Personal Trainer

micqs
micqs Posts: 186 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, Stupid question. How do I go about finding or looking about hiring a personal trainer? What do I look for? Where do I look? About how much are they? What is the difference between a Health Coach and a personal trainer? Ive been watching fitness videos and everything they have in common besides amazing bodies, is they started with a personal trainer. It is just something I want to research and look into and its one of those things that I am completely clueless.

Replies

  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    I found mine at the gym... x
  • prosperkat
    prosperkat Posts: 59 Member
    Some doctors are willing to make a recommendation. Your employer may have some options. Otherwise, Google is your friend. Look for a related college degree, professional associations, and experience. Set up a meeting to talk to them (before paying for an "evaluation"). Avoid people who are going to hard sell you on supplements - you want somebody who is going to help you with solid sensible exercise expertise.

    When in the US, I was paying $40 for a personal session at my trainer's small gym (45 min, just the two of us). Here in Northern Ireland, we paid £30 for a trainer to come to our house per 45 min session. You can get less expensive rates in groups or gyms, I'm sure.
  • louisemh28
    louisemh28 Posts: 29
    I googled for personal trainers in my area then looked at their qualifications, experience and testimonials. I wanted someone who had a related educational background rather than someone whose only related training was the personal training certificate, and who had worked with people who wanted to lose weight.

    I made a shortlist of three to contact via email. One took himself out of the running at this point, and I met up with the other two to see who I thought I'd work best with. The one I chose is excellent, and I'm really happy with the way things are going.

    In this area, the price seems to be around £35-45 for an hour. There are often discounts if you train more frequently or sign up for a few months.
  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
    I found my trainer at the gym.


    My goal is heavy lifting, I'm planning on starting the Stronglifts 5x5 program. Day 1 I went into the gym and was overwhelmed and intimidated by weight room. I went to trainer office and talked to the girl working, she said there were 2 trainers who could help me with those goals. I set up sessions with each trainer. Trainer A is 23, ex power lifting competitor, now training for figure competition. Trainer B is a 50 year old woman who believes in heavy lifting for women.

    I loved working with both of them, but trainer B and I clicked. I'm closer to her age as well.

    Things I like about my trainer;
    She encourages me to try new things- my warm up and cool down is TRX I used to be afraid of it
    She asks for my opinion on things- makes it a back and forth relationship, I don't feel dumb
    She is certified
    She is genuinely excited to work with me. She tells me every session what a treat it is to have a woman who wants to train to lift heavy
    She is Type A about form, she notices every little thing (that's why I'm paying her). When I was working on my bench press with an empty barbell, she asked if I'd ever injured either shoulder. I said yes, about 15 years ago, she said, yes, your left shoulder (the injured one) is weaker, we will work on that. Honestly, she notices everything.
    She gets genuinely excited when I master something... It was so sweet; when we put weight on the bar for my dead lifts and I used proper form, she hugged me after I put the bar down she was so happy.

    Things I don't like about my trainer;
    She doesn't live in my neighborhood, I wouldn't have to go to the gym ever if she did.

    This is the unbelievable part. My gym is a community center. They have a personal training special through the winter. 10 half hour sessions for $50. You can double them up and buy as many packages as you want. What this means is I'm paying $10 an hour. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to find this trainer. My employer pays half of the membership for this center and I can use payroll deduct to pay for everything.

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