does anyone have a personal trainer abs are the more efficient to reaching your goal?

trulyhealy
trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i’m contemplating on whether or not to get a personal trainer at a gym i already go to in order to gain music and shape my body because i don’t really have the right knowledge. do you have one? are they worth the money?

i have college 2 and a half days a week and work 3 days a weeks and idk if it would just be too inconvenient to fit in. what do you think?

Replies

  • Kathryn247
    Kathryn247 Posts: 570 Member
    Hi! I did not find a personal trainer helpful.

    This thread has a lot of info about intro-level lifting you can do at home on your own schedule, for cheap:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Good luck!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    You could try to gain this knowledge on your own, but for matters like using proper form, nothing beats having an experienced eye on you.

    Once you have the basics down, you can move on to self-learning.

    I wish I had back all the hours and hours I wasted on things like high reps / low weights.

    If you (or other women reading this with the same question) happen to belong to a YMCA, I found their small group class "Women On Weights" to be super helpful.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    I like working with a trainer and probably mostly because she keeps an eye on my form and corrects me on the spot so I'm less at risk for injury or poor results due to poor form.

    I don't much like the cost of a trainer, but, I was motivated to find the money by identifying other discretionary expenses and redirect them to training instead.

    With or without a trainer, practice makes progress and it's hard to get started again if I stop for too long.

    good luck.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    I found a session with a personal trainer really helpful. He took into account my goals as well as the amount of time I was able to get to the gym. He designed a progressive program for me to follow that has worked out great for me. It was money well spent. I suppose it depends on what you want to get out of it, but having someone who knows proper form watching and showing you from the start might be a good idea.
  • therealmarceline
    therealmarceline Posts: 38 Member
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!

    Good Advice - find a trainer who at least looks like he/she knows what they are doing . Anyone can take some classes and repeat what they have learned. Find someone who has done it, someone with experience in the weight room
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    i’m contemplating on whether or not to get a personal trainer at a gym i already go to in order to gain music and shape my body because i don’t really have the right knowledge. do you have one? are they worth the money?

    i have college 2 and a half days a week and work 3 days a weeks and idk if it would just be too inconvenient to fit in. what do you think?

    Depends. There are a lot of good trainers and a lot of bad trainers. In my experience, the best trainers I've worked with weren't employed by the gym. They either rented space or had their own space. In many cases, trainers employed by the gym are as green as grass and trying to get their foot in the door. Trainers who rent space or have their own space are typically well established and experienced and have built up their own clientele.

    Also, in regards to whether it's worth it or not...that really depends on your goals and what you want out of it. I liked working with my trainer because he really got me into the best physical shape I've been in since military bootcamp. I was also road racing (bike) and he did a lot of different things specific to making me better on the bike. I recently started working with his wife who is my wife's trainer and we do a joint session on Fridays. I went back because having a trainer really pushes me beyond what I would do on my own and we do a lot of different things that I wouldn't think of or that you will find in a cookie cutter off the shelf program (nothing wrong with those at all and much better than willy nilly doing your own thing).
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It really depends on your personality and the trainer. If you need to learn some basics, scheduling a few sessions would probably be helpful. If you do better when you're being pushed by someone else, then it'll probably help long term.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    ecjim wrote: »
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!

    Good Advice - find a trainer who at least looks like he/she knows what they are doing . Anyone can take some classes and repeat what they have learned. Find someone who has done it, someone with experience in the weight room

    Or you can take advice from someone who Actually knows what they're doing rather than just going be irrelevant appearances.

    You'll get some seriously stupid advice from knuckle-headed who 'look the part' but have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. On the other hand there are likely to be plenty of "skinny/fat beta" out there who are extensively educated and knowledgeable.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!

    Very good advice. Amazed at the 3 disagree but hey, whatever. Personally, I have had some very good experiences with very qualified trainers and have managed to vette out the lame ones and not get sucked in. A knowledgeable trainer who knows their stuff can be a real help at certain points along the path.

    I've never felt the need to had one there to count my reps and motivate me. I always wanted form and technique advice to progress and have been fortunate to find a few good ones.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    ecjim wrote: »
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!

    Good Advice - find a trainer who at least looks like he/she knows what they are doing . Anyone can take some classes and repeat what they have learned. Find someone who has done it, someone with experience in the weight room

    I've seen some trainers who look like they eat enough for two people but could rattle off minute details about the latest scientific article on resistance training and had some clients that showed outstanding results. Then I've seen some trainers that look like they should be competing in Mr./Ms. Olympia and were complete "bros". They couldn't spell science-based resistance training, let alone apply it to a client. Looks can be deceiving.

    If you really want to choose a trainer based on looks, base it on what their clients look like. Personal trainers are the same as us, some of them struggle with diet and exercise but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't effective at helping others.

    So much this. I don’t care what my trainer looks like or what he can do. I care what knowledge he has and what results he gets for his clients.

    I work with a remote coach. He crafts my workout plans and overall training Strategy based on my priorities at the time (and adjusts them based on injury, illness, fatigue, recovery, results, etc.). In my first year with him I doubled (or more) all my main lifts and PR’d every race distance I attempted. While spending much less time working out.

    I had never seen him.

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    I never used one in a gym, I do most of my workouts at home. However, I did have one come over to my house for a one off session to ensure I had good form before I started lifting heavier. I did find this very useful.

    I did a lot of research into it before picking a trainer, because they can really be hit and miss.

    I personally, don't see the benefit of a longer term commitment unless you're training for an event, a particular goal that you're struggling with or as an athlete. The link @Kathryn247 shared is a great one for structured programs.

