James Haskell: Finding the right trainer and fitness plan
England Rugby player James Haskell continues his column by offering some tips for finding the right personal trainer…
–
Last week I wrote about finding the best gym. Once you have found one that is suitable for you, it is important to decide what kind of personal trainer you want.
What kind of person is going to appeal to you? You don’t want someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. You want someone to push you, there’s no point in spending money on health and fitness and equipment and food and diet if you’re not going to put the work in.
If you watch anybody train in the gym with the personal trainer, there are two types of clients. The ones that get on with the training, they push themselves hard. Yes of course they moan a little bit, and have off days. I moan all the time and have the little voices in my head that say give up, but at the end of the day I get on with it. The other type of person in the bargainer. The client who tries every trick in the book to get out of training, they talk non-stop, ask all sorts of questions. They say, “If I do 10 of these then I don’t have to do any of those”, at the end of the day that is fine but you are wasting your time. Nobody gets in shape without hard work and sacrifice.
James Haskell: “Nobody gets in shape without hard work”
If you can’t afford to go to a gym there are plenty of resources on the Internet that will help you get fit and get in shape. For example at my site, www.jhbodyfire.com we are always giving away training sessions and advice to get you going. We also have a YouTube channel and a range of new downloadable training packages coming.
If you can’t wait for them, you need to get onto Google and social media and have a scout around for people. There are many really good services out there, which will help you, whatever level you are looking for. You can download a generic training package in seconds, or you can pay a little more for a bespoke service. I like the guys from LDN muscle or Fitnessfodue.com.
You have to choose these very carefully. Do your background research. Do not buy into anything and everything that people are selling to you. Just because it looks all good, and they put motivational quotes up, often not all is what it seems. I know a number of people who have been badly stung. Online training is not a problem, but from verified people. If you do find advice that you like, and that you buy into, from people you trust, then stick with it. Do not chop and change between things. If you speak to seven different people about your training programs and what you’re eating, you’ll get seven different opinions back in response.
Find something you believe in, find something that is reputable – whether you pay for it or not – stick with it for six weeks and see how you get on and then you can review the process. You are never going to get instant results. You need to take your time and work hard. No matter what the outside world may tell you on social media or around the water cooler.
James Haskell: “Eating well is not easy”
I want to share a couple of instant pointers on what NOT to do! Do not try to bolt things on to your program unless it says you can. Don’t start adding sessions in or trying to change what you have been set. If your coach or the company you are working with is any good, they will have factored in all you need. Do not try and be too clever.
Training is very simple at its core, if you’re trying to loose weight then getting your heart rate up will help along with lifting weights. Never forget this. If you’re trying to get bigger, you need to lift weights, high numbers of reps, and time under tension work. If stronger is your goal, then shorter reps lifting heavier weight, all of it with good technique.
Then comes eating well, if you do all the training and don’t get the diet right then you are wasting your time. A lot of the public don’t understand how to eat well. If I had a pound for the number of times I get contacted on twitter from lads wanting to get bigger but struggling, I would be a millionaire. They always say they train four times a week and are doing all the right things. Then when you ask about diet you find they aren’t eating nearly enough. Or if they do eat 4 /5 times a day the levels of carbs, protein and fats are not right.
Diet is what will help get you where you are going. You need to be eating meat, fish, veg, chicken, good carbohydrates; you need to fuel your training. You need good fats in your diet. You need to avoid junk or processed food. It’s not rocket science. Eating well is not easy, it’s not always fun, but anything in life that is worth going after is usually hard.
So get thinking about your goal, think about how you are going to achieve it, find the right method whether it be a gym, programme, PT, or all three. Get a diet plan and get working. If you stick at it, you will see the results that you want and deserve.
About James Haskell Health and Fitness
James Haskell Health & Fitness helps you achieve a healthier and fitter lifestyle
We do this delivering professional fitness and nutrition advice in a simple, clear and easy to understand format. In conjunction with the development of our own range of clean and certified sports supplements, this allows the individual to achieve the lifestyle balance, which is right for them. If you want to know more about Health, Nutrition and Fitness then please visit my website www.jameshaskell.com. Please send us your questions and any comments you would like to make, via our social media channels. Twitter – @jameshaskellhf Instagram @jameshaskellhf
Don’t forget our multiple award winning supplement range, specifically designed to boost your training. All the supplements are Informed Sport batch tested so there are additives or harmful chemicals. Informed Tested products are the only supplements, which members of the armed services and elite athletes can safely take. www.jameshaskell.com/supplements
