National Personal Trainer Awareness Day is observed every year on January second with a day to honor the experts who assist us with keeping our goals high. 

As the new year begins, one of the most popular resolutions of every year is getting fit, and hence comes the popular demand for personal training comes for the rescue. Their tasks are not exclusively to inspire us, yet to ensure we figure out how to function our bodies securely. As much as lack of motivation keeps us from our goals, the inappropriate use of equipment can lead to injuries which again can become a reason for getting demotivated. 

So we have for you an exclusive series about the Best Personal Trainers sharing their views on fitness and health.

Mohammad Faheem, Personal Trainer, Just Healthy Life – JHL, is a result-oriented personal trainer with a strong passion for improving the client's overall fitness and nutrition through client-based program design.

Fitness journey is not about ‘one size fits all’

Faheem shares his views, “Understanding your body type to find the right balance between your lifestyle and achieving your desired health goal is the most important step for a healthy life. A person, who has a sedentary lifestyle, cannot follow the same workout and diet as the person who has an active lifestyle. He might find few positive changes though, but that would not be enough in the long run which ultimately, might push the individual back to his old lifestyle. Similarly, people with different weight, fat percentage, gender etc, have different fitness paths to follow they require an individualized plan to cater to client’s needs, as per their lifestyle, food preferences and workout habits. Fitness journey is not about ‘one size fits all’. It does take a lot of planning and sometimes trials to understand what our body requires from us to achieve good health,” he says.

Fitness and health cannot be achieved without patience

Faheem sheds light on the subject, “Fitness and health cannot be achieved without patience. Anything that is claiming to give drastic results within a matter of days is a sham. Please stay away from these, as going down that lane can cause much more harm than you can imagine. I have refused many youngsters who came seeking some magic spell which will transform them within a week though it’s not that nothing can happen in a week, you can find positive changes in you if you follow healthy diet and workout according to your body type, but nothing can be achieved without consistency and the magic trick known as patience,” he says.

Consulting a certified trainer or health professional is important

Faheem explains, “Consulting a certified trainer is important. These days there are a lot of new gyms opening up in every nook and corner of the city that are hiring people with no certification thus jeopardizing the health of their clients by subjecting them to the hands of unqualified trainers. We as trainers have learned about each and every muscle, bone, and ligament of the human body i.e. anatomy of our body, the body mechanics, and physiological functions of the human body. We are trained in not just the physical aspect, but also the psychological effect of diet and fitness on our body. An untrained person will not be able to tell the client when it’s safe or not safe to do any particular movement or about following a particular diet. Receiving and following fitness plans from such a person can affect you adversely and might result in injury. The need of the hour is to take action against such gyms on hiring just anyone with few years of working out and this action should be taken up by the gym associations of that particular area. And as a receiver of these services, one should always enquire about their trainers’ certification before embarking on any fitness journey. Not against taking supplements, but never take any supplements without consulting a health professional. It’s been a recent trend that some gym owners give supplements and steroids without disclosing the names to get results faster and demand more money for it. This might look attractive to some youngsters but it’s very dangerous in the long run and can cause diseases like infertility, loss of hair, and even cancer,” he says.

Nothing can beat physical consultation

Faheem shares his opinion, “Nothing can beat the effects of physical consultation, and there is no argument there. A good workout is achieved by auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning. First, two can be achieved through the screen but the last one requires physical presence as well. But with that being said, the world is changing and we need to change with the world. We have to make do with the best of what we have. Just because we can’t step out of our homes these days, doesn’t mean we can sit idle and wait for things to happen on their own. We have to take charge and do our best possible efforts and make use of our time. Don’t waste time and get on with the online health sessions. Look at the positive aspect of it too. With the digitalization, you can be with your family and influence them too, to work out and maintain a healthy lifestyle by setting up sessions including them,” he says.

If any of you have any queries regarding the lifestyle choices you are making or any health-related concerns of yours, I would be happy to be of service. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube by the name of 'fitfalconfahym'

(Edited by Rabia Mistry Mulla)