How many of you have personal trainers you love? Hate? Or utterly stupid? Brilliant?
Replies
-
Brandi92809 wrote: »One time I had a trainer who would not only arrive 10-20 mins late EACH time we met, he would bring Mcdonalds or Taco Bell etc and eat it in front of me and actually wouldn't direct me so I often just tried to do things on my own on the machines. Granted this was a free trainer who was a student this was supposed to be his "internship" or something sooooo I guess its my fault for going the cheap route and not getting a real professional.
lol at him eating taco bell in front of you during your work out.2 -
I absolutely loved my last trainer - he was the best. But he had a long term family emergency thing and had to quit. My current trainer is fine but just doesn't compare to the last one. So after the old one quit it took me forever to decide to go back - I do LA Fitness - the ones at my main gym only work during the day - you know when I'm at work - so I started venturing out. Went to one nearby - he seemed pretty good asked a lot of questions, asked me to bring my food log the next week, asked if that would be my normal time to come etc - like long term planning. The next day they called me to say he no longer worked there! Oy. And of course all their other trainers work while I'm at work. Tried a girl at a gym further away - she never asked me a single question about my goals or anything. She was pretty good but I couldn't imagine spending time with her every week especially when she wasn't concerned about what my interests were - oh and I had to search for her and we started late - not a good first impression. Then I tried this current guy - he'll do - he at least asks me questions and seems interested in how I'm progressing.
I've had a couple previous who just assume I can't do much and basically having me do the little pink weights that weigh less than my purse. I need a trainer who tries to kill me not baby me. I can be a pansy on my own in the gym just fine - in fact that's why I need a trainer!4 -
Becoming a certified personal trainer is not hard at all! Just because you pass a test doesn't mean you know anything about training, nutrition, counseling, goal setting, etc. I spent the last 8 years as a Personal Trainer and loved all my clients because I invested so much of myself in them. You really have to find a trainer that wants you to succeed as much as you do and has the background and experience to get you there. I would make sure they have a top rated certification like a CSCS or NASM to start and ask a lot of questions about their background. Personalities need to match and everyone has different preferences on how they like to be motivated. Good Luck I hope you love your trainer!!6
-
I’ve had two experiences with PT’s. Experience #1 - The PT was more interested in looking at women in the gym than my form. To test my theory I was counting reps and actually didn't perform three reps but kept counting like I did. He didn’t notice. I would be on a machine and some female would be on the machine next to me. He would start coaching her - I’m paying him, not her. WTH? So I fired him and complained to the gym (which employed all the PT’s). That was a mistake. They then assigned this dude to me that was Satan in disguise. He would have me chase tennis balls like a dog until I threw up in a trash can. That was his idea of success. I think the other PT was his buddy and he was getting me back…. Not sure. But this weekend I start a group TRX class so hopefully that will work out better.
6 -
I've never used a trainer but in my time in the gym I see quite a bit of what I consider poor training, unsuited to to the person being trained. Things like middle aged guys, way out of shape, doing bicep curls on a Smith machine. Lots of talking and little exercising etc.2
-
Wow - you are due for some luck with a good trainer, OP! Lol
I LOVE my trainer. I work out with him twice a week (been doing it about 6 mos). I saw how he trained others and thought he might be too "military" for me at first in style (though I didn't doubt his expertise as his people get results!) ... but he eased me in and now I love his style. Motivating and pushes me past where I think I can go. Very focused on form ... there ARE good ones!!3 -
Cutaway_Collar wrote: »I am having a hard time reconciling with the Equinox trainer episode
They have a playbook for their trainers and it's a highly sophisticated enterprise. Their management does not let that kind of behaviour happen.
Their protocol is to put every member through an equifit program. And they will give you a report of your health and then recommend a trainer from there, only if you don't opt out. I have never heard of a trainer coming in and offer anyone a couple of sessions rightaway. I know because I have been an equinox member since 2008 (briefly stopped for a year in 2013ish timeframe and rejoined)
And I just don't go to one equinox.... I have the all membership pass which lets me access all their clubs in the five boroughs, and the tri-state area. So I am pretty well-versed with the training habits of their trainers.
Oh I believe it. I complained to management and they told me just that. Then they mentioned that I had been a member for awhile and had never been through the whole equifit process, and if I'd give them a chance they'd match me up with a trainer who was a good fit.
To be fair someone at work just happened to mention to me off hand that our job includes a free membership to equinox. And so I just went down there (same building as my office ) and said "no thank you" to the tour and introduction and everything. So I missed the whole "new member sign up" phase. Probably why everything was a mess.0 -
. . . welp, i'll shout out for mine. he runs a little 'underground' gym out of a loading bay down at the sketchy side of the tracks, and the first thing that struck me when i checked his web page was how clearly his message came through. "If you have an attitude, go somewhere else." a lot of places pay lip service to that kind of thing, but this guy means it. i spent a year working things out by myself first because it is so hard to find anyone who'll take you seriously when you have r.a. and then it took me quite a while to locate him even after i decided i did need some help.
this guy takes everyone seriously, and it doesn't seem to matter who his clients are. he'll spend the time quietly getting to know them and then figure out some way of working with them.
