Whole9 guest post by Coach Rut, who has over a quarter century of fitness coaching experience and holds academic degrees in biology and physical education, and Master’s degrees in exercise physiology and sports biomechanics.
I recently received the following comment from a blog post.
[I’m] just feeling overwhelmed on where to begin after a decade of nothingness. 100# from my target weight and need simple direction.. uuggghhh..too many choices. I believe it is my thinking too much.
The majority of my career I’ve spent working with this exact personality. The ones who are striving to become more fit but just can’t wrap their arms around the parts and the process.
Today I hope to furnish some of the important understandings, realities and tools of becoming more fit by way of practicing fitness more than talking about it. My only stipulation is you promise not to quit. Which brings me to step one.
#1 You’re Not Always Going To Feel Like it
For whatever reason, some believe that they will have a wind blow magic powder up their shorts each morning at 0500 and their Nikes will float onto their feet while the Starbucks mug awaits in their toasty warm chariot for the ride to the gym. WRONG! It’s gonna be cold, it’s going to take willpower, and you’ll need to overcome the resistance to be a wimp.
Does anything positive happen from constantly seeking comfort or immediate gratification? Oh you’ll have the initial buzz of starting something new, but soon enough the paint color of the gym will become old hat. Embrace the suck. They don’t call it a WORKout for nothing.
You need to behave your way into a habit. That means get up no matter what. You might have heard “fake it til you make it.” That phrase holds true for all of us all the time but a lot in the early stages of becoming a regular exerciser.
You need to understand how habits work and that old you (the unfit couch potato) will never go away because the brain likes the lazy. Writer Charles Duhigg and his book, The Power of Habit, will assist with this understanding. Buy it and read it twice. Your habits make you.
#2 Pay A Professional To Guide You
If you are a repeat start/stop exerciser it’s clear that buying Men’s Health at the grocery store and or listening to your Ironman neighbor “Glen” talking over the fence isn’t working. It’s time you hired a real fitness professional.
You need a ‘trainer’ with a multitude of skills, education and experience. Here’s what I suggest:
- 5 + years of experience in the industry. (Most ‘trainers’ don’t last 5 years in this business)
- Undergraduate / Graduate Degrees in Exercise Science / Exercise Physiology
- Stability (Moving gym to gym is a troubling sign)
- Charges you a professional rate.
You and the trainer should have a paid for audition. Ask them the hard questions. Find out what you are going to be doing each session and why. Find out if there is any nutritional consultation and what their experience is working in that role. Find out what metrics they will use to gauge your progress.
Find out how busy they are. I’ve observed that the best trainers have little room (if any) for new clients and they charge significantly more than the inexperienced hacks.
If you hire the correct person they will not become your friend ( initially). They will hold you to a specific set of rules and expectations and if you fail to meet these they will fire themselves. I can tell you that I could have a nice retirement nest egg based on the number of people I’ve let go. No really nice.
#3 Set Realistic Targets Using a Proven Method.
This whole topic of goals needs to be done very specifically. The majority of people pop off about their goal of ‘losing weight’ or ‘getting stronger’. This is where the specifics come into play.
This goal setting approach has served well for over two decades. If used and interacted with on a daily basis you stand a very good chance of becoming better than you are today.
#4 Slow and Steady
It’s best to see this change from the 20,000 foot view and long term lasting change. Unfortunately, we live in a have-it-now society. You can fight this if you like, but the fact remains that the true measure of your success is well down the road. Yo-yo-ing up and down on the scale and starting and stopping is more stressful than just being you. Find a way to have a worthy but consistent approach to your pursuit of fitness.
You don’t need to run a marathon, paddle the Atlantic or make it to the CrossFit games. What you need is a consistent approach and the help of a quality professional.
Michael Rutherford (a.k.a. Coach Rut) has over a quarter century of fitness coaching experience including working with competitors from the ranks of international, Olympic, collegiate, high school, middle school and elementary school aged athletes. Coach Rut also has worked in hospital wellness environments and rehabilitation clinics. All of these experiences have allowed him to bridge the gap between the needs of the competitor and those of the man, woman and child seeking enhanced personal health and fitness. Coach Rut’s Boot Camp Fitness program is the area’s largest and most established group exercise program and his training services have assisted thousands of Kansas City residents over the last two decades. Coach holds academic degrees in biology and physical education, and Master’s degrees in exercise physiology and sports biomechanics. He is a certified Club Coach by the United States Weightlifting Association and is a CrossFit level III certified coach.
