Scheduling Personal Training Sessions

lalabank · November 2018

I got my first gym membership a month ago, I’m 42 and new to working out, I’m 189lbs at 5’4 and lost 50lbs in the last year through diet alone. I’m doing cardio twice a week (Wednesday step class and Saturday kickboxing) and beginners yoga three times a week. I just purchased 10 sessions with a personal trainer. My plan is to do strength training on my yoga days.
Now here’s my question. Do I use my session once a week for ten weeks straight? Do I do five weeks straight of once a week and then go to every other week?
I’m hoping to take what I learn each week and do my homework and get two additional workouts.
Is there a standard or do I just figure it out as I go?

quiksylver296 · November 2018

lalabank wrote: »

I got my first gym membership a month ago, I’m 42 and new to working out, I’m 189lbs at 5’4 and lost 50lbs in the last year through diet alone. I’m doing cardio twice a week (Wednesday step class and Saturday kickboxing) and beginners yoga three times a week. I just purchased 10 sessions with a personal trainer. My plan is to do strength training on my yoga days.
Now here’s my question. Do I use my session once a week for ten weeks straight? Do I do five weeks straight of once a week and then go to every other week?
I’m hoping to take what I learn each week and do my homework and get two additional workouts.
Is there a standard or do I just figure it out as I go?

I went once a week for quite a while (a year?) before switching to once every other week. I hired a powerlifting coach, though. May be more technical that what you are looking for.

kshama2001 · November 2018

Unless it is specified in your contract, I imagine it is up to you.

I think my mom started with twice per week then switched to once per week, but she was in her late 70s at the time so presumably needed the extra reinforcement more than you will.

lorrpb · November 2018

There is no standard. You could do 2x for 2 weeks, 1x for 3-4 weeks, then decide how you want to spread out the rest. Sometimes getting a larger concentration up front gets you up and going better. It depends a lot on how you learn and your skill level.

alicialiken · November 2018

I just finished 3 months of PT, meeting with my trainer once a week. I agree with what everyone's saying - you can probably work with your trainer to figure out a schedule.

Just a few things I wish I had known:
1) Warm up before you meet with your trainer (or else they'll spend 5-10 minutes warming up - taking away from your training time!)
2) If your trainer isn't pushing you or you're not satisfied, ask for a different trainer. I worked with someone who did like 3 exercises and called it good. She ended up leaving and I got scheduled with someone different. He was AWESOME and really pushed me - not just going through the motions.
3) Trust (and ask) your trainer to push you! You'll be happy they did

lorrpb · November 2018

alicialiken wrote: »

I just finished 3 months of PT, meeting with my trainer once a week. I agree with what everyone's saying - you can probably work with your trainer to figure out a schedule.

Just a few things I wish I had known:
1) Warm up before you meet with your trainer (or else they'll spend 5-10 minutes warming up - taking away from your training time!)
2) If your trainer isn't pushing you or you're not satisfied, ask for a different trainer. I worked with someone who did like 3 exercises and called it good. She ended up leaving and I got scheduled with someone different. He was AWESOME and really pushed me - not just going through the motions.
3) Trust (and ask) your trainer to push you! You'll be happy they did

OP may or may not need to ask trainer to push them since OP is just starting out. My trainer could always perfectly identify where I was at and how much to push without injury or discouragement. Some people report trainers pushing too hard for a beginner. I think it's more important for OP to learn technique, form, and workout organization than to push as hard as possible the first few weeks. Needs and approach can vary based on age and I believe OP is quite a bit older than you.

You make a good point about warming up and I suggest OP discuss this with trainer. Trainer might be able to give a warm up routine or might want to direct the warmup the first several times to be sure OP is warming up appropriately. I know when I started I knew nothing about working out, warming up, or anything fitness related.

Cherimoose · November 2018

Training once a week is fine, but try to train every second workout, so that any form errors can be corrected promptly, instead of practicing them twice on your own, which makes them harder to unlearn. Eventually you can spread out the sessions. Hard to say when, because it depends how fast you pick up, and the program they give you.

Many people train just for motivation, so make it clear to them you want to learn how to workout on your own. I suggest bringing a notebook, and maybe even take videos if you're forgetful. Make sure you're clear on the order of the exercises, # of sets, # of reps, etc.. perhaps by getting a written program from them.

Oh and yeah, good trainers don't push newbies to their limit initially. That's like learning how to operate a car on the highway. Nope.

Hopefully you got a good trainer. How did you pick them?

lalabank · November 2018

Thanks everyone for such thoughtful replies. Through this post I think I’ve realized that focusing on form is how I can get the most out of my sessions. Good advice to make sure I’m reinforcing what I’m learning. It sounds silly but I hadn’t thought of doing twice a week to start but I think for the next two weeks I will. I need to get the basics down.
Also I picked my trainer because I really enjoyed her kickboxing class, she easily called out modifications to fit different skill levels and I feel like I get a super thorough and fun work out in her class. I genuinely feel like she’s excited to be teaching me.
Thanks everyone.

Scheduling Personal Training Sessions

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