Considering Using a Personal Trainer Once a Week- Opinions Please?

Today I met with a PT for the first time.

A little background: I AM a cardio person. I run 6 miles/day 5 days a week and do a weight circuit twice a week. Yes, I normally have a rest day. I think I have plateaued in the area of fitness, (meaning I'm not quite seeing the results I'm looking for) so I've decided to try New Rules of Lifting for Women. That being said, I needed some help with the free weights area of my gym because I've never used them before. My gym offered me a free session with a trainer. I had it this morning and this is what we did.

1. Example of Build Phase: Hypotrophy Split Training: Back, Biceps

Dumbell Lat Raise x 2 (12.5lbs)

Cable Lat Row x 2 (20 lbs)

Assisted Chin Up x 2 (100, but that was too easy)

Biceps 21's x 2 (5 lbs)

Biceps Drop sets x 2 (20 lb max)

Biceps Concentration x 2 (12.5 lbs)

2. Example of Burn Phase: Body Circuits

Dumbell Press on Ball

Scissors

Barbell Lunge Walk

Triceps Dips

Plank

Side Planks

Pilate's #1

(all of these x 2)

I guess what I'm thinking is payingthis guy to help me out one day a week (Mondays) and Wed's and Fri's doing NROLFW. Is it worth it? I thought maybe since I may have questions as I go. I can sign up for 3 months, once a week.

I'd appreciate your opinions.

Be weary of the free "Personal Trainers" at the gym, they are rarely qualified.  Check out this article, from Women's Health.  I'm not saying their word is The Word, but likely neither is your PTs.  Just do what makes sense for you, make sure you are getting a personalised plan and not the same plan they give to everyone, no matter their fitness, age, sex, or goals.  There are a bunch of male bodybuilders at my gym that train to get the membership for free, and they don't know anything if you aren't male and don't want to be a bodybuilder.  There are also a few teeny-tiny girls that can't spot and don't know what the free weight section is for.  Just make sure you have someone that knows about your goals.

Do your research before you pay this PT, make sure they are qualified and that they are able to train people like you with your goals.  If not it can be a big waste of money.

Just as a side note:  If they encourage you to speak with their nutritionist, remember that a nutritionist does not need and credentials, anyone can call themselves that.  A dietician is the qualified one.

Yes I am trying to use my judgement here. I go to Good Life Fitness here in Canada, and my personal trainer is Can-Fit-Pro PTS certified. Is that a good thing? The link if you'd like more info: http://www.canfitpro.com/default_eng.htm

I was hoping to get some input on the workout he had me try today as well. . . if you folks don't mind? Missing Melkor right about now too.

My personal trainer graduated with a degree in sports medicine and is an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer. Actually all the trainers that I work with have a degree that is relavent to their job. A degree is one way to measure if a trainer is appropriate. It tells you that they have taken the time and are serious about physical fitness. Other industry certifications support their knowledge so I'd look for those too. These were the criteria that I originally used when I was looking at paying for a trainer. I refuse to pay $45/session for someone who has "always trained and has enjoyed physcial activity throughout their life". Just because somone has always trained doesn't mean they know the correct form ...likewise you have to put things into perspective...someone that has always trained may be more passionate about it than someone who went to college in order to make money from this field. And...through that passion they have perfected all the moves and all the forms. Ultimately, you will have to find someone that you can work with that motivates you that you can believe in. Ideally this person will help you believe in yourself as well.

Well, my first impulse is to ask "why is this person teaching a beginner a bodybuilding routine from a 1980ies muscle mag?"

 Split routines are appropriate in some cases (I have fond memories of my 5-day split from a few years back) but I have a hard time seeing how they're justified for someone just starting out.

 Circuit trainign is a nice way of doing some anarobic metabolic conditioning and helps with the calorie balance a bit; which is valuable if you've got very limited training time but isn't really helpful for you; you don't need to add any cardio over your existing running.

 If the trainer was designing a sports-specific workout for you to support your running it would be one thing, but this looks fairly generic to me. Did the trainer do any assesments, movement screens, that sort of thing? Give you any balance tests?

 Part of the whole point of getting a PT would be to have someone reasonably knowledgeable check you out and design a program to adress your specific needs; not to stick you on a routine outta Muscle&Fiction from 10 years ago.

 Certification says you're not an idiot and glancing through their curriculum it looks reasonable; so I do kinda wonder why you got the cookie-cutter plan. Could be the gym management has a standing order...

 Granted, the NROLW is also a cookie-cutter plan when you look at it that way; though there are instructions for individualization it's in the nature of mass-market workout books to be generalized. Which is where a PT should come in and provide individualization services.

 As of right now, color me sceptical. You'd probably be better off if you just hired one for an hour every time you change workouts in NROLW; at least if all you're going to get is being slotted into the same workout everyone gets.

I so value your opinion, so thanks for responding.

I'm skeptical too. Did the trainer do any assessments, movement screens, that sort of thing? Give you any balance tests? No he didn't, but he said he would if I "signed-up" for the training. I told him what I wanted to achieve by doing all of this, but maybe I was too vague.

