first personal trainer

Well first, he/she should sit down with you and talk goals, exercise history, medical conditions, injuries, etc. They should also give you some sort of movement assessment. This could either be its own session, or done prior to each exercise.

To begin the session, it is important to do some sort of warm-up. If they put you on a treadmill for 5 minutes then start the session they probably are a bad trainer.

Each week, if not every session, you should perform some sort of squat, hip hinge, pull, and push exercise. Adding some sort of loaded carry, and unilateral leg exercise would be a good idea, too. If your trainer puts you on the leg extension and leg curl machine, run away.

I feel spending any more than 5-10 minutes doing cardio is a complete waste of your money, regardless of your goals (weight loss is from eating less, not running on the treadmill).

To end, it would be a good idea to spend 5 minutes stretching, or performing some other cool-down technique.

I just hired my first ever personal trainer, and although excited, I am very nervous as well. I've never had any experience with a one-on-one personal trainer, or with a standard gym really, so I am wondering if anyone out there has any tips as to what I should be looking for... Something that will help me know if he is awesome, average, or if he's not gonna be worth my time? We haven't had our first session yet, and he knows I am a little insecure about the whole experience, and that I am trying it for 2 weeks just to see how it goes once. So in the meantime, any great advice?

I have worked with 2 different trainers, and I love both my "boys"!

If you can, go in to the gym, and watch them work with other clients. I watched my first trainer work with women for months before I hired him.

Cutting you down is NOT the way to motivate you. Neither one of my trainers has ever raised his voice in anger, or belittled me to "encourage" me. Yet somehow, they make me want to show them that i CAN do it.

If something doesn't feel right ( physically, or gut instinct) don't be afraid to tell them. After I almost had an asthma attack with Brian, he is very conscious of my breathing, and asks me if I am OK if he thinks I am breathing too hard. If I don't think something is possible, I WILL argue with him. A few weeks ago he challenged me to a 3 minute plank, and I told him I would try it if he planked with me