Advice needed: personal trainer vs. doing it on your own

Weightlossdude53

I won a one year membership/5 training sessions at a local gym. I have been going three times per week for one month and working in cardio (bike) and the machines. I have met 4/5 times with the trainer and we have been working in core strength, balance and flexibility. I am 53 years old and have very limited knowledge about cardio/ free weights/weight machines. I can purchase additional sessions with the trainer ($30/ session or 10 pack for $260), but am concerned about cost. I don't think I am quite ready to figure it out myself. I know there are books and online resources, but know if i am ready for that yet. Imam afraid of hurting myself or doing more harm than good.

I would like some opinions, please. Thank you!

StrawberryJam40

My sister got me four (1/2 hour) sessions. I was excited but still sat on them for almost 3 1/2 months. After I did them I was in heaven and I decided to purchase more 1/2 hour session. But, I told her what I wanted. I wanted to do something different each 1/2 hour of things I can do on my own the rest of the week. (I only met with her every Monday). I wanted exercises I could do at home if time and weather or child kept me from getting there. I wanted to work on my meal planning with her. And, then I asked her what she wants from me for the week.

That way if I stop seeing her I have a basis. And, I have a routine to follow the rest of my week.

She got me logging my food on here. And, I wasn't losing anything before I started seeing her, but then started losing 2 pounds a week when I was sticking to her game plan.

I'd see what the minimum time, and times per week they allow. Tell them what you want. They should know best how to handle what you want, but if you don't tell them what you want, they'll do their basic plans. And stop when you have a basis/foundation. If you get stuck after you stop seeing a trainer, then schedule a few sessions to get back on track.

I'm just lucky ours is a local city rec center that is very cost efficient for 1/2 hour sessions and once a week works fine. :laugh:

dbrightwell1270

The answer really depends on personal preference, knowledge, and self discipline. Having a personal trainer in theory can't hurt but there is one at my gym (on a independent contractor basis) that is so bad that I tell the gym's owner that the mere presence of the guy diminishes the reputation and quality of the gym. I worked out a lot when I was younger but hadn't done anything for years and didn't know much about putting together a comprehensive program. I used the gym owner once a month for about four months and then decided I could buy a book for the price of one session and develop my own workouts. I use New Rules of Lifting Supercharged but that is a matter of preference as well. I like it because it gives me a framework and an explanation for what to do but leaves the particular exercises (with some general limitations) up to me so that I can tailor a plan to my needs.

Several months ago, I wanted to work on strength and power and was doing heavier weights and lighter reps and using lifts more geared for that (deadlifts, power cleans, etc.) Currently, I am training for a marathon and am doing exercise more suitable for 8-12 reps and doing more body weight exercises as well.

47Jacqueline

Most weight training programs tell you what to do, but don't let you know what weights to start at or give you tips on the correct way to do exercises. I think it's helpfull to have someone help you set up a routine and then check in after a month and see where you are. If it's only $30 for a session, that's not too bad. In NYC, it can run $60 - $100 an hour.





Audacious-Aging: Fitness over 62
Personal, Aqua and Group Fitness Trainer
AFAA Personal and Group Fitness Instructor
Licensed Zumba Instructor
Five years as a Health Professional

moeheep

In your other post , you said the Personal Trainer mentoned "Muscle Confusion" that right there tells me he knows nothing.

I would stay away from him.

Im 51 yrs old, been training for 2 years after losing over 110 lbs, and I have won 5 powerlifting meets in the last 18 months.

The only muscle confusion I do is add more weight to the bar

ttippie2000

It kind of depends on the trainer IMO. Trainers vary greatly in both quality and in the services they offer, but they all charge similar rates.

At my gym we have a couple of trainers who are best at taking inactive people and getting them off the couch. We have a couple of high level cardio athletes/triathletes that run a team for that kind of stuff. There also are a few specialists in stuff like shoulder injury rehab. And there's the nutritionist. Then there are the people you don't want to train with. These include a few ACE trainers who are so clueless as to not even know basic gym etiquette. /eyeroll

But then again, there are a couple of guys who have stuff that appeals to me. We have a reigning NCBA boxing champion and a world class powerlifting coach. Bingo.

I would say, go for it. But don't go for the person who has the best bedside manner. Go for the person who has a history of producing results in the specific areas you need help in.

MmmDrop

I had a trainer for the first few months of getting into lifting heavy. I found it extremely helpful as I had never done anything like it before, and wanted to make sure I was doing my lifts properly so I could eventually go on and do them on my own confidently. If you're going to do it, make sure you let your trainer know before hand what exactly you're looking to learn so they spend as much time on your goals as possible.

sj_arndt

ttippie2000 wrote: »

It kind of depends on the trainer IMO. Trainers vary greatly in both quality and in the services they offer, but they all charge similar rates.

At my gym we have a couple of trainers who are best at taking inactive people and getting them off the couch. We have a couple of high level cardio athletes/triathletes that run a team for that kind of stuff. There also are a few specialists in stuff like shoulder injury rehab. And there's the nutritionist. Then there are the people you don't want to train with. These include a few ACE trainers who are so clueless as to not even know basic gym etiquette. /eyeroll

But then again, there are a couple of guys who have stuff that appeals to me. We have a reigning NCBA boxing champion and a world class powerlifting coach. Bingo.

I would say, go for it. But don't go for the person who has the best bedside manner. Go for the person who has a history of producing results in the specific areas you need help in.

This.
I went with a regular trainer from my local gym for months when I first started lifting and they had me doing half squats, basically where I just bent my knees, instead of breaking parallel and they just kept piling on the weights. They never properly corrected my form, or explained to me that there are different types of squats (ex.high or low bar), or that different squats require different form. I had to learn about everything through my own research. I learned that I have very stiff/tight hip flexors, hamstrings... well everything really and doing Squats like that only made it worse and also caused a lot of knee pain. I would dread them! Since I've corrected my form and started back at the beginning with just the bar I no longer have knee problems.
Anything that helps you learn the right way is good. That's a reasonable price for a trainer but make sure you are researching things on your own; learn something every night. Then you can ask them questions and develop the ability to recognize if they are actually a good trainer or a piece like the one I had.
Good luck!

mshanepace

You've got some good advice already but I'll give you some of my thoughts on it.

Working with a good trainer will push you. It'll help you understand what you're doing on lifts etc. Working with a great trainer will give you results dealing with what your goals are. Working with a poor trainer could get you hurt or push you until you quit.

Working out with a good training partner will give you MOST of what you'll get from a good trainer.

Doing it on your own, if you're driven for info, will teach you much more than anything else. There are a lot of roads in exercise and MOST aren't correct truly.

Oh, and a really quick response for you on "muscle confusion" since I don't want you to misunderstand that one. Muscle fibers are either firing or they aren't. They don't look outside themselves to see if you are doing the same exercise or not. If they are firing they are working. We get more proficient as we do things and that causes us to use less muscle fibers for the same task over and over again. Muscle confusion truly isn't a real thing but most people get easily bored with workout routines. The need for changing up routines is so that we fight with through the workout a bit more and to keep us adventuring a bit more too. Is it NEEDED? No!! Is the idea of changing things up usually a good idea? Yes. Don't mistrust a trainer that doesn't understand that it isn't a real thing, they're not trained as I'd like but they probably push you just the same. Some certs aren't really that impressive and some of their information isn't fully scientific either.

Use what you can and forget the rest...