valstrengthtraining

Why do people train?

People train for a variety of reasons but the most common ones are: to improve one’s health; to look good; to be able to do better in one’s sport or physical activity or job; to feel better; & to also as a means to socialize.

Most of the above reasons can be translated into fitness goals and when translated into fitness goals they can be viewed upon as neurophysiologic responses or adaptations to specific sustained stimulus. Training is the stimulus and the adaptations are the result. One key word is SUSTAINED. For the person to change, the stimulus (in this case- the exercises) should be sustained.

What do Fitness Professionals do?

Fitness professionals, or fitness coaches, would discuss with a client what a client wants- the reason why the client would want to exercise. They would then map out a plan on how to achieve these goals, what to do, how often, how much does one need to do, and what can be other alternatives. The Fitness Professional would make a plan out of what the client wants & needs, what are the available options, the other factors like time availability, preferences, & other conditions. In short, the Fitness Professional would remove some of the obstacles to achieving the client’s goals while at the same time providing some motivation & feedback for the client. A good Fitness Professional creates a positive change in the individual by ensuring that the stimulus is of sufficient magnitude to elicit adaptation and at the same time is sustained. Who accomplishes more, is it a lazy person or a hardworking person? It is the person who can sustain a consistent effort. A Strength and Conditioning Coach is a type of Fitness Professional who work specifically with the athletic population. A Personal Trainer works most of the time with the general population. Sometimes a Personal Trainer trains an individual for an athletic event like a marathon. And a Strength Coach can train individuals not necessarily for competition but for their own fitness goals. It is the one who can establish  a positive working relationship with the client or athlete who can bring about improvement and results.

Will training with the help of a Fitness Professional make a big difference?

Absolutely! To make it simple- training is a science that requires some expertise. Not everyone is highly knowledgeable in this area. It also requires some planning, feedback, motivation, & technical skills. Therefore, another reason why people would not see results in their training is that they do not know how to go about it. It is just like traveling, no matter how much you want to go to another place if you do not have a map & guided instruction on how to go there, you may end up getting lost.

As the name implies- Fitness Professionals are professionals. The best ones invest their time, money, & effort in continuous learning. They would have taken a lot of seminars, workshops, certifications, and continue to spend a lot of time reading and updating themselves in the science of training. They also have very good experience working with clients, athletes, and anyone interested to be healthier, stronger, & better. Most of all- they are but humans with their own inefficiencies but they practice what they preach and they also train themselves.

A scientific Study by McClaran published on 2003 tested 129 clients. The results suggest that one-on-one personal training is effective in increasing the amount of physical activity performed. Humans are humans- we have all these negative and positive traits. We would want to be better but along the way, we can be lazy and come up with all reasons not to train. The Fitness Professional is there to help a willing client achieve his goal and, depending on the client, surpass his known limits and be the fittest he/she will ever be.