North America is getting fatter and fatter! There are numerous studies proven this so I won’t get into all the statistics from the American College of Sports Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the American Heart Association. Just trust me…as a population we are getting fatter.
But wait; there are more fitness centers, gym, personal trainers and fitness related info-products then ever before…so how can this be?
Here a few things that we know:
- A one-size-fits-all approach to fitness does not work
- Knowing biomechanics is good but effective in developing a compete fitness program
- Life stages and changes in a person’s life must be taken into account when developing a fitness program
- Not all fades are created equal. To embrace the latest and greatest fade is very ineffective in making consistent fitness progress
- The carrot or the stick? A positive approach works much better then a fear based approach, to anything, especially fitness
- Social and domestic support is crucial for starting and continuing a fitness program
- In the end, we need to embrace a holistic model of fitness, working on the body alone is not enough
So, where does this leave you?
If you are not getting the results your desire or if you’re not having fun with your fitness program it maybe time to take a look at fitness coaching. “But I already have a personal fitness trainer, why do I need a fitness coach?”
First, if you’re not getting the results it might not be your trainer, it could be you. I’m not saying it’s your directly at fault, but there maybe some underlying situations that you and your trainer are not aware of that a good certified fitness coach could help you discover and find a solution.
So what is fitness coaching?
It can be called an ongoing and guided conversation and process between you and a health fitness coach that is a conversation:
- Involving a comprehensive fitness-related dialogue about your needs, interests and personal active lifestyle orientations
- Directed toward broad based goals of personal and health gains that are
- Attained through continued involvement in physically activates which are
- Adjusted occasionally according to your evolving life agenda
I know, you’re probably saying “That sounds nice, but again, I have a personal trainer.”
What a personal trainer is trained and certified to do is develop the specific workout routine for you. They are to assess your currently physical abilities and limitations and develop a routine around these parameters along with your fitness goals. Then they are to ensure that you perform the routine with biometric perfection. That is want a fitness trainer is schooled and trained in. If they are performing more then this and are not properly trained and educated in that field, they are stepping out of the bounders of a trainer.
A fitness coach, through and open and ongoing dialogue, will help you
- Determine the best physical activity for you
- Stay on track and achieve your fitness goals
- Work through any resistance or sticking points
- With support for all parts of your life
Basically a fitness coach will help you develop your fitness strategy and stay on track with it and a fitness/personal trainer will help you develop the tactics to get you to your goal.
In this day and age we are all bombarded with so many distractions that we need to have a qualified support team around us so that we can achieve our goals with a much ‘ease’ as possible,. I believe that two key members on this team should be a fitness coach and fitness/personal trainer.