Many people think that having a Personal Trainer is just an expensive luxury for the rich and famous, but did you know that a qualified professional trainer can actually protect your wealth? That’s not a typo!
With medical care costs soaring, any investment you make to improve your health and fitness is going to save you BIG money down the line. Furthermore, you can expect a higher quality of life when you reach your golden years if you’re still able to get around on your own two feet and enjoy your favorite hobbies and activities like playing golf, gardening, hiking in nature, playing with your grand kids, and traveling the globe. You get to spend your hard earned money on vacations and fun stuff instead of assisted living or cardiologists. Here’s a handy little comparison:
Cost of Personal Training: my in-person rates start at only $100 per session. Personal training is currently not covered by health insurance, but you may be able to use pre-tax dollars from your HSA in the future if the PHIT Act passes in Congress. Contact your legislators to advocate for it if you see fit.
Cost of Physical Therapy: with insurance can range from $10-$75 per session out of pocket depending on copay, without insurance can exceed $500 per hour depending on the clinic and services. Insurance will typically cover physical therapy services if they are deemed medically necessary, but people tend to be discharged before they are fully recovered. One of my local running buddies recently got a bill for $455 for a 45 minute initial consult for a hamstring injury. If she would have heeded my advice and done some simple exercises to correct common muscle imbalances, there’s a good chance she could have avoided the injury.
Cost of Coronary Bypass: here in the Twin Towns, the average rate is $73,157 for a 10 day hospital stay. Additional hospital days average $2099 per day. That doesn’t include the outpatient cardiac rehab that you’ll need to do after discharge. Research clearly shows that regular aerobic exercise improves HDL (good) cholesterol, increases capillary density of the heart and skeletal muscles which improves blood flow to those tissues, helps maintain a healthy body composition, helps maintain normal blood pressure, and can help prevent type 2 diabetes. In other words, exercise is a wonder drug that may help you avoid needing to get your chest cracked (and paying big bills after the fact no matter what the outcome). Even something as simple as regular walking can help. Effort is free!
Cost of Assisted Living: in Minneapolis, the average rate is $3878 per month for room and board (2009 rates) and can exceed $5000 at some places. That doesn’t include medical expenses or transportation services. More than 80% of people who are in assisted living in Minnesota pay those expenses out of pocket. Strength naturally begins to decline as early as your 30’s, especially the Type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers. You can minimize muscle loss by doing regular strength training just two times a week, but if you don’t use it, you lose it! By the time a sedentary person reaches retirement age, they frequently have mobility problems, are more likely to be overweight – which can then contribute to back pain and joint pain in the hips, knees, ankles, and feet. Sedentary folks are also more likely to have other chronic diseases that are caused by poor lifestyle choices: diabetes and all of its complications, high blood pressure which can cause kidney damage or stroke, high cholesterol which contributes to coronary artery disease, poor circulation in the legs, etc. In other words, sedentary people tend to be sicker and end up having a pretty lousy quality of life in their later years. If you are physically active and can maintain your strength and balance, there’s a better chance that you won’t need assisted living or home health care (which averages about $30 per hour).
If you’re reading this, you’re not dead yet so it’s not too late to start! Exercise is medicine! It’s never too late to start investing in your health by improving your fitness. I’m here to help you improve your health and protect your wealth in the long run!