What are the advantages and disadvantages of training one on one with your personal trainer vs a group session with your trainer and one or more of your friends?
Training with a friend is often more cost effective, and in some cases can reduce how self conscious a new client might feel about their levels of fitness and ability. Having a supportive friend involved can greatly add to the appeal of commencing a new fitness program, and can be a factor in maintaining enthusiasm and motivation. However if one of the clients participates inconsistently with regard to attendance or enthusiasm this can have a demotivating effect on the remaining participants.
Group training also increases the amount of activities that can be included in the session, although this can be limited if there is a wide discrepancy in the ability levels of the participants. In some cases a client may have biomechanical issues related to posture or flexibility that need to be addressed in order to perform an exercise with correct form. These issues would usually be identified during pre-screening or a movement assessment session and would result in a recommendation to start with a one on one training program, as the difference in requirements for each client would be too great to be able to train concurrently.
While a one on one training session allows the trainer to program exercises to a clients individual needs, this is compromised somewhat in a group session although the selection of exercises will still be tailored to suit the group as is best possible. If the clients have vastly different fitness goals, say if one client is looking to gain lots of muscle mass while the other is looking for a weight loss plan, it may not be possible to program a session to suit each of their needs.
In summary; undertaking a group fitness program with a friend can be an excellent way to get started on the road to better health in a fun, social and supportive environment. However in some cases you may find that exercising one on one with your personal trainer is more suited to your needs.
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