Getting serious about achieving your health and fitness goals this year?  Awesome!  This isn’t our first rodeo – we have a proven path to help people achieve their very best life and form healthful habits that they can sustain for a lifetime.  Click the link above to schedule a no obligation call with me to chat about your health and fitness goals.

Paige Wilcox

About Paige Wilcox

This blog, Inspire Healthy Living is focused on actionable strategies for healthy living that are going to make a major impact on your life. I will be working with our trainer team to cover a broad range of health and fitness topics that can be easily integrated into your daily life. At Wilcox Wellness & Fitness, we are passionate about helping people live their very best life and we believe that the foundation for your best life starts with a commitment to healthy living.