4 -
Gee, some of these trainers sound sketchy. I've seen the type around though, given becoming one isn't too difficult it's the application. Things like eating fast food though? Some just don't take it seriously I guess...
I've had three throughout the last 5/6 years. The first I only saw a couple times. He wasn't "bad" but expensive and not motivating at all. The second was a woman who was training for her first competition. She obviously knew how to apply things to herself, but she didn't push me. Started me off at such a low weight & when I told her she could kick my *kitten* a little more she didn't take it to heart and babied me. I stopped seeing her around the gym not too longer after I switched trainers....guessing a few other people switched did as well.
My current trainer is the *kitten*. I stopped doing 1 on 1 with him around November but continue to attend his h.i.i.t classes. I still text him for advice on nutrition or workout ideas and he never fails to respond. I'm lifting so much more weight than when I started and he pushed me to a point where I surprised myself. He made me feel like a badass! He also, though, would get on me about drinking and staying on top of nutrition. He's someone who you can tell is 100% invested in his clients and wants to see them at their best. I was sad to leave the 1 on 1 ($ constraints) but happy to still have his support in a group setting.0 -
I've been working with my trainer for nearly 18 months. He was assigned to me for induction when I first joined the gym and I couldn't have asked for better. He has encouraged me, supported me, pushed me, never given up on me, laughed when I swore at him. I definitely couldn't have come this far without his support.3
-
My pt is my husband so I can't commen t or he'll cane me in my hill training session today5
-
augustremulous wrote: »I just bought a package for personal training, and I'm super nervous about it. She's got great reviews and has won these awards, but I've had personal trainers in the past whom I hate and really made things a lot worse.
Examples:
- One guy told me to start drinking muscle milk, and when I told him I hate muscle milk, he said I'm never going to lose the weight because I'm being too inflexible. Keep in mind it was that SINGLE product that I didn't want - I wasn't saying I didn't want to eat more protein or even that I was anti supplement - I just didn't like that single bottle of muscle milk.
- Once I joined a really cheap discount gym. In my consultation the trainer took all my stats and told me that to be at a healthy weight I had to lose at least 160 pounds. I was 183 pounds at the time. I remember replying "But if I lost 160 pounds I would only weigh 23 pounds. I need you to think about this for a second. Does this make sense to you?" and he replied "yeah I know it sounds like a lot, but these are the numbers. You have to lose 160 pounds to be in a healthy weight range. At least. Preferably more."
- My old job included membership to Equinox, which is a nicer gym. A staffer saw me trying to do weighted squats, and came over to help me with my form. I thanked him, and he told me that he's a trainer there and could help me a lot with a couple of sessions. At our first session, I wasn't strong enough to do anything he wanted me to do. Not a single thing. I even told him I needed a lower weight but he told me I just wasn't trying hard enough. After our session he told me that I required personal training at least twice a week to even start to think about getting in shape. I told him there was no way I'd be able to afford that. Plus, after our session my back was killing me from overuse and I was so nonfunctional I had to go to the doctor for the first and last time I ever had back issues that required a doctor. He kept pestering me and calling me - one day I woke up at 6am and saw that I had two missed phonecalls from him from early in the morning. One of the voicemails he left me said I had no hope of ever losing the weight if I wasn't willing to make the financial investment. I had to change gym locations after that just to avoid him because I felt so harassed.
- I hired a woman to come to my home once a week a few years ago. She was great at first, but she eventually started getting really nosy. She decided my boyfriend wasn't manly enough or hot enough. It got to the point that all of our sessions included her opinions on me "upgrading" to a better looking guy once I got into better shape. The relationship with him didn't work out in the end, but he was the best boyfriend I had and the only boyfriend I was in love with, so it was super weird. I never understood not only the beef she had with him but why she felt she had to aggressively push this whole thing about me dumping him when I got thinner. Shows a really skewed world view, to say the least.
Anyway, a bad trainer can really make things really bad and demotivate you. It seems like a great one would be super helpful, so I'm hoping this will work out.
Share stories!
Why, with or without this history, would you buy a package without, at least, a trial session or two, (or more) to see if you and the prospective Personal Training are on the same page?0 -
I'm posting just to give kudos to mine after reading the horror stories. She's great. She's in her early 40s, powerlifted before the kids came along and has arms I'd kill for. She was recommended by the dietician I use. I used her a year and a half ago to help me learn the various lifts and proper forms. Did about 9 sessions, then struck out on my own. I missed the sessions and started up again last fall. This time my goals are to work on my core and eventually do a pull up or a chin up (or any kind of up before I die). Both times she's worked with me towards these goals, every session is a different workout geared towards these, not some generic one that she can repeat with each client. She's fun, we chat, she corrects my form when it's needed, and has taught me a lot. I just bought another 12 sessions because it's an investment well worth it4
-
CRIKEY---I really lucked out--I think my PT is great!!!---tested him out for three sessions, and knew that this would work--he is not imposing and is, above all else, KIND. I see the way he interacts with others in general--everybody describes him as a "really decent guy"--and I mean EVERYBODY!
