When is it Time to Stop Training?

Written on September 7, 2024 - 5:06 pm | by Terra

I was talking with one of my clients after our training sessions about a few situations that made me think I was on hidden camera, the victim of a prank. I was telling him about a couple I used to train, and how their son secretly set up the appointment for me to meet with them. I’m not going into detail about it in this post, but the story might make for an amusing post in the future.

My client asked if my training relationship lasted long with the couple. The conversation led into how some people quickly stop exercising, not just personal training, the second it seems like an inconvenience.
I understand when someone discontinues personal training for the right reason. Some people hire a trainer to help them reach a specific goal or making the exercise habit a regular part of their life. Some need to develop the skills to design and implement their own weight loss program, body building routine, or life long fitness regimen, and once they get those skills they can successfully train unsupervised on their own. From a trainer’s view those are great reasons to say bye and thank the client for allowing you to help. Someone stopping training due to financial difficulties is always understood, and hopefully they make a serious effort to keep working out regularly on their own.

It’s when someone stops exercising completely that I have a hard time understanding, especially if they’ve been doing it for some time and have been making and seeing results.
I told my client I can’t even imagine not working out regularly. For me it would have to be due to something serious that made me incapable of exercising. My client wondered if there would be a time in his life when he would stop working out.

I think the biggest factor is how much you enjoy exercising. I asked him how much he enjoys working out and he said he really likes it, except when he is overwhelmed with other things to do. Then workouts become a chore, just one more thing to cross off a to-do-list. I can understand his point. I do my best to schedule my workouts around the same time and days depending on my current program. But it is always a priority for me, so my concern becomes “will I get a chance to workout today?“.

This year I’ve been exercising for more than 78% of my life. I can’t envision the point in my life when I would throw in the workout towel. Until this recent conversation the thought never entered my mind.

I’d like to know is there anyone reading this that can see a point in their life when they could decide it’s time to stop exercising? What might be the deciding factor- age, health, lack of enthusiasm? If you can see that time in your life, how much do you like to exercise right now?

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