Personal trainer - day one question

CeeBeeSlim
CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi. I had my first meeting with a personal trainer today. Went over goals, weaknesses, etc. Had a great session, learned a lot but wondered when she was going to take measurements. I told her what I thought I weighed and how much I wanted to lose but just wondering if one of your stated goals was to lose weight and inches that she wouldn’t take those at the first session. I’ll see what happens at the second session but would this be concerning to you or if you have to ask to take measurements?

Replies

  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,365 Member
    I've never had a trainer take my weight or my measurements--I measure my progress by my lifts and workout recovery. I've let them know that I need my program changed based on weight I wanted to lose or gain, but my trainers have no role in my diet and nutrition or the progress I make on that front.
  • lilygarcia3
    lilygarcia3 Posts: 22 Member
    I had a few personal trainers and they always checked my weight, height and body mass. It’s important to have an idea of the process, especially if you start training that first day. If she didn’t do it I suggest you do it
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited December 2019
    I would expect a personal trainer to help (or at least advise) my training plan - but I wouldn't expect or even want diet advice or taking measurements.
    If your goal was to gain inches (in muscle) then maybe measurements would be appropriate, but fat loss isn't their area of expertise.

    Although it's possible to lose weight through exercise it's takes a lot of hours, is contrary to how this site works and may well be extremely slow unless you have your diet zeroed in. And that last part is down to your and not your PT.

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    I didn’t know they were supposed to.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    My goals with my coach are to get stronger, faster, more endurance, compete in various events, get “fitter” and I rely on his expertise to help create my workout plans to achieve those goals. We measure progress by race times, weights lifted, other measures of fitness, etc.

    We do talk about weight because that’s involved - and losing too quickly can impair my ability to recover from workouts - which impairs my ability to achieve my fitness goals. But my weight is controlled by how much I eat. As much as he might like to, he can’t control that.

    He does know how much I weigh and we do talk about it, but no measurements nor do we do weigh-ins or anything like that.

    When you talked about goals, did you set up baselines for those?
  • MT1134
    MT1134 Posts: 173 Member
    CeeBeeSlim wrote: »
    Hi. I had my first meeting with a personal trainer today. Went over goals, weaknesses, etc. Had a great session, learned a lot but wondered when she was going to take measurements. I told her what I thought I weighed and how much I wanted to lose but just wondering if one of your stated goals was to lose weight and inches that she wouldn’t take those at the first session. I’ll see what happens at the second session but would this be concerning to you or if you have to ask to take measurements?

    If your goal is to drop or gain weight then yea I think it's reasonable to expect that your trainer measure those things. However, in the trainers defense, there could be an underlying reason as to why she didn't take those measurements such as she works for a chain who has policy against it or something like that.

    Don't get me wrong, I highly doubt that's the case as I'm only throwing it out there but regardless of the goal, it should be measured when starting so that you can retake the measurements later when checking progress. This would be no different than measuring a performance goal such as wanting to run a race at a certain pace. We wouldn't know where to begin or your progress without knowing day 1 starting points.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It's not a red flag, but it's certainly ok to ask if that's one of the things they do regularly. Mine did. But don't have them do it if it's not a regular thing with them because you risk them not doing it in a consistent way, so your results could be variable.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    edited December 2019
    If that is your stated goal, then I think that is a reasonable expectation. Part of it might depend on their expertise or their access to measuring resources. On the one hand, I don’t know how you can make recommendations about appropriate weight or track progress without doing some type of empirical assessment. On the other hand, if the trainer doesn’t have those skills, or they just have some cheap hand-held body fat measuring device, then you are probably better off just doing some tape measurements.
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,355 Member
    Thanks All. @Duck_Puddle - yes, I was very specific with my main goals - wanted to lose 15 lbs, lose inches in my thighs, waist, hips.

    Hmmmm. One of the reasons I wanted a p/t was for the accountability - I pictured a weekly weigh in and maybe a monthly measurement check. I’m kinda Type A and I need that quantifiable data to make sure I’m progressing. If I did gain weight, she could “get on me” as to what I’m eating, portion size (which she brought up with me - asking to describe my typical day of eating).

    I’ve worked with a p/t twice before (once with this gym years ago) and they both started with weight and measurements. She did caution me not to get caught up in the number I wanted to see on the scale so perhaps she didn’t see it as critical.

    I’ll see what happens Thursday but if I ask for baseline measurements and a periodic check in any reason she wouldn’t do so?

    Thanks again.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 319 Member
    I worked as a PT in the past. I began every initial session with measurements and a body fat exam. Then discussed goals and how to safely achieve them.

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