A new study has found that having a personal trainer coach people through workouts leads to dramatically superior gains.
In the study, half of the subjects were randomly assigned to the personal trainer group, while half of the subjects were assigned to the “self-directed group”. Both groups were required to show up and exercise for the exact same amount of time per week. The self-directed group wrote their own programs and did not have anybody to help them perform proper technique, while the group that was assigned a coach had a program designed specifically for them and were trained to execute the program correctly.
After twelve weeks, the group with the coach lost weight while gaining some muscle and increasing strength. The self-directed group, however, saw only minimal results. The differences between groups are outlined in the graph below:
Conclusions
When it comes to fitness, most people suffer from what’s called the “Dunning-Kreuger effect”: they know so little about fitness, they don’t even realize how little they know. As a result, many people mistakenly believe that they are knowledgeable enough about exercise to design and execute their own programs.
Clearly, however, this is a huge mistake. Many people who do not hire a coach will spend hours in the gym every week and yet see zero results. For those who are serious about reaching their goals, hiring a competent coach is paramount. Unfortunately, in this industry, high-quality coaches can be extremely difficult to find.
References
1 Storer TW, et al. Effect of supervised, periodized exercise training vs self-directed training on lean body mass and other fitness variables in health club members. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2014.