The Key To My Successful Full-Body Transformation

Written by Mike | Guest Post 

If you go to any regular gym and look at people working out, you can quickly find out that most of them actually don’t look like they’re going to the gym. 

What’s even funnier, if you ask them how long they have been working out, they will typically say they have a couple of years of lifting experience. Huh, something doesn’t add up here. Well, I was one of those people. 

For around 3 years, I was going to the gym on and off (probably 60-70% of the year) while thinking I was eating relatively healthy and progress should soon come my way. 

But year after year, nothing was really changing all that much. I couldn’t see my abs; all I seemed to gain was some belly fat and possibly a bit of muscle. 

I was stuck on the same weights with almost no strength progress. 

Despite watching all of the YouTube videos on fitness (KinoBody, Athlean X, Steve Cook, you name it, I watched it), I felt like I still didn’t know what I was doing. 

I felt like I was putting in the work and didn’t see any measurable results from it. It was demotivating, to say the least. 

So, I began asking myself, how is it that some people seem to have incredible physiques while the other 99% are stuck on the basics? 

What can I do to make a significant leap in my physique? 

In my opinion, the most prominent problem people face with fitness is their nutrition. 

See, to plan out a transformation diet, where the fat loss is not too rapid and the macronutrients are in check, and to modify that plan according to your measured weight loss plan and, on top of everything, make the meals satisfying and healthy is not easy. 

Not to mention planning out a workout routine that covers all body parts and executing all the exercises in the right form. 

As you can guess, I ran into all of these problems myself. 

However, all of a sudden, after enough self-reflection and taking the right steps, I made more progress with my physique in 6 months than I did in the previous 2.5 years. The question is, what changed? 

The short answer is, that I swallowed my pride and hired a personal trainer. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “I’m not going to pay some guy to teach me how to lift dumbbells and waste my money. I can do it on my own.” 

The truth is, 99% of people can’t. 

See, another problem that people run into when starting their fitness journey is that your body doesn’t give you immediate feedback on the work that you’re doing. Let me explain. 

You can consistently put in workouts for 2 months straight and have the perfect diet and still not see any results. 

It takes time to see significant progress in your body (I would say 6 months is a proper timeframe to produce a noticeable change), but most people give up way earlier than that. 

Even though you could have made the best progress in the world, you’re putting in the sweat and dedication while seeing no results (yet!), all along while checking out all the photoshopped guys with a six-pack on Instagram, which can be quite discouraging. 

It’s one of the reasons that people give it up. 

Why is hiring a personal trainer the best step toward a better physique? 

Feedback. See, when you have someone out there who thinks about the journey you’re about to go through, and you are sure that you know what you are doing, all that’s left is following the plan. No more second-guessing and watching YouTube videos on whether a Keto or Intermittent Fasting diet is right for you. Or whether Schwarzenegger’s program will build you more mass than Steve Cook’s one. Or whether cable chest fly is a better exercise than dumbbell chest fly. 

Guidance. If you don’t see results after 2 months, you’re not discouraged, as your trainer tells you that it is normal and you’re making the best progress YOU can make. Doesn’t matter that Callum von Moger has bigger biceps; the important thing is that you’re assured that you’re on the best path you can be. 

Accountability. If you decide to pay him, it means you’re actually committed to eating healthy and working out, and it creates leverage on you to go through with the plan. 

Expertise. You have an expert who you can ask anything. Books, Youtube, or Podcasts can only give you general advice. A personal trainer is specifically trained to translate the general knowledge into a program that accounts for your genetics, fitness level, and circumstances. 

Results. You have a clear-cut plan that is best suited for you, your lifestyle, and your ideal schedule. For example, you might be tempted to follow people like Jay Cutler (a former Mr. Olympia) and his workout schedule when starting out. This schedule consists of training very isolated, single body parts for 6 days a week, so say you have a biceps day, triceps day, quad day, calf day, etc. This approach will not work for a person who just started going to the gym, as it focuses too much on muscle isolation. In my opinion, the best way would be to have a 4-day routine with alternating push and pull exercises (too technical) hitting every body part twice per week with a lot of compound movements, but that’s a whole different article. 

Motivation. When you actually start making progress, you don’t want to stop. If the cooperation is fruitful, it is natural to continue it as you’re getting the results, and you would have to actually find a reason to NOT work out and leave your PT. 

With all that said, in the end, it is up to YOU to do the actual work. No personal trainer will help you if you’re not willing to weigh your food, control your calorie intake, and commit to working out every week. 

What a PT can do is offer you the shortest and most straightforward path towards your success while holding your hand through the process, but you have to put the reps in. 

If you would like to know the specific advice I followed to transform my body then read the following article: How To Get Lean And Transform Your Body Composition