Did you know that, according to the Trust for America’s Health, the level of obesity in the United States has doubled since 1980? Now, an estimated 30% of American adults are considered to be either overweight or obese. In other words, we’re in the middle of a health crisis.
Recognizing this fact, more and more Americans are turning to personal trainers and sports nutritionists who can help build them a personal fitness plan that can lead them to success. Of course, not everyone is quite so sold on the importance of a personal fitness plan. After all, according to statistics from Science Daily, only one in five Americans will actually match their fitness goals in any given year. How can personal fitness training hope to change that? Read on to find out.
Three Benefits of Sticking to a Personal Fitness Plan
- Accurate Information from the Pros
- Plans Offer Built-in Discipline
- You Can Better Visualize Your Goals
Statistics from Pew Research show that 57% of American adults turn to the internet to get information about health and fitness. The problem? The internet is teeming with unfiltered, unregulated information, much of which is just plain wrong. There is a very real possibility that using fitness info from the web can actually do more harm than good. Using a professionally built fitness plan helps you avoid this issue.
As Yahoo! writes, one of the biggest benefits of sticking to a plan is discipline. You don’t have to think about what you’re going to do on each day. Instead, you need only look to your plan and do the work. That’s it. This auto-pilot approach to fitness is shown to increase the likelihood of your actually becoming fit and staying that way.
For Livestrong, the best reason to find a personal plan and stick to it is goal visualization. We’ve all been there: you know why you’re training and what you hope to accomplish, but even so, you lose steam without any visible end in sight. A fitness plan let’s you see that end in a tangible way. Do you have a 5k scheduled at the end of your fitness plan? Are you going on vacation at the end of your first month of training? Marking these things down let’s you see where your day-in and day-out workouts are going, and that, as any trainer worth their salt can tell you, is a morale boost unlike any other.
Do you work as a personal trainer? Why do you think it’s so important for people to stick to their personal fitness plans? Hit us with your thoughts in the comment section below! More research here.