Finding The Right Venue/Trainer
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frizbeemom
Posts: 101 Member
This may not be the best group to ask, and if so, I apologize, but this is fast becoming my favorite group on MFP. 
As I read more on what other people are doing for training, I realize how much I still have to learn and what an unexperienced novice I am. I want to find someone/someplace to help me with training, show me workouts that I am not familiar with or uncomfortable doing. I want my form critiqued. I don't need motivation and inspiration, I just want instruction and help and told what to do when until I'm more comfortable setting my own routines. However, I also want someone who will give me the respect of listening to me when I say that I can't do a certain workout. I had a trainer for awhile a few years ago, but I have prior herniated discs in my back. He wouldn't listen to me when I said that I didn't want to do what he told me to do for the next 30 min, and I ended up tweaking my back that night that set me back for a couple of months. My back is not an issue as long as I don't do certain things. It has never felt better since I started working out with weights and my own bodyweight (did Body Revolution, which has really whetted my appetite for going into strength training hard core). And I have the case of the cardio blues right now, except for my Sunday long bike rides or walks on the bike trail.
So, I'm nervous about who I hire. How do I find the right trainer locally? Doing a google search left me feeling blue about my choices. Signing up at a gym that provides trainers could give me another young kid who doesn't know what the heck he's doing with my back, as well as I didn't always have the same trainer if there were schedule conflicts. The gym I use now doesn't have trainers. I thought about joining a Crossfit box, but I'm nervous about my imminent death (still not the most fit person), as well as the trainers at my local box didn't seem all that highly qualified from their online bio, to put it bluntly. Still not sure if I should be going the personal trainer or Crossfit route.
I wanna lift. Heavy, but I'm not sure who to trust or how to know if it would be a good relationship. Can I keep making progress just using strength training DVD programs and being able to self-master which workouts I can best handle with my back history? Help. Thanks so much.
As I read more on what other people are doing for training, I realize how much I still have to learn and what an unexperienced novice I am. I want to find someone/someplace to help me with training, show me workouts that I am not familiar with or uncomfortable doing. I want my form critiqued. I don't need motivation and inspiration, I just want instruction and help and told what to do when until I'm more comfortable setting my own routines. However, I also want someone who will give me the respect of listening to me when I say that I can't do a certain workout. I had a trainer for awhile a few years ago, but I have prior herniated discs in my back. He wouldn't listen to me when I said that I didn't want to do what he told me to do for the next 30 min, and I ended up tweaking my back that night that set me back for a couple of months. My back is not an issue as long as I don't do certain things. It has never felt better since I started working out with weights and my own bodyweight (did Body Revolution, which has really whetted my appetite for going into strength training hard core). And I have the case of the cardio blues right now, except for my Sunday long bike rides or walks on the bike trail.So, I'm nervous about who I hire. How do I find the right trainer locally? Doing a google search left me feeling blue about my choices. Signing up at a gym that provides trainers could give me another young kid who doesn't know what the heck he's doing with my back, as well as I didn't always have the same trainer if there were schedule conflicts. The gym I use now doesn't have trainers. I thought about joining a Crossfit box, but I'm nervous about my imminent death (still not the most fit person), as well as the trainers at my local box didn't seem all that highly qualified from their online bio, to put it bluntly. Still not sure if I should be going the personal trainer or Crossfit route.
I wanna lift. Heavy, but I'm not sure who to trust or how to know if it would be a good relationship. Can I keep making progress just using strength training DVD programs and being able to self-master which workouts I can best handle with my back history? Help. Thanks so much.
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I looked around at local gyms until I found one that looked like what I wanted (2 power racks, plenty of plates and bars, etc.). I went in and told the guy behind the desk that I was interested in power lifting and asked him if they had someone who specialized in that and he gave me the info on my trainer, whom I am very pleased with.
Of course the only way to find out for sure if you'll work well with someone is to hire him/her for a session and find out.1 -
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I think it would depend on your goal. When I first hired a trainer and joined a gym when i was 150 kilos (310 pounds)...I joined a all womens gym and spent a lot of time talking to their membership consultant with what I needed. Back then I needed help with my mental side...I lacked confidence...felt I was too big for a gym...convinced I would break everything i sat on/lent on/pulled on etc...they matched me with someone who had a background in counselling who focused a lot on getting me to not hate the gym and build my confidence...we also focused more on things like balance and mobility more so then weight loss.
