Personnal Trainer YES or No

Personally, I don't do it, because I'm too cheap, but I do believe it's worth the money if you have it to spend.

The best explanation I heard was from an interview with Tom Venuto, a high profile trainer and writer. The interviewer asked Venuto to talk about why he himself had a trainer, and he basically said (1) you never realize how much you are leaving on the table until you work out with a good trainer and (2) at a basic level, everybody has 3 more reps in them, and a trainer can help you get those reps.

So yeah, probably nobody knows more about golf than Tiger Woods, and arguably nobody knows more about football than Eli Manning, but they both work with coaches to help them pick up that last 2% that they aren't seeing.

Now the next trick is getting a trainer who is worth the money, and using your time with them effectively, but I don't know anything about that.

For me.. it was a no. I wanted to learn how to do it for myself - even if it meant struggling more. I wanted to learn what my body likes and doesn't like.

Plus, I don't much enjoy someone telling me what to do - so I don't think it would have been a positive experience for me.

(I've learned that my body goes against just about everything we all know about weight loss and maintenance -- so I'm REALLY glad I did it on my own!)

You can learn a lot more, and better info online in regards to diet, routine etc. but if you need a kick in the *ss and someone to make you accountable ($$), it may be the push you need.

I have this thing about personal trainers who aren't in good shape...hard to take em seriously.

I also have this theory that no matter how hard they push you in the gym, if your diet isn't in check, you won't see results. So really, diet is more important. If you're cheating on your diet, or eating crummy, you could workout 23hrs a day and not lose weight, if you eat more then you burn.

But I'm sure some are fantastic, you gotta make sure you work well with them, and realize training doesn't end in the gym alone, hopefully then can teach you some things about nutrition and generally living healthier as well.

I use one and I feel like it was an excellent decision for me. Of course I can teach myself any cardio machine, and learn what works for myself in that department, but weights were a different story. Throughout my weightloss (about 3/4 of it maybe) I've worked with a trainer. I really think that her routines are one of the only reasons I'm not totally flabby at this point. I just love getting a personal routine that targets the areas I want to work on, taking out the guess work for me. It really hasn't cost me very much either because I've only seen her about every 2-3 months or so.

I have a trainer and he is worth every penny! I agree you need someone with experience and who is the right fit for you. My trainer understands my limitations (significant arthritis in one knee & plantar fascitiis in my foot) and works with me around those limitations. He gives homework every week, and encourages me through text messages during the week. He keeps me accountable and is a great teacher and motivator. I've been working with him for 6 weeks and have lost 20 pounds in those six weeks. Totally worth it!