Personal Trainers

[JuliaK]

Does anyone have one? I've been going to the gym pretty religously (about 3 times a week) since January with minimal results. I was thinking that a trainer could help me. It would be through Bally's and I just question how qualified the trainers are. I've watched most of them and they each seem to have their exercise preferences like one always has clients to lunges on the track, one is always over by the shoulder/arm machines. Are the workouts personalized and most of all are they worth the $$? I think they run $250 for eight sessions or something like that.

[Hello Kitty]

question how qualified the trainers are
Yep! This article (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/phano41.htm)is pretty good. I especially agree with this:
rule of thumb as a trainer is that if he/she needs to be with me for more than 4 weeks on a professional level, then I'm not doing my job properly.

I think one can benefit from a generic health club trainer by them giving you some ideas for routines, and making sure you have proper lifting form. A good trainer will provide a full body assessment and help you with some goals and they should create a plan for you to reach them.

I think you can do a lot of it yourself - there are so many (too many!) resources online now with routines, videos of form, info about nutrition, etc... LMK if you want me to post anything. I did use a Bally's trainer for awhile and it did help me with my lifting form, but the rest of it I figured out on my own.

[pewee9196]

As a personal trainer I agree with Seb's Kitty. Certifications can be gotten just about anywhere these days. ACSM, NSCA and ACE are the gold standards. A lot of gyms want people to be dependent on the trainer but a good trainer wants to teach you so you will be fit not just for $.

[JuliaK]

Thanks for the article Seb's Kitty. Curiousity got the best of me and I looked into the Bally's program. Of course the recommended packages were the 48 session for over $3000 or the 24 session for $2000. So much for 4 weeks. If you can post a website for help with routines, that would be great. TIA!

[Hello Kitty]

Sure, what are your goals and current routine for the gym? How experienced are you WRT weight training?

[TracieB]

I worked at Bally's in high school and would HIGHLY discourage you from going with the PT's there. The ones I worked with in the past were all about the $$ and not so much about helping you reach your goals.

[ejs]

I started working with a personal trainer three weeks ago. It's great! The gym I go to is set up so every client is working with a trainer during their whole visit. I like that someone else is coming up with a workout routine to help me meet my goals.

[JuliaK]

I started working with a personal trainer three weeks ago. It's great! The gym I go to is set up so every client is working with a trainer during their whole visit. I like that someone else is coming up with a workout routine to help me meet my goals.

Wow! That sounds great. Do you get the same trainer every time or is it a different trainer that just has a record of what you've been doing?

Seb's Kitty, I'll PM you.

TracieB I totally see why you say that. I asked the same trainer that gave me the rates if they had anything for about $250 and he told me "why don't you just put $250 down and ask your husband for $250 more each month and don't tell him what's it's for":eek: I said "Yeah so he can find out I've been lying to him about $$ and he can divorce me and I'll then I'll really need a trainer to help me get in shape so I can find a new man"

[ejs]

I meet with the same trainer every time. The first time I went, she and I discussed my goals and did an assessment. Now I go in and she leads me through a series of exercises, some are the same as the previous visit, some are new. I like having her with me because I'm not the most coordinated and need her to help me do some things correctly. She's also given me exercises I can do at home.

I know some people think that you should only have to see a trainer a few times and then be on your own, but I don't agree with that for me.

[KarenS]

I'll ditto what ejs said. I've been workign with a trainer at my gym. I talked to 3 people before I decided to work with one of them. I wanted someone who wasn't going to rule my life - one guy I talked to wouldn't work with me unless I followed his diet plan. Give ma break!

The woman I'm workign with is super nice. I am currently meeting with her 2 days a week and she leads me through a compelete workout, then she tells me what I should do the other days - suggests stretchign classes or when I need to just work on cardio or whatever. Our goal is to get me into better shape and then move me with one of her other clients to a joint workout session - she tries to pair two people who are at similar stages - which costs less, but is still very personalized. She said also that working *with* someone will help to foster a little competition, which helps.

The thing I like the most about her is that she really listens to what I want and why I'm there and is totally non judgemental about my weight or my fitness level. She's encouraging and firm with me ... but not superior.

If you can find the right trainer, I *highly* recommend it.

Karen

[ejs]

One more note: when I called to set up my first appointment, I had a long conversation with the scheduler. I was very clear about what I wanted and what type of person I wanted to work with. I explained that I didn't want a boot camp-type instructor because I wouldn't respond well to that. I didn't want someone who would lecture me if I skipped a workout at home. The gym was also clear that if I don't like my trainer, I can change to someone else.

I really like who they matched me up with. She's encouraging, supportive, and pushes me, but not too much for my liking. She listens to my feedback and works with it. For example, I hate lunges. I suck at them. For some reason, I am not coordinated enough to do them well. So instead of forcing me to do them, I now do other things that work the same muscles.

It definitely is pricier than a membership at the Y, but I like it. I'm still getting used to having someone carry my water and towel around, though. :-)

[Bbbethie]

As a personal trainer I agree with Seb's Kitty. Certifications can be gotten just about anywhere these days. ACSM, NSCA and ACE are the gold standards. A lot of gyms want people to be dependent on the trainer but a good trainer wants to teach you so you will be fit not just for $.

I second everything said here. DH is NSCA certified. He had a 3.98 GPA in college and still spent over a year studying for this certification. It's one of the few that actually require a college degree. So many places have a couple hour course that you sit through and then you get a certificate at the end. That's not somebody I want messing with my body!