It’s a new year with a new start on life.  The New Year’s holiday normally brings on new goals for people that they want to accomplish by the end of the year.  More often than not, people make it their goal to stay healthy by eating good and exercising more in the best of ways.  However most people don’t question what is truly the healthier way to exercise?  Smartphones can provide apps to millions of people that contain programs to better their workout but would an actual personal trainer be better?

According to Thomas Gooding, a personal trainer at NKU, the goal of a personal trainer is simply to help the client achieve their own goals and to assist them in changing their lifestyle to the way that they want it to be.  In other words, the client’s goals is what shapes the personal trainers job for the day.

The many programs that exist to help train people have similar goals.  They are designed to better a person’s workout experience.  Since both personal trainers and the workout programs have the same goals, it can be difficult for some people to decide on what is more effective for themselves.

Gooding feels that workout programs can only offer you so much because they are designed for the whole population, whereas, a personal trainer is tailored just for the client.  Workout programs are made in a more general sense and personal trainers are more personable to their clients and overall will contain better results.

“It’s a job that I love doing because I get to change lifestyles for people,” Gooding said, “I help them achieve their goals and it’s so rewarding when you see someone really change their life for the better.  They have this spark and you see this change in them and in their personality and you know that you helped do that for them.”

Gooding inferred that, “100 percent, I would say it’s better to train with a personal trainer.”

He went on to explain that personal trainers have good amounts of knowledge and experience with the job that they’re doing.  Clients also have the opportunity to make a personal connection with their personal trainer and to become very close with them.  Personal trainers are there to watch their clients’ forms and to correct them if they need to.  They can also relate to their clients and be there for them every day.  This results in a very personable workout that is tailored exactly for the client.

On the flip side, Gooding said that workout programs are better than nothing and are definitely a good way to start.  Some specific programs that he recommended for people to use would be apps on smartphones such as “Fitness Journal” and “My Fitness Pal.”  However, personal training still allows for interaction with the client and an overall better workout experience.

“There’s no one diet that fits everyone and there’s no one fitness that fits everyone,” Gooding said.