Recently tho I felt it was time for a change. I joined a new gym. Its a chain gym with huge weight area....has everything i could need...squat racks, machines, heaps of free weights, olympic bars etc....it also had a ladies area in case I initially felt self concious (I rarely use it) and also had group fitness classes. The gym gave me 4 free PT sessions. Luckily for me they matched me with a great trainer. She never knew "big karyn" so she has no preconceived thoughts of what I can or cannot do...she just sees me as someone who needs to lose 10-20 kilos (25-50 pounds). I could tell from the first session she knew what she was talking about. I also ran some of the programs she wrote me up past Sara who thought they were quite good which made me feel even more confident in my trainer. I would see if you do go for a trainer see if you can get some free sessions or heavily discounted price to trial them (I honestly was not planning to have another trainer.....but she is so good I ended up going with 2 sessions a week lol)
I think with the right trainer they will listen to you. My trainer spent a lot of time going thru my history and past injuries. Whenever we do anything that affects past injuries (I broke my wrist in January and it still lacks some strength) I will tell her and if need be she will adjust the type of weight we use (ie this week we did something with a kettle bell and it hurt my wrist....we just ended up doing it holding the weight in a different position)
Just make sure if you do join a gym you are very open and honest with what you need in a trainer so they can match you with the best fit for you 0 -
I looked around at local gyms until I found one that looked like what I wanted (2 power racks, plenty of plates and bars, etc.). I went in and told the guy behind the desk that I was interested in power lifting and asked him if they had someone who specialized in that and he gave me the info on my trainer, whom I am very pleased with.
Of course the only way to find out for sure if you'll work well with someone is to hire him/her for a session and find out.
This was my method of hiring a trainer the other time I had one, and it didn't work well for me. Had trouble walking for three months and it totally threw me off my fitness plan. So I'm a little gun-shy of just trying the same method, although my back is much improved from that time. You are right in that the only way I will REALLY know is to start a relationship... I hate confrontation though, so I'm hoping to have some assurance of it being a non-harmful fit before starting a few session with the trainer!
The one thing that I have learned in the last few years though, is that no one knows my body or will look out for my health as much as I do. I now know the feeling of when I am dangerously close to doing an activity that could injure me, and I need someone to respect that they don't need to push me beyond my comfort zone. I'm glad it worked for you, though. 0 -
I think it would depend on your goal. When I first hired a trainer and joined a gym when i was 150 kilos (310 pounds)...I joined a all womens gym and spent a lot of time talking to their membership consultant with what I needed. Back then I needed help with my mental side...I lacked confidence...felt I was too big for a gym...convinced I would break everything i sat on/lent on/pulled on etc...they matched me with someone who had a background in counselling who focused a lot on getting me to not hate the gym and build my confidence...we also focused more on things like balance and mobility more so then weight loss.
Recently tho I felt it was time for a change. I joined a new gym. Its a chain gym with huge weight area....has everything i could need...squat racks, machines, heaps of free weights, olympic bars etc....it also had a ladies area in case I initially felt self concious (I rarely use it) and also had group fitness classes. The gym gave me 4 free PT sessions. Luckily for me they matched me with a great trainer. She never knew "big karyn" so she has no preconceived thoughts of what I can or cannot do...she just sees me as someone who needs to lose 10-20 kilos (25-50 pounds). I could tell from the first session she knew what she was talking about. I also ran some of the programs she wrote me up past Sara who thought they were quite good which made me feel even more confident in my trainer. I would see if you do go for a trainer see if you can get some free sessions or heavily discounted price to trial them (I honestly was not planning to have another trainer.....but she is so good I ended up going with 2 sessions a week lol)
I think with the right trainer they will listen to you. My trainer spent a lot of time going thru my history and past injuries. Whenever we do anything that affects past injuries (I broke my wrist in January and it still lacks some strength) I will tell her and if need be she will adjust the type of weight we use (ie this week we did something with a kettle bell and it hurt my wrist....we just ended up doing it holding the weight in a different position)
Just make sure if you do join a gym you are very open and honest with what you need in a trainer so they can match you with the best fit for you
You are right in that my goals have changed since my first experience of having a trainer. I've lost over a 100 lbs since then. At that point, it was more urgent to just lose weight, cardio and light lifting. Now I am more fitness oriented, have confidence in myself but just need a bit of knowledge and spotting. The cardio side of the gym has been my playground... totally at home there. Comfortable with the weight machines. Lack of confidence using free weights, and that is where I want help and want to improve. A new trainer wouldn't see me as someone who has to lose half of themselves. So yeah, I get that. If I go that route, I will be very vocal with what I need, so I have less chance of being matched up to a wrong person. Thanks.
