Ready to level up your fitness game? Say hello to your secret weapon: a personal trainer! At Rocky Mountain Flex Fitness, we have the inside scoop on how these fitness superheroes can supercharge your progress. Personal trainers will create a custom plan to help you work toward your goals, they keep you motivated and hold you accountable. Think of them as your built-in workout buddy! Let’s dive into the first step with reaching your goals, which is doing the hard part that most don’t take the time to do and that is actually setting them.
The importance of setting fitness goals for success:
Every fitness journey needs to begin with setting fitness goals with a timeline. Typically, without this, you are relying on guesswork. Setting goals will provide a road map that will guide you toward personal success, whether that’s losing fat (not just scale weight, there’s a difference), maintaining your current weight or gaining weight, building muscle, getting stronger, hitting a new PR or improving endurance.
Having solid fitness goals also helps you measure your progress and track your accomplishments, helping you stay committed to your fitness journey. When you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve in a specified timeframe, you are more likely to stay motivated, make healthier choices and prioritize your fitness goals over the other temptations that might derail your progress, such as choosing to go to happy hour over hitting the gym.
Not to mention, seeing the progress you’ve made and celebrating those wins will boost your confidence and keep you motivated to keep pushing toward reaching your goals!
Below are some common health and fitness goals you might have in mind:
- Decrease body fat percentage
- Build muscle and increase strength
- Improve cardiovascular endurance
- Improve body composition
- Increase flexibility and mobility
- Improve balance and coordination
- Manage or prevent chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
- Reduce stress and improve mental health
- Improve sleep quality and quantity
- Increase energy levels and decrease fatigue
- Improve performance in a specific sport such as golf, skiing, snowboarding, etc.
- Improve posture
- Reduce back or knee pain
- Increase bone density
- Start eating healthier
- Improve overall health and wellness
But where you will find the most success is by setting very specific SMART goals. What are SMART goals, you ask?
SMART fitness goals are a framework for setting effective fitness goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Here’s what each component means:
- Specific: Goals should be clear and well-defined, outlining what you want to achieve in detail. Avoid setting vague or overly broad goals that are difficult to measure or track progress such as “Improve overall health and wellness”.
- Measurable: Goals should be measurable so that you can track your progress whether that’s a percent or number change which will determine whether you are making progress toward your goal.
- Achievable: Goals should be realistic and achievable based on your current fitness level, resources, and time constraints. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to frustration and setbacks. An unrealistic goal could be saying you will workout for 1.5 hours per day when between family and work life, you really only have 45 minutes.
- Relevant: Goals should be relevant and meaningful to your overall fitness and health objectives. Avoid setting goals that don’t align with your overall fitness goals or values.
- Time-bound: Goals should have a specific deadline or timeline for completion, helping to motivate you and keep you on track.
An example of an unrealistic SMART fitness goal:
- Losing 20 pounds in the next 5 weeks by doing cardio for 2 hours per day and eating only 1,000 calories per day
The above SMART goal is unrealistic for several reasons. First of all, it is not achievable or healthy to lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks because doing so requires following an unsustainable starvation diet and exercise routine. Realistically, most people can expect to lose about 1-2lbs per week if they are really on top of their game; this is the recommended healthy weight loss rate. Also, if you are losing much more weight than 1-2lbs per week, it’s very likely that you are losing the muscle that you have been working so hard to build.
Second, most average people can’t commit to a daily 2-hour workout, especially those who are just starting a new workout regimen. Last but not least, consuming 1,000 calories a day isn’t sufficient to support your bodily functions, meet your daily protein needs to build and maintain muscle, maintain a healthy immune system or even support a strenuous workout routine.
Setting unrealistic goals like this will lead you down a path of frustration, burnout, possible adrenal fatigue and even injury. It’s important to set goals that are challenging, yet achievable based on your current fitness level, ability, lifestyle and time constraints.
Examples of realistic SMART fitness goals:
- Losing 10 pounds of fat in the next 3 months by working out 5 days per week and meal prepping every Sunday to stay on track
- Increase my max bench press by 10 pounds in the next 6 weeks by doing strength training exercises 3 times per week
If you are having trouble setting SMART goals that suit your personal needs and wants, then hiring a personal trainer might just be your answer.
Here are 10 benefits of working with a personal trainer one-on-one:
- Getting a personalized workout plan that will help you work towards achieving your fitness goals and help to stay consistent with your workouts, which is usually half the battle for most gym goers
- Expert guidance and support from a certified fitness professional who can help you navigate the components of an effective weight training program
- Help with holding you accountable and keeping you inspired to stick with your fitness journey
- Guidance on incorporating stretching and mobility work which will help improve joint mobility and flexibility, which can enhance your athletic performance, prevent injuries, and improve overall muscle function
- Help with identifying and correcting an improper form during workouts, and assisting with techniques to help you prevent injury
- Flexibility in scheduling and adapting your workouts to match your lifestyle
- Access to specialized exercise equipment at Rocky Mountain Flex that you won’t find at most gyms in Denver
- Ongoing progress tracking, measurement of your results, guidance and support throughout your fitness journey
- Encouragement and support in overcoming obstacles and challenges such as plateaus, physical limitations, lack of knowledge or experience, poor nutrition or unhealthy habits
- They can point out muscular imbalance by assessing your body, creating a customized workout plan to target and correct imbalances, ensuring proper form and technique during exercises,
Where to start in your search for hiring a personal trainer:
When you’re looking to hire a personal trainer, don’t just go with the first one you come across based on price alone. Take a closer look at their offerings, training style, skills, education and certifications. Ask for recommendations from friends, family and co-workers, and also, check out reviews shared on Google. Do your research, ask questions, but most of all, trust your instincts.
Finding a trainer whose personality matches yours and who has experience working with clients who have had similar fitness goals is important. Most trainers will offer a complimentary consult or session where you can get to know each other better before making a decision. This is like a trial run for both of you to see if this new partnership would be a good fit! One of your trainer’s roles is to motivate and encourage you, even during challenging times. Most importantly, prioritize hiring a trainer who genuinely cares about you, and delivers exceptional service, attention and expertise.
Finding the perfect trainer for your personality, as well as needs and goals, may be tricky if you don’t know what traits to look for in a trainer. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the gym, training can be a little intimidating. That is where Rocky Mountain Flex Fitness personal trainers come in!
At Rocky Mountain Flex, our trainers have a passion for helping all people achieve their goals, whatever they may be – and if you don’t know what those goals should be, we can help you with that too! Our personal trainers are uniquely qualified with knowledge in strength training, yoga, bodybuilding, weight management, competition training, strength training for skiing, functional strength training, and weight training for marathon runners, as well as trainers who specialize in MMA training.
By working with one of the RMFF trainers, you can accelerate your progress and accomplish your goals more quickly, safely, and easily (while still having a ton of fun)!
In the news at Rocky Mountain Flex Fitness!
Speaking of our amazing trainers, we have a new program called Coaches Corner with trainer Nick Miller on Monday and Friday mornings between 6-7:30am. This is a FREE service for our members to help you make the most of your gym experience. Nick will start by introducing you to the gym and showing you around so you feel comfortable in the space. Then, he will teach you the fundamental exercises that form the basis of any workout routine, focusing on compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups.
Nick will offer an in-depth equipment orientation, teaching you how to use each piece correctly and safely, along with alternative exercises if needed. Proper technique and form are emphasized to prevent injuries and maximize effectiveness. He will be there to give personalized guidance and answer any questions you may have. With Coaches Corner, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to optimize your time at the gym. Swing by the front desk during those times to get started!
