There are three benefits to hiring a personal trainer. The first is accountability. Having someone waiting on you helps insure you get to the gym. The second is structure. We have enough to think about, letting someone else put together the workout is a huge time saver. The third is having someone who pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you do the exercises you hate.
Even the most devoted exerciser has at least one exercise they love to hate. We hate it when we’re doing it, but we love the way we feel or look afterwards. I did an informal poll of my clients and came up with the five exercises they love to hate (and why we should all do them anyway).
Burpees (aka squat thrusts): I don’t think one client likes burpees. I like them because they are efficient. If you want to get to your heart rate up and work multiple muscle groups (core, arm, shoulders and quads) then the burpee is the quickest way to do it. A burpee can also be modified for almost every fitness level.
Squats: I get groans every time I mention squats. That means there are a lot of groans because we do some form of a squat at every workout. Squats are a part of daily life (think about every time you get up out of the chair). If you want to stay independent and function for your whole life squats need to be part of your workout routine.
Push ups: Push ups are hard. If they are easy you are probably doing them wrong. We tend to dislike things that of their difficulty and push us out of our comfort zone. But if you want amazing arms and shoulder, push ups are your secret weapon.
Planks: A client once said, “I would rather do 1000 crunches than a plank.” I told her if she could do a thousand she was probably doing something wrong. Plus, 1000 crunches would be long and boring and probably give you a sore neck and back. A plank, just one, is much more effective and much kinder to your spine.
Walking Lunges: As if the lunge wasn’t bad enough, try adding locomotion. Clients don’t love the burn in the moment, but they love how they shape their thighs and booty. Do them with an offload (weight on only one side) for an added core workout.
Did your love/hate relationship make the list? What exercise can’t be beat for its results, but you wish you could skip?
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