Are you looking for the best way to have a healthier body but aren’t sure whether to become part of a gym and have a personal trainer help you or hire a fitness coach to attend to you at home instead? Is there even a difference? Yes, there certainly is! Choosing whether to go for a personal trainer or a fitness coach can determine whether or not you succeed in becoming fit as fast and best as possible.
Fitness Coach is important for proper health regime.
Here are 5 major differences between the two
1. At home or at the Gym?
One of the major differences between a personal trainer and a fitness coach is the location wherein they do their job. By definition, and as we are all probably aware of, personal trainers are the people employed by the gym to help members create and work through a program. A fitness coach on the other hand is someone who helps you achieve the level of body fitness you want at your own home or wherever you choose to do your work out. The difference between working out regularly in a gym and at home can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your fitness training. Specifically, there are those of us who would prefer to do their programs privately at the comfort of their own homes while there are others who find it better to work out in a more public environment. Comparing which is more effective is debatable up to a certain degree but it all really boils down to the individual preferences of people. Some may find that working out at home under the guidance of a fitness coach works better for them while others don’t.
2. Type of Service
Many of us probably aren’t familiar with how much difference personal trainers and fitness coaches have in terms of the service that they provide their clients. Personal trainers assist you and guide you whilst in the gym to perform effectively all the routines in your program schedule. They pay attention to the actual work out such as the number and manipulation of sets, reps, lifts, heart rates and maximum weight allotment. A fitness coach on the other hand not only provides this same service but actually go a little further through building an actual personal relationship with you, the client. Their goal is to reach out to you on a mental, physical and social level. They are like teachers who work hand in hand with you to achieve the fit body that you want. A personal trainer will make sure that you get the work done whilst a fitness coach take into responsibility your own goals and make it his own.
3. Workout Technique/Routine
There is a difference between the methods of training provided by personal trainers and fitness coaches. Fitness coaches primarily rely on techniques and workout routines that are related to sports and athletics. Their skill sets are honed strongly by their background in athletics training, communication and rapport building. Personal trainers are strongly versed in the technical aspect of becoming fit. The workout routines that you perform are the primary focus of these trainers. Though experts at bodybuilding and fitness training through machinery and exercises, trainers aren’t as well versed at communication and building relationships with their clients. Most probably it’s because it simply isn’t part of their job description.
4. Training Vs. Coaching
The argument of whether personal training or fitness coaching is better than the other. It has even sparked quite the debate on several online health forums. To say, however, that one is more effective overall can be quite the challenge. Since we’re pointing out differences between the two, let’s also do a quick head to head comparison.
Personal trainers will no doubt give you an effective and efficient fitness program and workout routine. Their goal is to train you to attain the body that you want. To do this they will pretty much tell you what to do and how to do it. However, it ends there. No personal relationship is necessary for a personal trainer to be effective. This can be a bad thing for some individuals who have a hard time at performing under the pressure of a trainer.
A fitness coach will also guide you, create exercise programs and workout routines for you just as a trainer would, but only this time it will be at your own pace. The goal of coaching is not to put you under a lot of pressure, but rather to encourage and motivate you to achieve your goals – a fit body. This is extremely effective for individuals who would prefer to workout privately away from prying and sometimes judgmental eyes while you dance to the beat of your weightloss playlist.
5. Who tells who what to do?
A personal trainer will ask you what you want and tell you how you can achieve it. You will practically be told what to do most of the time. The goal is to have a fit body and that is what he will give you. A fitness coach approaches from a different angle – you tell him what you want and how you want to achieve it. Of course he will guide you and make sure that you are on the right path, but he will definitely not be ordering you around.
Now that you know the difference between a personal trainer and fitness coach, it’s time to choose but be sure that whoever you’ll pursuit your fitness journey with, he or she should have a degree or a certificate from a respected fitness college like ACPE Academy. You are the only one who knows which path will be best for you. The important thing is you achieve what you want – a healthy and good looking body.
Author Bio:
Adeline Erwin is a budding lifestyle writer based in Sydney, Australia. As a part-time fitness instructor, she motivates people to get back into shape, using only the most natural means possible. She is also a strong advocate of eliminating junk food from the typical school child’s diet. On her spare time, she loves doing arts and crafts projects with her 2 adorable daughters, ages 6 and 8.