Investopedia is an encyclopedia…about investing. Which is probably where they got the name. According to them, competitive advantages are conditions that allow a company or country to produce a good or service of equal value at a lower price or in a more desirable fashion. These conditions allow the productive entity to generate more sales or superior margins compared to its market rivals.
What in the world does that have to do with anything? We shall see…
As a person who lives here in the western hemisphere in 2018, you are no doubt interested in being at least somewhat efficient in how you spend your time, attention, and money. None of us like to spin our wheels very long on a given task. If we are going to go somewhere, do something, or spend our money on something, we like to see something for it.
This is usually why we spend money on plumbers, electricians, dentists, lawyers, and Amazon Prime. Hiring a personal trainer or utilizing a personal trainer from time to time operates on the exact same principle and can end up making your training time, the time you are spending NOT doing a million other things, much more efficient and valuable.
You are saying, “What in the world are you talking about? Give me an example for goodness sake!”
Ok…you got it.
I feel like it is low hanging fruit to discuss why and how personal training could benefit someone who is not training at all. All the same, I might write about that case sometime in the future.
In this example let’s assume someone who is already working out somewhat regularly, probably on their own, pulling workouts out of Men’s Health or attending our group CrossFit classes 2-3 times per week. This person knows what they are doing to a large degree and they spend 2-4 hours per week working out already. How could personal training benefit a person like this?
In our experience, no matter how seasoned the athlete there are almost always a few things about them you can count on:
- There are things they like to do
- There are things they don’t like to do
- There are things they would like to improve
Piggybacking on those 3 things the following:
- They usually don’t have a hard time doing the things they like to do
- They usually have extremely clever ways of avoiding the things they don’t like to do
- They usually don’t have a clear plan on how to improve the things they would like to improve
Periodic personal training can help people recognize where they have deficiencies and create a program to address those deficiencies.
Often times we are good at finding workarounds for the things that give us trouble. But it is oftentimes the case that addressing those deficiencies head-on is going to be the fastest way for us to accomplish that which we are after.
The most obvious example we have in our facility is working on mobility. There are more pots of gold at the end of the rainbow than people we meet over age 12 who don’t have some sort of mobility limitation that could be improved. Additionally, working on flexibility is something that almost no one will do on their own despite the fact that it is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle someone can do to actually feeling better (diet would be the other big one).
So where is the competitive advantage? When you hire a CPA to do your taxes, you turn over your paperwork and they make sure all the “T’s” are crossed and “I’s” are dotted before you file with the IRS. By working with a coach/trainer and getting work on areas you either don’t like to work on or don’t know how to work on, you can accelerate your progress toward the end you seek. All you have to do is show up and do the plan that is laid out for you.
That’s it. Using the resources around you to help you create and stick to a program that will help you get better at the things that are holding you back specifically. Save the heavy brain cells for other things like deciding where to go on your next vacation. Use the resources around you to make the most of your time and effeort!