I was trying to talk my husband into building a home gym in the basement. He didn't bite yet. He's hardly the person to correct my form, though. I know more about weight lifting than he does, which doesn't say a whole heck of a lot. Lol. When I do my Body Revolution DVDs, he will watch and tell me how to correct my form to more closely resemble what the trainer is doing on the dvd which has been helpful. And call me out when I am phoning it in. lol.0 -
Okay, I'm going to go down a slightly different rabbit hole, now that I read Sidesteel's comment on a different thread of starting a weightlifting program. As I was researching this weekend, I was considering starting SL 5x5 on my own (w/ my hubby) but not necessarily with a trainer. While I have multiple goals, my highest concerns are fat loss and building muscle/losing loss skin from all this weight loss. Does anyone else have experience/advice on weight lifting to reduce loose skin? Just my workouts with Body Revolution for 90 days has made a noticeable difference of loose skin in my arms and stomach - I want to keep tightening that up. Something cardio has never done for me!! Am I going down the right path? Thanks.0
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Okay, I'm going to go down a slightly different rabbit hole, now that I read Sidesteel's comment on a different thread of starting a weightlifting program. As I was researching this weekend, I was considering starting SL 5x5 on my own (w/ my hubby) but not necessarily with a trainer. While I have multiple goals, my highest concerns are fat loss and building muscle/losing loss skin from all this weight loss. Does anyone else have experience/advice on weight lifting to reduce loose skin? Just my workouts with Body Revolution for 90 days has made a noticeable difference of loose skin in my arms and stomach - I want to keep tightening that up. Something cardio has never done for me!! Am I going down the right path? Thanks.
Sorry for the delay in responding.
Unfortunately, strength training will not impact lose skin. It can improve the appearance to a degree indirectly by 'filling it in' more, but ultimately only time and sometimes surgery will have a direct impact.
The improvements you are seeing from exercise is losing body fat via a caloric surplus and not loose skin.0 -
Sorry for the delay in responding.
Unfortunately, strength training will not impact lose skin. It can improve the appearance to a degree indirectly by 'filling it in' more, but ultimately only time and sometimes surgery will have a direct impact.
The improvements you are seeing from exercise is losing body fat via a caloric surplus and not loose skin.
Hmm... interesting. Since I thought I was at a caloric deficiency, except for a few cheat days now and then, perhaps it just appeared less as it filled in more. While I lost weight on the scales in the process, I definitely lost body fat. I dunno, I guess I'll keep on in this direction since I love the results (in addition to loose skin) and worry about my loose skin once I've maintained my weight at goal for awhile and am ready to decide if I want to do surgery or not. Still want to keep progressing in strength training, even if my bat wings don't go away. Thanks for your response! 0 -
Sorry for the delay in responding.
Unfortunately, strength training will not impact lose skin. It can improve the appearance to a degree indirectly by 'filling it in' more, but ultimately only time and sometimes surgery will have a direct impact.
The improvements you are seeing from exercise is losing body fat via a caloric surplus and not loose skin.
Hmm... interesting. Since I thought I was at a caloric deficiency, except for a few cheat days now and then, perhaps it just appeared less as it filled in more. While I lost weight on the scales in the process, I definitely lost body fat. I dunno, I guess I'll keep on in this direction since I love the results (in addition to loose skin) and worry about my loose skin once I've maintained my weight at goal for awhile and am ready to decide if I want to do surgery or not. Still want to keep progressing in strength training, even if my bat wings don't go away. Thanks for your response!
It can take up to 2 years to see where the skin will end up re looseness. It is often hard to tell whether you will have lose skin if there is still fat behind it. You have the right plan. Keep losing, give it some time, then assess.
Locking so we can track active threads better. If you have anymore questions you want to pose, PM me, including a link to this thread, and I will unlock so you can do so.0
This discussion has been closed.