How to best utilize a personal trainer?

I had a personal trainer for the first four months of thi year and it was the most beneficial thing I culd have done. I did the same as you and had one session with him each week and the rest of the time I worked out on my own.

1) Be sure to tell him/her EXACTLY what it is you want to achieve as they know their stuff and will give you exercises directly aimed at your goal.

2) You're already using MFP which is great. My trainer also checked my food diary each week which also makes you even more accountable.

3) Never once did I want to go to a session with my trainer but each time I went I was very pleased with myself afterwards as he pushed me to work in a way I never could have on my own.

4) Do exactly as they say and learn to love the exercises you hate as those are the ones that wil help you achieve your goal.

If you follow your trainer's advice you will see the difference, I guarantee you. My goal was to reduce belly fat and reduce my waist by three inches. In 4 months I managed to go from a 33.5 - 31 inch waist, something I've never managed to achieve in all the years of working out on my own.

Hope this has been of some help.

All the best :glasses:

I've had a personal trainer for about a couple of months and I wish I'd done it ages ago. I'd been at the gym for about a year, but the real work began with a trainer. I do half an hour's boxing with him each week, and he changes my weights workout routine about every 4-5 weeks. They're progressive changes, becoming more demanding each time. Cardio is pretty much my own thing.

My opinion, the typical standard say 3 X 10 reps type weight training is OK for a while, but it plateaus and becomes more difficult to get gains. More advanced training keeps the body adapting and strengthening continually.

For me some of the main advantages of a trainer are...

- Subconsciously I think we tend to design our own programs to avoid what we hate (and probably most need). My trainer tends to know that when my mind is saying "no more" I most likely have more in the tank, and crossing that mental threshold is where real gains are.
- A good trainer simply has a knowledge of advanced techniques that you're simply unlikely to even be aware of
- They are likely to know how to progress your training to achieve specific goals
- They have a holistic view of exercise. Balance, flexibility, strength, cardio vascular fitness.
- They can observe and correct bad technique. My bottom line is "no injuries". I'd say the majority of people I observe in the gym are to some extent using poor technique.

If possible I'd casually chat to trainers in passing and suss who is likely to be right for you. I think a quite unique relationship develops, of trust, overcoming moments of frustration and even anger... it can become a quite deep bond and a friendship. A good trainer understands you psychologically, when to push or when to adapt to a "low" you might be experiencing. I have enormous respect for my trainer, he has my health and fitness as his own goal as much as I do.