Even Your Trainer Needs a Trainer: The Truth About Motivation and Accountability
Even Your Trainer Needs a Trainer: The Truth About Motivation and Accountability
There’s a perception that as a personal trainer, I must have a bottomless well of motivation. That I leap out of bed every morning, excited to do my workout, and that I never, ever struggle with the desire to just hit the snooze button and skip it.
I want to let you in on a little secret: that’s not always true.
I’m a parent, a business owner, and a person living in this same complex, busy world as you. There are days when my energy is low, my to-do list is overwhelming, and the last thing I feel like doing is my own training session. There are times when, despite knowing exactly what to do and how to do it, the mental push required feels monumental.
On those days, I often think to myself, "I wish I had a trainer."
If a professional, whose entire life revolves around fitness, sometimes feels the need for a coach, what does that tell us? It reveals that the true value of a trainer comes from something far more powerful than just knowledge.
The Gap Between Knowing and Doing
You can have access to every workout plan and nutrition guide in the world. You can know the perfect form for a squat, understand the science of muscle growth, and be able to write a flawless fitness program.
But knowledge doesn't lift the weights for you. Knowledge doesn't get you out of bed on a cold, dark morning.
Most of us get stuck in the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. This is where life gets in the way. The exhaustion from a long day at work, the demands of parenting, the constant mental load all of these things drain our willpower. They become the loud voices telling you that you’re too tired, that you can skip it just this once, that you don’t have it in you today.
The Power of an Outside Voice
The magic of a coach, or any support system, truly lies in providing that external push. A good accountability partner does more than just check in.
They Are Your Accountability: They are a scheduled appointment in your diary that you can’t easily dismiss. They are the person expecting you to show up. That simple fact is often enough to overcome the inertia of a low motivation day.
They Are the "You Can" When You Think "I Can't": A good partner sees your potential even when you can't. When your internal voice is full of doubt, their external voice provides the certainty. They are there to push you past those self-imposed limits and believe in your strength before you do.
They Take the Mental Load Off You: When you're feeling overwhelmed, making more decisions is the last thing you want to do. A trainer removes that burden completely, but even a gym buddy can help by simply deciding you'll both follow the same routine. It halves the decision fatigue.
Be Kind to Yourself: You’re Not Supposed to Do It Alone
The idea that we should be able to handle everything on our own is a myth. It leads to guilt and shame when we inevitably struggle.
Acknowledging that even a trainer needs a trainer is the ultimate act of being kind to yourself. It’s permission to be human. Needing support, accountability, and an external push shows wisdom and an understanding of what it truly takes to succeed.
That support doesn't have to come from a professional. If hiring a coach isn't the right step for you right now, don't let that stop you. The principle is the same: don't go it alone.
Find a gym partner: Team up with a friend who has similar goals. You're far less likely to skip a session when you know someone is waiting for you.
Create a check-in group: Start a simple WhatsApp chat with a few friends where you share your workout plans for the week. That small act of declaring your intention can make a huge difference.
Join a class: The structured environment and community of a group class can provide the energy and accountability you're missing.
The goal is to find an external source of support that works for your life. Asking for help is the first step in setting yourself up for success.