He is very attentive, and IS counting reps and marking down my weights, and making notes for next time. He has adjusted exercises when my sciatica has driven my leg crazy, and I don't feel one bit intimidated. I have NEVER had a guy do my measurements but he was so professional it didn;t faze me a bit. He did put me in front of a mirror at first--but I told him that was not good for maintaining my delusion that I am not as big as I am--and he stopped--although has me back again--and I do notice that he is watching to see if I am looking at myself in the mirror (I look at everything but me typically). It's become a bit of a joke now--since I know he is not judging me--and has NEVER made me feel like I am beyond hope. He praises all victories, sends littel texts of encouragement, encourages when the scale creeps up a bit, and I have lost 63 pounds in 30 weeks--so it's all working. I feel stronger and better than I have felt in years!
I have told him I am sticking with him for two years--I figure I will be at goal weight by end of 2017--then will need one year to LEARN how to maintain weight--I still struggle with food--and don't want to be another one who put it all back on. COST: 30/hr 4 x week CHEAPER than gastric bypass, fewer complications-and hell ---I don't drink or smoke or go to clubs so may as well put money into making me healthy- Also--cheaper than paying for a kid attending college, on a monthly basis! AND I AM WORTH IT!!!12 -
@pondee629
Why, with or without this history, would you buy a package without, at least, a trial session or two, (or more) to see if you and the prospective Personal Training are on the same page?
The package is with the gym so if I don't match well with the trainer I can switch to someone else. And it's only a package of 3 sessions anyway.0 -
When i first joined a gym about 6 years ago they did an offer were you paid for 3 personal training sessions but got a refund if you went to the gym 20 times in the first 8 weeks. It was so badly organised, you booked each session in advance but when i showed up they didnt seem to be expecting me so i got a different trainer each session (basically whoever happened to be free). All three were unhelpful at least. The first one, when he put me on a chest/pecs machine, spent ages talking about how he puffs his chest out on nights out to attract girls then eventually moved on to his various qualifications and just came across really self obsessed. The second one made me try a workout that was far and away above my ability as a total beginner and i had to stop about a quarter of the way through (and screamed at me when i took a drink from my water bottle) and the third one asked me about my diet then laughed at me when i told him. The whole experience was quite deflating. Have avoided pts ever since2
-
When i first joined a gym about 6 years ago they did an offer were you paid for 3 personal training sessions but got a refund if you went to the gym 20 times in the first 8 weeks. It was so badly organised, you booked each session in advance but when i showed up they didnt seem to be expecting me so i got a different trainer each session (basically whoever happened to be free). All three were unhelpful at least. The first one, when he put me on a chest/pecs machine, spent ages talking about how he puffs his chest out on nights out to attract girls then eventually moved on to his various qualifications and just came across really self obsessed. The second one made me try a workout that was far and away above my ability as a total beginner and i had to stop about a quarter of the way through (and screamed at me when i took a drink from my water bottle) and the third one asked me about my diet then laughed at me when i told him. The whole experience was quite deflating. Have avoided pts ever since
ugh! I'm sorry. A bad trainer can really derail you, can't they?0 -
Yeah its not good. Im a member of the same gym again now and tho those particular pts arent there anymore they seem to hire posers more than anything
0 -
augustremulous wrote: »@pondee629
Why, with or without this history, would you buy a package without, at least, a trial session or two, (or more) to see if you and the prospective Personal Training are on the same page?
The package is with the gym so if I don't match well with the trainer I can switch to someone else. And it's only a package of 3 sessions anyway.
"I just bought a package for personal training, and I'm super nervous about it. She's got great reviews and has won these awards, but I've had personal trainers in the past whom I hate and really made things a lot worse."
What is it you're "super nervous" about? I don't understand your anxiety. You can switch to someone else and it's for only three sessions.
1 -
Hmm, not a good start. There was a scheduling issue and when I got there she was with another client. She apologized profusely and offered me a free session to make up for her error. Which is nice. We're rescheduled for tomorrow, and now I have four sessions instead of 3.
I'm beginning to think that maybe gyms are just really bad at working with trainer schedules.
Anyway, I was pissed at first, but then I was relieved because I actually felt a little under the weather and really had to drag myself to the gym yesterday. So when our session was missed I just hopped on the elliptical for ten minutes, did some glutes and arm work, and then retreated to the steam room to chill out and clear my pores. Drank a bunch of water, ate a salad, and went to bed early, and now I feel great today (and released about a pound of water weight overnight and this morning).
Anyway, she has great reviews, so I'm optimistic. And the fact that she gave me a free session for this makes me hope that this doesn't happen often.3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 390.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.5K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.2K Fitness and Exercise
- 379 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.6K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.1K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 867 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions