do you need a personal trainer?

The first time I ever joined a commercial gym was when I was around 18yrs old. I can’t remember exactly how much I weighed but I was definitely overweight. I think I was already triple digits in terms of kilograms. 

One memory that sticks out distinctively back then was during the tour of the gym the person showing me around made me stand on a treadmill and grab the handles to measure my heart rate. It was around 80 or so and he said,

“See, this is why you need to workout regularly.”

I had no idea what he meant back then.

Nor do I have any idea why I remember that memory so clearly.

After the tour of the gym they brought me back to the registration area to work their magic with me hoping I’d sign the contract. I remember when I first heard the monthly fee I told them that’s too much, I was still just a student back then. The guy told me to wait, made some calls, looked busy then came back to me with a deal. I don’t remember the specifics, but somehow it was 30% cheaper if I paid 6 months in advance which would also include 12 sessions with a personal trainer (PT).

They got me.

That’s also the first time I ever worked with a PT.

My PT’s name was Derek. Nice guy, former bodybuilder as he showed me pics of his stage days. He recommended me to eat more chicken, veggies and less rice.

That’s it in terms of diet advice. 

In terms of training he built my program and walked me through it each session. I didn’t have to do anything but show up. We did 1x a week sessions, but I still went to the gym 3x a week. So 2x a week I was working out solo or mostly just doing cardio.

12 weeks went by, I stayed disciplined the whole time.

The results?

Pretty good (seemingly).

I ate chicken and veggies with half rice for lunch dinner everyday while breakfast would usually just be some form of savory bread (like tuna bread, or some kind of mushroom pastry). Black coffee or plain tea was the beverage of choice. Showed up to the gym 3x a week every week for those 12 weeks. 

I don’t remember how much I weighed, but I changed my profile pic on Friendster (I swear I’m not that ancient) and got a lot of comments on what a big change I’ve made.

It felt good. It felt like I accomplished something great and was in control.

Except…

… I wasn’t.

I wasn’t in control at all.

After the 12 weeks my sessions with Derek finished. He suggested I buy more sessions, but I just said I’d think about it (which meant no). Thing was buying more sessions meant paying full price instead of the package deal I got when I initially joined. I thought after 12 weeks all I had to do was to continuing doing the things we were doing and it would just be easy progress from there.

I thought wrong.

Without Derek I found myself showing up at the gym less and less over time since I had no commitment to anyone. Every time I did go to the gym it felt like I was just going through the motions and did it for the sake of doing it. Diet wise I also became more and more “relaxed” I was totally sick of chicken and veggies and starting venturing out to different foods which very quickly just ended up being on a “eat whatever I want” diet.

The progress I made in those 12 weeks all went away within the next 3 months.

Being obese all my life my thought process was just, “ah as usual. Doesn’t work for me.”

Looking back now I can kinda pinpoint what went wrong, and it’s mainly my fault. I wasn’t willing to learn. I got a PT, and expected for him to do all the work for me so I just followed blindly. It worked when I was committed and disciplined, but the moment our 12 sessions ended I became a lot less committed and disciplined.

Without the commitment and consistency, results always end up temporary.

If there’s one thing I’d throw shade at Derek for is the diet he assigned me. He basically gave me no choice but to eat chicken and veggies and to cut my rice portions. At that time I was committed to whatever he said so I just followed, but the moment our sessions were done I stopped. Why? Cos it’s an impossible diet to keep up forever. It’s way way way way too restrictive.

That was my first experience with a PT.

So do you need a PT? (full disclosure, I’m currently a licensed PT)

It depends.

If you want to learn how to do workouts correctly, and have someone create a workout program specifically for your goals, sure! Hiring a PT would be definitely be helpful.

If you want to learn more about how to eat for your goals and have someone look into your diet and lifestyle specifically to help, sure! A PT can help with that too.

But here’s the thing, are you willing to commit to the PT’s program? Cos although someone can design a workout and diet for you, they can’t do the workout or eat for you. You still have to put in all that hard work yourself.

The journey is still hard. All the fundamentals to weight loss and muscle gains stay true. The difference with a PT is that you have someone to turn to whenever you run into issues for clarification.

That’s really it.

A PT is not a fast track to progress.

A PT is also not a motivation tool.

All the information you ever need to get you to your goals is out there, for free. You can absolutely reach your goals without a PT too. It's not a necessity, it's a preference, a choice.

My recommendation?

If you’re thinking about getting a PT, try committing to a workout program and diet (of your choosing) for 3-4 weeks first. Use all the tools and information available here on my channel for free to get you started. If you’re able to commit, and want to seek deeper help, then yeah, a PT may be a good idea.

But if you’re unable to stick to a 3-4 week program yourself, you might want to rethink your motivation and goals first before thinking about hiring a PT. If you can’t commit to your own program of choosing, there’s a high chance you won’t be able to commit to a PT’s program, and that just ends up wasting both party’s time and your money. 

A final note:

As there are good doctors and bad doctors, there’s good PTs and bad PTs. Do get to know your potential PT a little first before hiring them. Any PTs that are giving you super restrictive orders like avoid carbs and rice to lose weight, or encourage you to buy their product for better progress, run away. 

Get another PT immediately.

—Po