Personal Trainer- good idea or not

It's worth it to get one for a few sessions. Don't get suckered into a contract however because one thing you will learn is that trainers outlive their usefulness once you get proper form down for the exercises you will be doing, and then you're stuck with a contract. So yes it's worth it if you can get one on a session by session basis to instruct you on proper form for all of the major weightlifting exercises as well as kettlebell training. Once you have that down, you can comfortably go out into the gym world on your own and do programs such as Stronglifts 5x5, Starting Strength, Madcow, Wendler 5/3/1, NROLFW, or others that only come in book format and show results WAY beyond anything you will ever see from a DVD workout.

It depends on what you are really wanting to accomplish. For me, the price of a trainer is so much cheaper than bariatric surgery. Do research on the type of trainer you want, they are not all the same and make sure it's what you really want.

I love my trainer, and I would be happy to pay for a session with him for once a week forever. He's so awesome, I wish everyone could work with him. We do unique things every time, he gives me routines for home that work for my fitness level. Basically we do everything you see on biggest loser (not that I condone that show). It's all caveman stuff: boxing, battle ropes, different lifting and balance exercises, medicine balls, kettlebells, sleds, sledgehammers/tires, tabatas, etc. But he's no joke, and he helps lift me up and helps push me to do things I didn't think I could do. If I had a trainer who was like "ok get on this machine, now this one, now that one" that wouldn't last more than 2 sessions for me.

I had a personal trainer for a couple of months when I was getting in shape for my wedding a couple of years ago. I loved every minute of it, but it depends on exactly why you are looking at getting a trainer.

Pros:

-- Motivation: You'll be much more motivated to push yourself harder and farther when you have someone there who...well, is pushing you to go harder and farther. And if they're a good trainer they will also recognize your limits and push you without letting you get into a position where injury is a possibility. I never worked out so hard as I did when I was working with my trainer. Then there's also the small part in the back of my mind saying "Hey, you're paying $50+ for this workout, you better damn well make it worthwhile!"

-- Teaching: My trainer taught me many exercises that I still use now, and he taught me proper form to reduce the risk of injury. That whole feedback system is something that DVD's can't give you.

-- External support: My trainer gave me his personal cell number (and did so for all his clients) and told me to call him if I ever had questions. This was great, because he was a nutritionist as well as a personal trainer, so if I ever had questions on food, or exercise, or anything related to my fitness, I had someone I could talk to about it at pretty much any time.

Cons:

-- Expensive: Most of the gyms in my area make you buy "packages" that you have to pay either in monthly installments or, to get the best deal, all at once. In my case, $1200 was a great investment and I was happy with it, but it was also a challenge coming up with the money up front.

-- Usefulness can wane: If you are extremely self-motivated in the gym and are in tune with your exercise limits, once you learn proper form for the exercises the trainer's usefulness can wane a bit, since they are mostly glorified spotters at that point.

So I think that really what it comes down to is this: if you're a beginner in the gym, getting a trainer for a short while can be invaluable. From there it is all dependent on how self-motivated you are.

Just my point-oh-two dollars

I was doing my own thing successfully for 2 years (aerobics, treadmill, floor work) then wasn't loosing weight anymore so I decided I needed to shake things up and got a trainer in January. It is true - they are good for learning form, staying away from injury, pushing you hard and a good sounding board. With her I do strength and circuit training using bands and weights. It is a totally different kind of workout. You will see definition fairly quickly but my body is sore in places I didn't even know about :frown: ! I've gone every week since mid Jan and rarely do the same thing twice. It is all stuff I can do in my own home so I can see that this will be a limited need. Good luck to you.

If its only program wise there are a ton you can find for free on the net if you are willing to do the research. If its to learn proper form etc and you feel you can't get that from a video or a written description a session or two could probably point you in the right direction...

I work with a trainer once per week - she sets me a programme at the beginning of the month that I do myself and we go through that. I like that my programme changes regularly. If I have problems with my programme I can email or discuss at my next session and any exercises that are not working for me we change up. The additional sessions are for motivation and doing stuff like boxing and learning compound lifts that I could not do alone. I am going on holiday and wanted to do a resistance band home workout so my last session she went through one with me that she emailed to me. I personally find the accountability useful and the variety. I think its worthwhile if you have the money and need more accountability and or reassurance and guidance on progression. For example I did a DVD resistance band work out and got much less out than my trainer developing the programme for me and teaching me and adjusting some exercises so they are the right degree of difficulty. Good luck.