Why Personal Trainers CAN'T Motivate You!*

Friday, 10 April 2020, By Nathan Weidemann


First, the Truth and numbers that show how Personal Trainers CANNOT motivate you.
- Almost 2 in 3 Australian adults (63%) were overweight or obese in 2014-15
- 1 in 2 Australian adults aged 18-64 years (52%) are not sufficiently active
- 1 in 4 Australia Children aged 2-17 years were overweight or obese in 2014-15

- Approx. 3 new Health Facilities open up each month
- 24/7 gyms have increase by 26% in last 3 years
- 8,163 new Personal Trainers are registered each year
- Industry revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.3%

You have to stop and think about those numbers. Australia's obesity is rapidly increasing and in-line with the rapidly increasing rate of new fitness centre and revenue for the industry. This numbers are becoming frankly, ridiculous! 

The easiest way to summarise is we've become a tech savvy country which means majority of what we do is sedentary. Along with an increase in console gaming for children, combined with a fast paced society were the local drive thru isn't fast enough, we now resort to food ordering thru apps which a generally high calorie dense. Simply... we're moving less and consuming more!

If you see a Personal Trainer a couple times a week, this generally equates to less than 1% of your week! So, what happens for the remaining 99% of the week? 
What happens when you've had a stressful day at work? What happens when you're exhausted from running around with the kids? What happens when you go out for dinner with friends and family? What happens when work brings around food treats? What happens when you're travelling constantly for work?

Unfortunately these scenarios are where a lot of people get caught out and their Personal Trainer has very little control over what you do next. 

In the beginning with a Personal Trainer you'll be excited to make some changes and break some poor habits, however eventually old habits can start to creep back in and when it all gets "too hard", most give up! The mind is the most powerful organ in your body, what needs to be mastered is self-motivation Vs being motivated.

The role of a Personal Trainer is constantly changing and being required to adapt to the lifestyle changes clients go thru.
Three key components Personal Trainers today must master to ensure the long term success of their clients
1) Understanding their clients lifestyle and how to tailor a training plan to fit their life, forever!
2) Guiding and supporting their Clients thru a consistent training and nutrition suited to each individuals requirements.
3) Coaching their clients to be Self Motivated

Generally the exercise component is the last piece of the puzzle to get right, the first is always ensuring the correct mindset to long term success.

Learning to be self motivated at something you may not actually enjoy, can be an extremely challenging journey. However, spending time to ensure you master this will ensure you live the lifestyle you want and at the end of the day are extremely happy with the person you are or who you're becoming.

1) Understanding exactly 'WHY' you're exercising. This needs to be compelling, for example being able to run around with the Kids, ensure mentally you're in the right mindset for your workplace, to ensure your happy in your own skin for an even greater connection with your partner or to ensure you feel amazing about yourself to find a partner.

2) Enjoy every step of the Journey. If it feels like a chore you're already having a battle with yourself, ensure you feel like you "want to" Vs "have to" complete your exercise regime. Each day is an accomplishment and you should always praise your effort.

3) Find out what it is you enjoy doing most! Do you enjoy walks on the beach, a bike ride with family, a Personal Training session for stress relief, going for dinner with people who have or are working towards achieve similar goals to yourself?

4) There should never be an end date to your health and fitness. A lot of people say I want to lose X by Y date. As much as it's beneficial to have short term goals, it's extremely important to think about your long term health and how you want to be in 10, 15, 20 years' time. That way you'll always have long term focus which can help people to stop yo-yo dieting.

5) Spend time with others who want to lead a healthy active lifestyle. If you're constantly around people who want to eat out, drink excessively, prefer to sit on the couch vs going for a walk it's going to be challenging. Be honest with yourself and ask yourself, do I have the right circle of influence in my life? You must ask yourself, are the 5 people I spend the most time with helping me achieve my goals whether it be directly or in directly.

6) Aligning your goals and values. Do the things your love to do most work in well with your health and fitness? Do you love spending time with your family (your value) and going for bike rides (your health goal) or do you love travelling and when you do you walk the Golden Gate Bridge or complete a fun run in Paris with your partner? 


In the short term a Personal Trainer can get you motivated, however for long term success we must master ourselves being self motivated to ensure year after year we're looking after our most prized asset, our body!

The stats are alarming with key components such as the mindset and education for our time poor society being missed! This is a key link to reducing obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and other major health concerns.



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