  • therealmarceline
    therealmarceline Posts: 38 Member
    Responding to some of these replies: I don't think looking like a "bro"(I'm assuming that means defined and muscular) means you can't also posses the knowledge required to help someone reach their goals. To me if a trainer looked like a mess why would I care if he read every book on what every muscle did or how they do it? Obvi I don't want to injure myself and I want to use my time at the gym wisely but I'm not showing up and busting my *kitten* to be lectured on anatomy. Also having a buff trainer is very motivating. Sorry, just being honest
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    ... Also having a buff trainer is very motivating. ..

    AMEN TO THAT! It’s the eyeball candy that makes the treadmill time sooooooooo much more pleasant!

  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Danp wrote: »
    ecjim wrote: »
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    It really all depends on the trainer IMO. I’ve seen such skinny/fat beta trainers at some gyms. I’m always amazed. When I was in the best shape of my life I was training with a PT who was a legit body builder/strength trainer. He didn’t waste my time with a lot of stupid crunches and really listened to what I wanted from our hour together. Go in with a plan and find someone who looks good!

    Good Advice - find a trainer who at least looks like he/she knows what they are doing . Anyone can take some classes and repeat what they have learned. Find someone who has done it, someone with experience in the weight room

    Or you can take advice from someone who Actually knows what they're doing rather than just going be irrelevant appearances.

    You'll get some seriously stupid advice from knuckle-headed who 'look the part' but have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. On the other hand there are likely to be plenty of "skinny/fat beta" out there who are extensively educated and knowledgeable.

    There is a difference between knowledge & experience or wisdom - you can get knowledge in a class room , or the internet. Experience & wisdom come with doing it over time. I stand by my previous post - find a trainer who has time (years in the weight room)
    "knuckle-headed who 'look the part'" might actually know what he is doing
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    therealmarceline wrote: »
    Responding to some of these replies: I don't think looking like a "bro"(I'm assuming that means defined and muscular) means you can't also posses the knowledge required to help someone reach their goals. To me if a trainer looked like a mess why would I care if he read every book on what every muscle did or how they do it? Obvi I don't want to injure myself and I want to use my time at the gym wisely but I'm not showing up and busting my *kitten* to be lectured on anatomy. Also having a buff trainer is very motivating. Sorry, just being honest

    The point isn’t that looking like a “bro” means you don’t have the knowledge (nor that a trainer that “looks like a mess” lacks the ability to help you achieve your goals). The point is that looks don’t dictate ability (or lack of ability) to help someone else workout effectively to achieve their goals. Knowledge, experience (in training/coaching), communication and personality/philosophy meshing are what makes someone a good trainer.

    I will always choose the one who will get me the results I am looking for. They look however they look.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Both the the trainer who is muscled - in shape - and the trainer who looks like he does not train may have a lot of classroom , book , or internet knowlege or a certifacation or a degree. I feel that the trainer who has actully trained and had some success will be a better choice, as he / she also has experiance. That is what I'm saying, maybe I wasn't clear with my statments.
    Today a person can get a certifacation via the internet with out leaving his house or computer keyboard. How is that person going to be a succesfull trainer unless he has signicicant gym time? If he has put in time time & work he will probably look the part, like in carrying a little muscle.
    As to your use of "Bro " that is implyling that the guy with muscle also has no IQ . I there an inverse relationship between muscle & brains?
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Sometimes we just like a lively discussion -
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    I ended up getting some training for a student program designed to help people who were uncomfortable in the gym as long as we also agreed to participate in a study. I have found it incredibly motivating.

    While I saw the trainer once a week, I made an effort to keep to the goals I set and replicate my routine at least once if not twice. Before then I wasn’t going. It turned the gym into a commitment and a challenge rather than just a scary place where I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. Now I’m drowning in assignments and I’m not going but I’m done in a few days and I will be going back. And now I think I know what to do somewhat.

    I think it depends what your goals are: if you think you could benefit from guidance or motivation or accountability & goal-setting with an expert it might be worthwhile!
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,636 Member
    Some folks might brush this guy aside if they saw him and didn't know anything else about him.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    It really depends on you and your goals. If you think you would be better off with a trainer... if you feel lost, overwhelmed, need guidance, you might need that extra push and accountability, go for it.

    Me personally I never had one nor needed one. I do follow programs and received help/advice from coaches/trainers with specific things, but otherwise I go about it on my own and that works best for me. I think if I ever wanted to compete (in powerlifting or bodybuilding) I would consider it. However there are very few trainers I trust so it would definitely cost me.
  • Hooliekom
    Hooliekom Posts: 94 Member
    lkpducky wrote: »
    Some folks might brush this guy aside if they saw him and didn't know anything else about him.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe

    I was almost at the end of the thread and had just got my 'Rip' link sorted but you have beaten me to it.. :wink: ) !

  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,069 Member
    OP, in your case, if you're not sure where to begin, aren't sure on form, haven't had training in proper technique and putting together a routine around your goals, then working with a trainer would probably be a worthwhile investment.

    After the basics, it's going to depend on your goals, personal knowledge, experience, etc. For example, I've used trainers a couple times to help me put together a program for my sport - I sought out trainers, however, who are familiar with what it takes to do what I do, since there are a lot of - misconceptions - if someone isn't familiar with the particulars. Their training plans, combined with my my own requests was very helpful. I didn't work out with them, just had them help me put together specific exercises/combinations to do what I already knew I wanted.

    For someone without specific goals, there are plenty of online resources to help you put something together if you're familiar with general form and technique to avoid injury.

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