What can I expect from a personal trainer?

smp0723

My wonderful husband and children bought me a package with a personal trainer for mothers day (something I wanted but didn't have the cash to spend on) so I am very excited!

However, I have never met with a PT before. What do you think can I expect? My gift certificate includes: Consultation, fitness assessment, program design and four one on one personal training sessions.

micheleb15

First meeting will probably be the consultation and assessment. You will be asked about your lifestyle, goals, injuries, nutrition etc. Then they will take your measurements and sometimes do a fitness assessment to see where you are. Only a few places do the fitness assessment like doing a few exercises to watch your body so they can see what level you are and see what areas need help.

From there they will design a plan to help you meet your goals. Go in there with a plan though. Don't just say "I wan't to lose weight" or "I want to tone my arms". Have specifics. I want to run this far, I want to learn to use the squat rack, I want to lift heavy, I want to be strong enough to do this many push-ups, etc.

What a great gift! Have fun!

smp0723

I had my assessment Wednesday night-it was awesome! She did everything you said below. I'm very excited to get this plan started on Monday. She also has a training group for the Dirty Girl which I did last year but it almost killed me so I think that is an awesome goal to keep me motivated

So excited!

ninerbuff

It differs from facility to facility, gym to gym.

What I CAN tell you to do is:

Be specific on what goal you're trying to achieve and what they are going to do to help you achieve it.
Request that everything be written down and that you get a copy(especially workout programs and measurements).
If you're an ON TIME person, insist that they have to be a PT that's on time too. You won't believe how many lag between clients with up to 10 minutes of meandering.
That you expect them to help get results (even though minor) with the few sessions that you have with them.

These are all reasonable and should be a standard with all PT's.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

smp0723

It differs from facility to facility, gym to gym.

What I CAN tell you to do is:

Be specific on what goal you're trying to achieve and what they are going to do to help you achieve it.
Request that everything be written down and that you get a copy(especially workout programs and measurements).
If you're an ON TIME person, insist that they have to be a PT that's on time too. You won't believe how many lag between clients with up to 10 minutes of meandering.
That you expect them to help get results (even though minor) with the few sessions that you have with them.

These are all reasonable and should be a standard with all PT's.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Thanks Niner! My trainer is also ACE certified-she is fabulous! I feel results already after one session. So pumped! I never thought I would like to work with weights because my only real form of formalized exercise has been Martial Arts but I love it!!

6spdeg

Most pt's i see they dont push clients they just seem to bs alot while the client does super light weight and 6mos later they are still doing the same thing.

If they are not pushing you to get full potential then you need to ask for another.

bumblebums

Most pt's i see they dont push clients they just seem to bs alot while the client does super light weight and 6mos later they are still doing the same thing.

If they are not pushing you to get full potential then you need to ask for another.

I see this a lot, too. You should know your limits, of course, but if the PT puts those 3 lb pink dumbbells in your hands, hand them back and ask to try 10s.