I was browsing through some of my Facebook groups this week and saw a post requesting information on a personal trainer. “My daughter would like to work with a personal trainer and has been quoted £35ph which seems very steep. A friend who is a PT recently qualified and charged £15ph. Any feedback?”

As I’ve been working with Jo McRae for over 3 years I was interested in reading the replies for ‘feedback’ to a post that seemed out of touch with the world of PTs. I had to do everything I could to prevent myself from writing my own reply, but you’ll see why I had to restrain myself.

“Why bother with a personal trainer when you can find 1000s of workouts on You Tube?”
“Running is free!”
“Anywhere between £5-£50 for a good one."
"£15 an hour? Is he insured? Can’t be sustainable at that rate. Steer clear.”

The 45+ comments got me thinking. Why would you bother with a personal trainer when you can just use the internet anywhere nowadays? What about just going for a run if you want to lose weight, or having a friend act as a PT for £15 an hour; do they really nee to be qualified?

I could switch to someone cheaper than Jo, that’s true. But I’ve learned not to try and fix what ain’t broke. There are huge advantages of working with a personal trainer and most of them might not be obvious. Firstly, your PT gets to know you. Jo knows what exercises I like, what my mood is like on a Monday afternoon and what motivates me, but most of all she has done extensive work to find out where my physical fitness is and what my strengths and weaknesses are. With detailed CHEK measurements, Jo knows that I am hyper mobile in some joints, but also have very tight hip flexors. If I was working with a You Tube programme, who is monitoring that I am doing the exercises properly? How do I know I’m not doing it so wrong that I don’t hurt myself? And if I do hurt myself, where’s the professional PT who will administer first aid/stretching/advice? I know I’d be inclined to pick and choose the exercises I like on You Tube too, not the ones I need. I’ve no experience in exercise so I wouldn’t have a clue what I would need.

I could go for a run, yes. Without Jo though, I wouldn’t have known though that I had hyper mobile joints and running would probably do me an injury. Running doesn’t provide an all-round fitness programme either, so even if I did just go running, and I had perfect form, it wouldn’t necessarily get me to my goal.

What about those goals? I’d love to lose 4 stone in the next two weeks but exercise alone is not going to do that! Nor is diet for that matter, but a PT can advise on how to change your diet to suit your lifestyle. Jo and I have been fasting intermittently to help with blood sugar levels and weight loss. We also swap stories and recipes for our low-carb diets and I complete a Twitter photo diary of meals and snacks for Jo to have an idea of what I’m eating and when. It creates talking points when we meet weekly and Jo proves an excellent cheerleader when it comes to success.

Another important reason I’ve stuck with the same PT for so long is the unseen reason. I don’t have a stable work life, so meeting Jo at the same time every week is the only structure I have to adhere to. After working with me for so long, Jo knows my mental health and what challenges I face. Along with knowing what I eat and what exercise I do, Jo has an overall impression of every area of my fitness and where I might need help. You can’t get that with a You Tube programme; the personal 1-to-1 feedback is invaluable for not just fitness but for life.

Don’t get me started on those who only want to pay £5 an hour… less than minimum wage? What is it they say about peanuts and monkeys? The benefits of a personal trainer outweigh more than just the fitness aspect and there isn’t a price you can put on that relationship.