In recent years, DVD’s have flooded the mainstream fitness market with questionable products endorsed by almost every celebrity who’s managed to stick to a diet for a few weeks.

Meanwhile, at the wealthier end of the scale, Personal Trainers have seen a boom in their business.

It isn’t difficult to understand why.

While a DVD can show you what you ought to be doing in the most general of terms – a DVD after all has to appeal to as wide an audience as possible – a personal trainer on the other hand can tailor a programme to suit your needs and capabilities and ensure that what you are doing is right for you.

So instead of a catch all approach to fitness, the personal trainer will differentiate between the customer who is seriously overweight or may have health problems that need to be considered as opposed to someone who is younger, fitter and capable of coping with greater stresses on the body.

But there is something else that a good personal trainer can bring to the equation.

Motivation and Empowerment.

How many people have bought a self help DVD or Book on anything from learning a language to better time management? Most of us have at some time or other.

Chapter One usually goes well. You’re full of beans and ready to go.

Chapter Two through Ten often sees a gradual slide in Motivation and the tediousnes of it all gets to you.

If there is a chapter Twenty, it seldom gets read.

Enter the personal trainer. Yes they cost more than a Book but you have a better chance of achieving your original goal and if that goal is to lose weight, get fitter and live longer – then what price do you want to place on it?