Having a personal trainer may seem like the kind of thing that other people do, but anyone can retain and benefit from the services of a personal trainer at the one of the locations of the YMCA of Columbia. It’s not just for people who have a lot of disposable income, or are very out of shape, or professional athletes in the making. Personal training is a service that anyone from the beginning exerciser to someone going through a life change like being post-partum, or recovering from an injury, can take advantage of. Even an average person who kind of works out occasionally, but wants to improve their fitness levels or even their appearance with a more personalized regime, should look into personal training.

The YMCA, with five locations in the Midlands in downtown Columbia, Northeast Columbia, Irmo, Ballentine, and in Orangeburg offer personal training services for its members with nationally certified trainers. A monthly membership at the YMCA is $51 per month for one adult, and personal training services start at $45 per hour for a one-on-one session, with the option for small group training (for up to 10 people) that lessens the price per participant. You do not have to be a YMCA member to use their personal trainers, but the overall cost is less for members.

After securing a YMCA membership, it’s easy to get started in retaining a personal trainer. First, the Y will connect each new client to their trainer upon sign up. Then a trainer will do a first consultation with the new client to learn about fitness goals and the current state of fitness. Finally, determining a workout schedule and commencing the actual heavy lifting is all there is to the process of being the kind of person who works out with a personal trainer.

There is no set amount of time that one should work with a trainer but most clients work with their trainer twice a week for 30 or 60 minutes each session. In this way, retaining a personal trainer is an option that works for a wide variety of budgets because the client is able to choose how much time they can spend with a trainer. “Our intent is for clients to keep up with their trainer long-term, but some people come in and work intensely and then go to maintenance on their own,” says Lindsey Blackwell, the healthy living director at the YMCA of Columbia. Reaching certain exercise milestones may trigger the need to reassess fitness goals and routines with a trainer to ensure positive gains and continued growth in an exercise routine.

Blackwell says the YMCA saw the true strength of the client-trainer relationship when the YMCA was closed during the height of the pandemic. “They were very communicative back and forth,” she says.

2020 was difficult enough to navigate with its own unique set of challenges and unimaginable realities. Retain a personal trainer for 2021 and start your year with encouragement, a personalized plan, and goals to achieve throughout the upcoming year.