Would you recommend a personal trainer?

[haloman]

Hi everyone

I recently became a member of a gym last week here in Lincoln, Nebraska. The gym membership costs around $58 a month (after taxes). With the membership comes two free personal training sessions. My first personal training session is Tuesday night at 8pm. I met the personal trainer last week, and he showed me around the gym. He is a really nice guy, and he answered any questions that I had regarding the gym equipment. But I don't know how much it costs to have a personal trainer, and with the rent and bills to pay, I have to budget myself pretty well these days. I was wondering if any of you have ever had a personal trainer in your gym. If so, would you recommend having a personal trainer? I just wanted to see what the fellow members of QLC thought about this topic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[jdt141]

If you can afford it, it is by far, the best investment I've ever made. I feel better, look better, and I haven't even gotten a cold since I started with her. She's amazing, and absolutely kicks my ass every week. I look forward to it, too! It is not cheap, and I've had to make some sacrifices otherwise, but hey... i've got abs! :huge:

[J-girl]

I don't have a work out buddy and I have never had one- so wehn I joined this gym I got a personal trainer for three sessions that cost me 60 for the first day, 45 the second and 30 the third and the next week it starts from sixty again, but I just did one week. PErsonally it was beneficial to me cuz I didnt have anyone else to show me excercises etc and I had little clue on how to use the machines. Now I am pretty comfortable at the gym, if I see someone working out an excercise that I like- I tell them to show it to me and I pick up quick. And there are a couple of websites that show you excercises as well.

[winneythepooh7]

When I had a gym membership I got a trainer for a few sessions. I think that it was pretty much a waste of money. in retrospect, I could have gone up to anyone and asked them to show me how to use the machines as well as come up with a good work-out routine.

[biodork]

I think that if you can afford it, at least for a few months, it is worth it. But really not more than once a week. I'd say if you'd meet with the guy at the beginning of the week, he can set you up for what to do for the rest of the week, and he can make sure you are targeting the right areas. I loved having a trainer when I had one, it was much more motivating for me.

[MetFanL]

Usually, the personal training sessions you get when you join a gym are NOT from certified personal trainers. They're employees of the gym that are given a fairly standard beginner lifting routine to teach people.

That being said, if you decide to hire a personal trainer, once a week is all that you'll need if you're a fairly motivated/driven person. The trainer can give you routines to follow the rest of the week, but you shouldn't have to meet with them more than once to check form and keep you on path.

[and1grad]

I agree with met. Make sure that your personal trainer is actually certified. Also, there should be more to it than just walking you through basic exercises (i.e. a food plan, vitamins).

[Mathew]

If you've never lifted a weight in your life & have little or no comprehension of the hobby, it would be beneficial on a short term basis. (Under a month.) (Personally, I think a GOOD workout buddy is way more effective than a pt.)

As someone who once was involved in the profession, it generally takes advantage of people that have more money than motivation.

You can probably pick up everything you need to know by careful observation, asking questions of fellow gym-rats, reading, & analytically evaluating input.

as far as the intensity factor goes, it shouldn't take a pt to generate that.

[MetFanL]

I would just want someone to carefully watch my form, initially. And, those gym intro sessions don't really do that. I've seen those guys just show people the motions and leave them on their own. At which point, I'll sometimes walk over and tell them what to concentrate on first. It can be a little overwhelming to think "ok, make sure you're not locking your knees, hold your abs in, do the curl, keep your elbows in, don't swing your upper body, etc." If you're not really familiar w/ your body or used to thinking about isolating muscles, it's definitely overwhemling.

[Mathew]

I would just want someone to carefully watch my form, initially. And, those gym intro sessions don't really do that. I've seen those guys just show people the motions and leave them on their own. At which point, I'll sometimes walk over and tell them what to concentrate on first. It can be a little overwhelming to think "ok, make sure you're not locking your knees, hold your abs in, do the curl, keep your elbows in, don't swing your upper body, etc." If you're not really familiar w/ your body or used to thinking about isolating muscles, it's definitely overwhemling.

I think these are all valid points. I also think this can be achieved a whole lot chreaper than via a pt; if a pt is utilized, I don't think that it should take an inordinate amount of time to pick up the above mentioned basics.

My own personal opinion (& that typed, it is worth pointing out that opinions need to be taken as just that) that personal training is a competetive racket & much of it is a marketing scam. (How much? Possibly subject to debate, but....) For example, the successful cpt, or un-c-pt, makes his or her living by convincing the clientele that they also can have a hard body & be one of the beautiful people if they simply follow the prescribed regimen. IF the personal trainer is taking just enough deca or winstrol to stay big & cut (but not enough to produce obvious cave-man-like side effects), or has calf implants, or has had lipo to expose that razor-sharp 6-pack--he or she is 99 times out 100 not going to talk about that. The pt may very well underplay the importants of genetics.

[RealDeal]

PT sessions are good if you are just starting or need the motivation, but otherwise i think they're a lot of money....

[haloman]

How much does it usually cost to have a personal trainer with the gym membership anyway?

[RealDeal]

it varies from gym to gym, but it's typically expensive, even for members, like between $25 and $50 a SESSION. too much!