Thinking of ditching my personal trainer- during financial concerns.

[PhoenixFlames]

Hello people

This question is part "emotional mastery" but also "sport and nutrition".

A couple of years back I started hiring a personal trainer. I didn't make exceptional gains (given the timeframe) due to personal matters- which tied into my eating, beer drinking, diet and work environment habits (i.e. not being able to eat healthy at work as no Fridge or shops that sold health foods nearby- or I was on the road driving and had nothing but McDonalds or Starbucks as lunch).

Long story short I have (over the past 6 Months) made very good gains in terms of muscle and even experienced body builders are commenting I'm definately "getting there" and have offered further help (spotting, training advice etc).

I also turned my life around by getting some life coaching/psychology/family therapy with a psychologist of 25 years.
I drew up a plan to go back to college, cut back on my spending- stick to that and live with my parents.

I am now a happy student- who has direction in life and I am enjoying the fact it will open new doors. BUT I have no income.

NOW. I have to make some serious spending cuts as I have no source of income- there is no suitable part-time work here in the UK.
I do have savings but want to keep that for University next year.
I am cycling to College as opposed to taking the Bus.

On one hand I enjoy my personal training sessions- on the other I wish to save Money.

[DBV]

Well, I know the feeling... tough times. Probably cut the personal trainer out for awhile. Tell him why and if you still work out stick with the best guys at the gym (that depends on not how they look only but how they are working out, if you see them being real focused on workouts, not chit chatting with chicks and stuff and helping others, use the chance, people are helpful)!


That's what I'd do

[EvolveWithFlavor]

I would say Strike Out on your own.

I remember I had a trainer all through high school, he was my uncle as well.

Then, I was forced to start working out on my own when I hit college. I stuck to it like a religion and completely let go of the crutch of having a trainer there helping you stay motivated.

It's really not as hard as you think. You might even grab a friend to come with you to the gym occasionally, although that usually slows things down quite a bit.

But otherwise, practice getting in and out of there in 1 hour flat. Make it something that YOU really WANT to do.

[Clint Cora]

You probably have learned a lot already from your trainer so you should be able to work out on your own. And if you need others around while you work out, you can always go to the campus gym since there are probably always people there. Maybe start to get some workout buddies on campus too.

[beautyscientist]

I have a feeling that you would be an excellent personal trainer yourself, given your level of motivation and experience. You might well know more than you realise too.

Why not see if you can find some people who need a trainer but can't afford the full fees and see if you can get enough work at a bit below the market price to fund your current one.

You might well find teaching is a good learning experience too.

I know this is the age of social media and online promotion, but newsagents still have very cheap notice boards for advertising services like that. (I think that is UK specific advice.)

[Andrew Gubb]

Originally Posted by beautyscientist

I have a feeling that you would be an excellent personal trainer yourself, given your level of motivation and experience. You might well know more than you realise too.

Why not see if you can find some people who need a trainer but can't afford the full fees and see if you can get enough work at a bit below the market price to fund your current one.

I like this idea. I'm a fan of putting effort into earning more rather than spending less as a general principle. Spending less is an endeavour that has a natural limit (can't go below 0), but earning more is potentially unlimited.

[Agota]

You could use this situation as an opportunity to drop negative habits as a way to save money so you could afford keeping the personal trainer. I'm not sure how much you pay for your lessons, but I assume if you'd cut on beer and unhealthy foods, you'd end up with money for training and you would get your results even faster. You know, when life makes you cut costs, cut them on things you'd like to drop anyway