Most people seek the help of a physical trainer to lose weight, get that ultimate beach body, or to help them prepare for a physical competition. Yet, we are looking to recover from substance abuse. Gaining the perfect BMI or finding our optimum fitness levels is probably not a priority for us right now. Then why do we need a physical trainer?
A physical trainer is the ideal way to start an exercise program in treatment. In addition to assessing our physical condition and being able to help plan a personalized program for our own fitness, a physical trainer can teach us a lot about our bodies and appropriate ways to become fit. We seek professional help for our mental and emotional healing, so why not also seek professional help for our physical healing?
Importance of Exercise in Treatment
We have subjected our bodies to substances and all of the side effects of drugs or alcohol, as well as perhaps the accompanying lifestyle. This might include poor diet, poor sleep, and lack of exercise. The side effects of substances can impact our immune systems, our cardiovascular systems, and more. This is one of the reasons that exercise can help us so much, as it can help to reverse some of the side effects by strengthening our immune system and improving the function and overall health of our cardiovascular system.
Exercise can also help improve our sleep. Our sleep cycle may have been affected in our substance use, and physical activity is one of the ways to regulate sleep patterns again. There are benefits in our brains, too, as we start to exercise and heal. There is evidence to show that regular exercise can help lower our cravings. Above all, exercise makes us feel better and improves the functions of our bodies.
Personalized Workout
Perhaps if we were left alone to try to start exercising, we might set unrealistic goals, such as running a marathon within the month, despite us having been sedentary for years. However, a physical trainer can assess our condition and help us make healthy, safe, and realistic goals to improve our overall health.
Setting up a personalized workout for us, one that focuses on our needs and our limitations, allows us to be kind to our bodies and ease into a fitness program that is right for us. The trainer can set goals for us that challenge us, but are also attainable. The success we are most focused on at this point is our own recovery, so our personalized fitness plan should support that, not take away from it. We can trust a physical trainer to help plan our path back to physical health.
Accountability
Having a personal trainer means we have someone to hold us accountable for the exercise we should be doing. Particularly as we are emerging from our substance use, having a schedule and some accountability for our exercise helps us to develop good habits as we recover. We also benefit from the guidance and consistency that a personal trainer gives us. Even if fitness is not our highest priority in treatment, it is still a very important piece of it, and having a personal trainer can help us to maintain the quantity and quality of exercise in our recovery process.
Proper Technique
As we are making changes in our life, we might be excited to jump in and try new forms of exercise and fitness that we have never tried before. Maybe it has been a long time since we last did any of those movements. A personal trainer can help us to be sure we use the proper techniques that will give us the maximum efficiency in our workouts, as well as help to prevent injury.
Using a personal trainer allows us to experience optimal workouts for our bodies wherever we are at in our fitness. We can learn so much by listening and working with someone, including the activities that we can do now, the activities that we can build up to, and how to know if we are ready for that next level. We can also learn to monitor our breathing and heartrate so we know when to stop and when we can push ourselves a little more, but doing so safely.
Motivation
Especially while we are still new in our treatment, finding the motivation to exercise can often be difficult. Having a personal trainer helps to give us that motivation. When there is a trainer who has worked with others in treatment after substance use, it helps to have someone who has compassion and empathy for what we are going through, but also provides us with appropriate motivation to exercise and help our bodies heal.
Why do you need a personal trainer? Because you are worth it. Your physical health is as important as your mental and emotional health. Seeking the help of a trained professional to help your body heal shows your commitment to yourself and your well-being. Discover what a personal trainer can do for you and your physical health. Experience the personalized care, the accountability, the motivation, and techniques to heal your body. Find your unique path to physical fitness and health.
AToN Center has our own personal trainer to help you restore your physical health. Call AToN Center at (888) 535-1516 now and start your path to physical health today.
Originally posted on March 19, 2020 @ 10:00 am
