If you've been exercising consistently for several weeks or months and aren't reaching your goals there are a few ways a trainer might be able to help.

• Evaluate Your Current Program and Goals
• Help You Stay Motivated and Keep Pushing
• Provide Educated Advice

We're not born knowing how to exercise, or how to design a complete program that includes cardio, weight training, and flexibility training, which specific exercises to do for each of those, and how to fit it into a busy schedule. Facing the task can feel so overwhelming that you don't do anything.

How a Trainer Can Help:

• Suggesting activities that work for your body, schedule, and available equipment.
• Helping you figure out how hard to work during exercise and how to monitor your exercise intensity.
• Showing you how to choose exercises, weights, reps, and sets.
• Using different tools (such as a heart rate monitor or activity tracker) to enhance your workouts.
• Teaching you how to get the most out of your workout, while also making sure you don't overdo it.

If you're an experienced exerciser, you may not have considered working with a personal trainer. However, it can be a great choice if you need some variety in your workouts.

It's easy to fall into a workout rut, doing the same workouts repeatedly. This isn't just boring; it can also lead to weight loss plateaus, overuse injuries, and burnout.

If you're already workout-savvy, you might consider hiring a personal trainer for a fresh perspective while continuing to challenge you toward your goals with an objective eye.

If you feel stuck or ready to take your training to the next level, an experienced personal trainer can help you find ways to challenge yourself in several ways.

If you've hit a plateau in your progress, trainers can be a tool for change. They can switch up your programming to add volume or intensity to keep you progressing. A trainer can help you choose the correct weights and spot you as you do more challenging exercises.

You'll find it's tough to slack off with a trainer standing over you, telling you to do just one more rep. You may even find you have hidden strengths to tap, which can motivate you even more.

Even if your goal is to create your own workouts and exercise by yourself, hiring a trainer for a few sessions offers the benefit of helping you learn the right way to perform a new exercise. This is especially true if you're new to strength training and need to practice. A trainer can:

• Teach You Exercise Varieties and Form
• Provide Information for Program Design

Motivation comes from all kinds of places, both internally and externally. You also need extrinsic motivators to keep exercising. A personal trainer can be that motivator. By hiring a trainer, you're creating motivation in several different areas:

• Accountability and Commitment
• Time and Money

If you have a specific injury or condition, your doctor may want you to exercise—but how do you do that if you're in pain or have to work around an injury? That's where an experienced trainer comes in!

How a Trainer Can Help:

• Creating a program that works on the areas you need without risking new or re-injury, as well as dealing with old or chronic injuries.
• Coming up with a fitness plan if you're pregnant or ​want to become pregnant.
• Exercising with a chronic health condition such as arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease.
• Increasing your balance, core strength, and stability if you've had a fall or need to work on those areas.
• Overcoming back or neck pain.