Columbus Fitness Experts: Here's Why You Should Get a Personal Trainer

Columbus Fitness Experts: Here’s Why You Should Get a Personal Trainer

Posted by Admin January 6, 2025 Fitness

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Realizing your exercise and nutritional goals can be easier with help from a coach, say trainers at Personal Level Fitness, J. Monet Fitness and Gym Guyz.

Donna Marbury
| Columbus Monthly

It’s January, and you arrive at your local gym. You’re wearing brand new gym wear, with laced up sneakers to match. Your coordinating water bottle is filled and chilled, and your fitness tracker is charged. But when you walk through the doors, you freeze.

How long should you stretch? How much weight should you lift? How many minutes should you spend on the treadmill? How do you turn the treadmill on?

Fitness and weight loss are consistently top New Year’s resolutions, and though many people desire to improve their health, it’s hard to know where to start. A good personal trainer can help with setting reasonable and attainable nutrition and fitness goals. Mimicking gym moves from a TikTok influencer may not be the safest or smartest way to approach your goals. That’s where a certified personal trainer can provide direction.

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“When clients come to us, I sit down and have a really good conversation with them about what are you willing to do? What are you not willing to do? What’s your goal? What is the timeframe? I give them all the information and really see in their heart of hearts if they are ready to make a change,” says Alexandra Craig, owner of Personal Level Fitness in Columbus.

How to set realistic fitness expectations?

Personal training starts with a conversation about goals and current health and lifestyle issues. A trainer should take into account whether you’ve had any prior injuries and your experience working out in a gym with equipment, says Jackée Mount, owner of J. Monet Fitness in Columbus.

From there, the trainer should develop a program that includes gym time and nutrition recommendations. Most importantly, a trainer will be there to give an extra push when the newness of goal setting starts to fade.

“This is a lifestyle I want my clients to understand. This is not for me to help you get into that bikini for a vacation, but this is for life,” Mount says. “I like to nudge my clients a little bit. Sometimes we get real with some tough love, but it’s only so that I can push you to that next level.”

Accountability from a trainer is key, but so is grace, Craig adds.

“Everybody can do a diet program for 30 or 60 days, as long as they know there’s an endpoint. With a nutrition plan and lifestyle, you’re doing it forever, which means you’re not going to be perfect. And that’s OK. You can go out for a birthday party and have a piece of cake and it’s going to be fine, because you’re looking at it for the long haul,” Craig says.

Why is it important for a personal trainer to be certified?

The state of Ohio doesn’t require certifications for personal trainers, but they are important to ensure the trainer knows how to keep their clients safe, Mount says.

“Some people really care about seeing that you have those credentials, but at the very minimal you need to be CPR certified, because you never know what can happen in the gym,” Mount says. “If your goals are beyond just weight loss, you may want to look into specific certifications in sports medicine or athletic sports.”

Craig says qualified trainers can have college degrees in health or exercise science, and many have certifications from national associations including the American College of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, International Sports Sciences Association or ACE.

“There are several certifications out there. I look for the organizations that have been around a long time,” Craig says.

Should I get an in-person or online personal trainer?

Trainers agree that finding time to work out is one of the biggest challenges to meeting long-term fitness goals. Though the availability of online training through live or recorded videos has increased since the pandemic, it’s important that novices understand how to train safely, says Dave Dulin, owner of Gym Guyz North Columbus.

“In-person training enables you to have that person-to-person communication that can drive that relationship to a next level versus having that relationship with somebody on a screen or a device,” Dulin says. Gym Guyz is a mobile gym where a personal trainer comes to clients’ homes and businesses to conduct sessions.

“Online is the maximum convenience, but I’m biased,” Dulin says. “One of the reasons I got into this business is for that in-person communication.”

How much do personal trainers cost cost in Columbus?

Expect to spend between $60 and $70 per session in central Ohio, and commit to working out three to four days a week to start seeing results in a few months.

“You need to commit that you are investing in your health and future self. I tell potential clients, it’s kind of like putting money away now for a 401(k). You don’t necessarily see the benefits of it today, but your future self is going to thank you,” Dulin says. “However, with working out it’s condensed, because if you hit it hard for six weeks, you can see and feel a difference.”

5 tips for working with a personal trainer

Set reasonable goals: “You can have that big goal, but a trainer can help you break it down,” Mount says. “Smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable and timely. We can set a three-month goal and once we reach that, I like to move the goalposts.”
Consider small group training: “The benefits are accountability and camaraderie. The participants will form stronger bonds and will be able to learn to root each other on while working out,” Dulin says.
Add fitness to your schedule: “Just like you schedule meetings or kids’ activities, schedule working out and commit to yourself,” Dulin says.
Focus on new habits: “A trainer will help you focus on the habit of starting to work out. Next, we might focus on portion control and then cardio,” Craig says. “Whatever the client can do the best is where we start with them. Whatever they feel the most confident that they can do and get a result, that’s where we start.”
Accountability is the key: “We do charge if clients don’t show up or if there’s a late cancel, so money can keep them accountable. But people will typically not let us down, because we’re waiting for them,” Craig says.

This story appeared in the January 2025 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.