(Photo Credits: Antony Bridle and Fábio Valinhos via cc)
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A little discouraging to read that you HAVE to pay for a professional. Trust me, I’d love to, but it simply isn’t in the budget. It’s not an excuse or a lack of proper proioritization. It simply is the truth for the time being and I have to believe it is for a lot of people, especially beginners.
I am, however, looking forward to going through some of the other material that was provided.
I agree, I’m pretty disappointed that this was the sum of the article. Personal trainers are incredibly expensive and is priced at a luxury price point, not as a necessity. Isn’t the average per hour something around $20-$50/hr? And the professional ones that have a sustaining career probably priced even higher? I wish you would have mentioned other options for 99% of people, cause as couch potato, trying not to be this article was a downer.
You don’t need to pay a Professional, I follow a blog site name Fit Site Plus, they provide the best training and fitness solutions. Try them for free.
Agree, not a terribly useful article at all. And actually I paid a very good nyc trainer at a top gym for a couple months. I learned a few useful things but once I stopped the trainer my gym habits slacked off too.
Jenni & Kelly ~
I wrote this from the vantage point of the repeat start/stop exerciser. These are the people that will likely develop health issues as a result of their poor habits and health.
I view my role as being on the front end of the health continuum. This health continuum begins on the left side of the scale and moves to the right. At each point on this line the price increases.
For example, find out you have type II diabetes ($$) Have to fill a prescription for this ($$$) there will be repeat lab work ($$$) More office visits ($$$) There are no options. You pay at each point along this line as you become less and less healthy.
Paying me at the front end is cheap in retrospect, and improves the quality of each day. I know from history that I’ve been able to correct an unhealthy practice and actually saved an individual not hundreds but thousands of dollars as a result.
Short of this you should find something that you can stay with consistently over time that doesn’t bore you to terribly.
I wish you the best of health & fitness
I definitely get your point on the monetary front. Since switching to paleo I’ve saved tons of money since I no longer get sinus infections every six weeks! Visits and scripts add up!
I think maybe I was just expecting something different from the article. I struggle not with motivation or dedication but just not knowing what to do and it’s then easy to become paralyzed by so much conflicting information. I would love to eventually work up to CrossFit, but I am clueless on how to bridge the gap between where I currently am and my ultimate goals.
Thanks for taking the time to both write the article and respond to my earlier comment.
Jennifer
Coach Rut,
So how should training work? You get a trainer for an hour a week who gives you homework? Is it a lifetime relationship or do you graduate to a less frequent schedule?
Thanks,
Liz
In general:
1. Start with a paid for trial of 3-6 workouts. Use this as your fact finding session(s) and if a particular trainer will mesh with your personality and objectives. DON’T HIRE A CHILD
2. If you select this individual give them the opportunity to prove themselves. I would consider 8 weeks at the bare minimum.
3. HOMEWORK ? ~ YES YES YES. It’s rare however for someone to fix you on a single visit. You should be working on mobility, diet tweaks and potentially other workouts away from the gym sessions. Two sessions per week COULD work but it’s more likely that 3 will be required. Think LIFESTYLE and LONG TERM.
4. I have had clients for over 10 years, and I have had clients for 8 weeks. It depends on your objectives, wants and needs.
So approx $300 / week for life?
Great article Coach Rut and I have enjoyed the comments and conversation on the value of personal training. Our company, GAIN Fitness, offers affordable personal training through allowing people to work with their expert trainer both in person (once, twice or four times per month) and trough an app where your trainer assigns you workouts and tracks your progress.
Getting expert guidance from a certified professional is not a bad idea if you want to maximize your time, learn about fitness, avoid injury, and get motivation towards your goal. Coach Rut is right – it’s cheaper on the front end!
Hi Coach Rut! We featured this post in our Weekly Digest. You can read it here https://www.ltcoptions.com/weekly-digest-caregiver-free-time-fear-of-growing-old-and-important-steps-to-fitness/.
This is a great guide for those who want to start working out or begin again. Although, it means spending money, I think finding a professional trainer is necessary because these professionals has the know-how to determine the kind of fitness program for a person’s specific needs.
This article is worth reading and of course, worth trying and doing continuously! Thank you so much for the inspiration Coach Rut!