need advice

larovers
larovers Posts: 100
edited January 28 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone! Happy Sunday. I just need advice on what to do with this situation. I hired a personal trainer 2 months ago. At first I really clicked with her but now I just dread going to her workouts and as a result am trying to find any reason possible to not go and actually working out less than I did before her. Her workouts are very extreme (lots of jumping, tons of planks) and I am sure that is good but I have gotten several injuries from her workouts recently. I hurt my foot (pulled a muscle I think) from doing some jumping stuff and that took forever to heal and she kept telling me it was because I had tight "trigger points" whatever that means (but I know a pulled muscle when I have one). Things were going okay and I was losing inches (not weight as she wanted me to eat more, not less) but then she bumped me up a level in intensity and my body has been screaming "NO!" ever since. From just one time working out with her per week I have been so sore I cannot move for like 3 days. Then I do not workout the rest of the week (I am supposed to but cannot motivate myself at all) so this whole thing is becoming counter productive. Also, this past week over 50% of the hour long workouts were plank related and I ended up having a torqued neck and had to go to my chiropractor (I have neck issues my whole life). She never seems to take responsibility for my injuries, she told me my foot problem was because of my shoes and now she is saying my neck is because I sit behind my computer for my job. She kept telling me I do not need a chiropractor but should go to some friend of hers instead that is a physiotherapist. I know some people hate chiropractors but I personally have been seeing mine for like 10 years nows and I trust him as he has never done anything other than fix me (I have had bad chiropractors too so I do know some are terrible). I prepaid for 20 sessions (have 7 sessions left) with her and now I just do not want to go back (worried i will hurt myself) and would almost rather do P90X or Jillian Michael's since I have had more luck with those before and stuck with them (and not injured myself). I also have to drive really far to workout in her home (which is a very depressing workout environment, tiny crowded space in a basement with her children and animals sometimes coming downstairs during the workouts which is very distracting).
I would like to tell her I no longer want to workout with her but am afraid I am being a baby, a failure, and do not want to hurt her feelings. I also would like my money back for the workouts that I have not done but I bet she will not refund them.
A short history on me: I have worked out my entire life, mostly jogging and have done a lot of P90x or Jillian Michaels type workouts. I need to lose a lot of weight now due to some other health issues and I love to exercise but just not sure this workout trainer is good for me. Advice? Should I stick it out for the last 7 sessions or just tell her the truth. This whole thing has made me feel like a failure.

Replies

  • tleighs64
    tleighs64 Posts: 12
    I also hired a trainer for 2 sessions per week for a year on a contract. She wanted me to box, kick box, etc. I am not that coordinated and don't like contact activity. Also she kept trying to get me to use the elliptical machine and those make me dizzy. She wouldn't believe me until she forced me onto the thing, I got dizzy, fell off and hit my head. I was always sore and injured and I began to hate exercise more than I already did.

    The final straw was the poor nutritional advice she tried to force on me. I am diabetic and she kept telling me my doctor was wrong and she was right. In North Carolina, it is illegal to provide nutritional guidance if you are not licensed. I was done with her. Naturally I did not get out of the contract and had to pay for 6 months of sessions I did not use. I just wrote the entire thing off to a bad experience. I restarted MFP and exercising 3 months ago. I am doing it all on my own. I mix up the exercises and follow my doctor's recommendations and I am slowly losing weight.
  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    OP - have you communicated with her that you are now at the point that you have lost interest in working out with her and that you require that she modify the program for you? I think the other issues like the drive, the basement environment are more annyoing to you now because ultimately, you are not satisfied with the program. Give her the opportunity to re-design the program first before moving on...
  • larovers
    larovers Posts: 100
    YES! She also forces nutritional advice on me too. that has not gone well (telling me to eat more, it has me gaining weight now). She tells me to eat dried fruit and protein after workouts but I have always been taught that dried fruit.is too much sugar. She tells me not to drink coconut water as she says that is too high in sugar and i am like what????? You should see the junk food in her fridge at her home (I have to put my water in there on hot days). She also tells me not to go to my chiropractor (when I need to) and so on. My neck is truly injured but she does not believe it is her workouts as she claims to instructing me to do "perfect form". I guess I will lose money if I quit which really irks me but not sure what to do now as I just want to be done with her and go back to Jillian Michaels or P90X or just jogging.
  • larovers
    larovers Posts: 100
    OP - have you communicated with her that you are now at the point that you have lost interest in working out with her and that you require that she modify the program for you? I think the other issues like the drive, the basement environment are more annyoing to you now because ultimately, you are not satisfied with the program. Give her the opportunity to re-design the program first before moving on...

    I told her that I needed it to be less intense or not focused so much on plank type moves because last week my neck was so hurt. She said she wanted me to come that day anyway (I canceled because of my neck pain) so she could stretch my neck out and stuff. I did not want to drive that far to have just some stretches done. She counted that visit against me (subtracted it from my package) because I canceled at the last minute because of neck pain...so I am also annoyed about that (since I felt like my neck was in pain because of her).
  • larovers
    larovers Posts: 100
    thanks for all your answers. Maybe I should just tough it out but I really dread the workout sessions. Thanks for all your advice.
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