Personal Trainers

there are good trainers and bad trainers. interview them like you would a potential employee. find out their credentials and what kind of success their past clients have had. make sure they are compatible with you and your goals. uh... make sure you have goals to give them. don't just say something like "i want to be in better shape" or something like that. tell them you want to learn to squat and dead lift, or do a pull up. or whatever.

also, you don't have to get a PT for every single day. you can hire one for once a week, or every other week.

For me it has been money well spent, but I had a session with one that wasn't good years ago (didn't listen to the fact that I have back issues and my back was not good for a few days). Find one that listens and works with you.

I think they are worth the money, if you can find a decent one.

My first trainer was crappy and full of himself. My second and last trainer, were both fantastic.

I agree that you need to go in with a set of goals, and a mindset. Tell them exactly what you want to do, and how can they help you achieve that. Make sure they mix it up with free-weights/machines, and give you your own routine.. not a routine that they give every single person.

It really depends on the trainer and what you're looking to get out of it.

My experience with LA fitness trainers:
They're more salesman then knowledge, they're trying to get you to sign up for packages. Some of the most god awful advice I've ever heard come out of a human's mouth was from one of these trainers. I already had a routine and everything going in, I got a free session so wanted to check it out. He told me "burning fat is 60% cardio, 30% lifting and 10% diet" at which point I think I tuned about everything else out. He didn't care that I already had a routine, I had to do "his". Subsequently I saw about 30 people at the gym on the EXACT same routine ,which I actually think they might have standardized for everyone.


Now I actually DID hire a trainer a little later. I was lucky enough to find a local pro lifter that owns his own gym. He was slightly more expensive (on a per session basis), but it was definitely worth it IMO. Super nice guy, that was very helpful and I got exactly what I was looking for. I only got 3 sessions with him because I wanted advice on improving my technique, and each of them "ran over" the time I bought by about 50% (supposed to be 3-1hr, but ended up being 1.5hrs+ each). He took my base routine and made some suggestions regarding it (mostly adding a couple extra lifts to improve accessory stuff).

Mine was time well spent. He helped me lose 60lbs and i find to work out by myself i dont push myself as hard or enjoy the workouts.

Anyone know how to get other exercise apart from cardio to show in calories on your planner please, I do a weights workout for 30 mins every other day

If you go under the cardio section and type in weightlifting it will come up there and give you a calorie count. Then I think what others do is just add the actual reps/set etc to the notes to monitor it.

Definitely worth the money if you have a set goal in mind and can find a trainer who are into fitness themselves.

Might be a strange thing to say but after watching some of the PT in my gym I've finally chosen someone to help me bulk in August and I chose him because of the following:

The details on his facebook page has the following comments:

Oh and ladies, get off the treadmills and please start lifting! Squat, Deadlift and Lunge at least

You dont need to spend hours in the gym...results come from training smart, eating right and getting rest. Too much cardio can hinder fat loss and have the reverse effect, go HIIT for 20 mins 2-3xweek. switch your focus onto resistance and freeweights, if needed seek advice

When I watch him with his current clients he only interested in them and not what's going on around him where some of the other PT get distracted by pretty girls

One of his current clients he has her doing pull ups and she has some great guns
He's one of the only PT I see with his clients in the weight room

When I spoke with him he actually listened! and seem as excitied as me about my goals

So check them all out and watch them with their current clients as this will give you an idea on who to chose.

No outlay?

Finding a good personal trainer is like finding a good chiropractor. They are out there, but you have to dig through a heaping pile of idiots before you find one. I think that for people who don't need a boost to their motivation it is more beneficial to educate yourself than it is to hire a personal trainer. If, on the other hand, you are one of those people who needs someone to hold you accountable for showing up at the gym, then you could benefit from having a trainer.

Yup.

I use one. He's helping me get ready for a powerlifting competition in August. There are MANY bad ones out there. I don't know what PT costs in your area but for me it was $2200 for 30 sessions (stupid Manhattan prices). If you're going to use one, make sure you know what you're getting into and that it'll be worth the investment.

RT, what kind of comp are you doing?

I might actually go back to the guy that I got training from, for a little "meet prep" type thing. I've not done anything like that yet, as I want to be leaner before I even try to compete. I went to the Arnold Sports Festival last year and watched the USAPL championships. It was awesome and humbling as hell.

The USAPL New Jersey State Open Powerlifting Championships in August.

If you want my advice, don't wait to lean out. If you plan to compete, just do it. It'll never be the 'perfect' time to go for your first competition.

I do quite enjoy working with my trainer. He's strong as hell, knowledgeable, and has a similar personality to mine. It was money well spent.