Does it pay?

Meme Roth from National Action Against Obesity ( ActionAgainstObesity.com )just turned me on to a writer who was doing the groundwork for an article to answer the question of "Does it really pay to hire a personal trainer?" Well...
A former client pointed this out the other day after not training with me for a few weeks. "You know what I just realize?” he asked as I walked into the weight room. “As soon as you came in, I started working harder. No way do I push myself as hard as when you’re here.” It’s almost as if largely by human nature we simply just do not work as hard when we’re not being held accountable to anyone else.
Think about it. How long has your "honey do" list been sitting around waiting for a little attention? Fixing the hinge on the kitchen cabinet. Getting that button sewn back on your charcoal blazer. Cleaning out the freezer. And who’s really there to make sure you get it done? Now, when your supervisor drops that TPS report on your desk tomorrow morning, how fast are you going to have that puppy turned back in?
Here’s another side to the equation. Say you're a young professional, established but climbing. Jumping at that next rung on the ladder. You strive and reach for every opportunity to advance just a little higher. Come end of year, you've got two W-2s, a hand full of 1099s, a disbursement from those stock holdings in your old company that fell 40% over four years before you cashed in and three months of the year spent just across the river at your old address in Jersey City.
How much do you trust yourself to finish and file the appropriate forms with the IRS and multiple state treasuries on time and to make sure you get that monster refund you really really hope is coming your way? Right about now, your CPA’s fee becomes something of a moot point. It really doesn't matter how many hours of CNBC you've watched, being a professional and an expert in her field, your CPA is so much more qualified than you or I will ever be to assist you in getting your taxes taken care of as quickly and efficiently as possible. How were we to know we could deduct 1/4 of the cost of that jalopy of a laptop you bought in college? You still use it to prepare your Power Point slides right? Well, that’s what you hired a professional for. She knows these things.
In the same way a qualified, nationally certified, experienced trainer has the combination of education, academic research, practical experience and finesse to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Think of it like the tax situation. You've got sciatica, a bum knee from college soccer, a six year smoking habit, high blood pressure from all those 70 hour work weeks & a problematic right shoulder. Are you going to trust your law degree or the cumulative knowledge of your trainer's entire career, degree & certification to get rid of that back pain and put you into a size 4 again by your 10 year reunion in March?
Add to that the motivation of someone standing with you, holding you accountable and reassuring you that, yes, in fact you can and you will do this. Fall down & get discouraged? Guess who's there to pick you up and help you back to the path? Guess who's there to tell you you're not alone and that this is worth fighting for, or that you’re not a bad person for having that extra yeast roll last night. Just be more careful next time. You’re going to make it.