My goals include: dropping these last 10-15 pounds (knowing fully that this will take TIME because I'm adding the weight training), reducing my waist size by a couple more inches, increasing my shoulder size (and I honestly don't know by how much, I guess till it looks good.) I want to be stronger.

I can beat my 215 pound male best friend in a leg wrestle, but I can't beat my 80 pound 14 year old daughter in an arm wrestle. My upper body is weak!

That being said, do you feel NROLFW is right for me even?

Original Post by igloogal:

I'm skeptical too. Did the trainer do any assessments, movement screens, that sort of thing? Give you any balance tests? No he didn't, but he said he would if I "signed-up" for the training. I told him what I wanted to achieve by doing all of this, but maybe I was too vague.

 Find a new trainer.

This sounded more like a free tour of the gym's equipment  Very generic workout.  PT's cannot train a person without assesments, etc.  I am not saying a PT would not be beneficial, I mean, hell, I am one...just as you would check recommendations on doctors, etc..do one with a PT. A GREAT way to do this is word of mouth. Meet some people who have utilized PT's at your gym, partic. ones with similiar goals as yourself.  Did they achieve their goals? Were they happy with the PT...etc. Proof is not always in the degree but in the reults!

And, free of charge...here is a great Monday shoulder [and some forearm] workout. :)

4 sets of Arnold Dumbell Presses at 20 12 10 8.

4 sets of One Arm Side Cable Laterals at 20 14 12 10

3 sets Lying Side Laterals at 12 10 8

3 sets of Reverse Barbell Curls at 12 10 10

Remember...slowwww movements concentrating very hard on the muscle you are working on.

And as I do Melkor's advice, I am always loving advice from fitnessgirl. Thanks!

Now I just need the PT to show me HOW to do all those exercises. Nah, google is my friend.

I'd hire you any day.

PS, how do you feel about NROLFW?

It's fine...

Great for beginners.  ;)

I'm in S. Ca.  If you are....message me...I'll give ya more info.

Peace!

Not sure how your gym works but when I signed up, they give you 1 session free and then you come back and the 2nd session is all the test junk, including body fat % and such. He very possibly just gave you a generic routine because if he took the time to do all those tests, he may not have had enough remaining time to do a workout. Who knows. My trainer didn't do a full assessment until after I signed up. Our first session (the free one) was rather generic I imagine but I was very sore in the places I had mentioned working on so it worked for me. Aside from certification and knowledge (which I am not downplaying in the least, that is important), you also have to figure out if you liked his training style. Like did he push you when you needed it, did he explain form and watch you carefully or was he looking at his phone and watching other people, etc. Just a few more things to put in your head :)

Good luck!

fitnessgirll ~ Do you mean Southern California or S. Canada?

California.

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

It's fine...

Great for beginners.  ;)

I'm in S. Ca.  If you are....message me...I'll give ya more info.

Peace!

 You almost couldn't be further away. :(

I'm in Southern Canada LOL

I'll just keep using your free advice on here if that's ok. I value your advice tremendously. Thank you.

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

California.

 I'm in S. California too. Whereabouts in LA?

I'm based out of Santa Monica. Live in Malibu.

I'm also in Canada (Toronto), and back in the day I tried a Good Life trainer.  I found that every trainer there did the same routine for almost every person that they trained, and that if you had any health goals beyond "average fitness" he was completely useless.  They have the "Good Life Program" and they use it for everyone.  My sister has been with at the same weight (about 50 lbs overweight), with the same GL trainer, at the same gym, likely doing the same routine...for three years.  She spends about 15K EVERY year for a trainer who is clearly doing NOTHING....so don't get sucked into that cash waste.

The way I see it, the free 'personal training' session got you exactly what you paid for...nothing better than you could have done with a few fitness magazines.  You would think they would try and impress you with how great they are with their free session, so that you actually buy their services, rather than giving you a cut rate, cookie cutter routine that probably sucked WAY too much time from your day.

Since you are a GL member now, and it makes no sense to shell out for another membership somewhere else, you can probably do better yourself alone, with some research.  The NROLFW sounds like it will do you just fine for now.  There are lots of other information sources out there once you hit a plateau or want to go next level.  I found a great book (the name of which I can't remember) that came with a DVD of moves and the proper form (commone mistakes, what muscles to engage, etc) for each, I downloaded the whole thing to my iPod, and everytime I wanted to do an exercise I wasn't too familiar with, I could play the video while I was at the gym.

Thanks so much for your advice.

I am taking you up on it. I love my gym and I can do it on my own. . . $45 an hour, that's crazy. (and I'm in the wrong line of work)

Original Post by igloogal:

$45 an hour, that's crazy. (and I'm in the wrong line of work)

 Apparently so am I.

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by igloogal:

$45 an hour, that's crazy. (and I'm in the wrong line of work)

 Apparently so am I.

The trainers who charge $45 aren't taking home anywhere close to that much. 

Edit: assuming they're working at a gym.

I think it's safe to say I knew that.

I don't care who's getting it. . . I ain't payin it. It's still nuts. LOL

Original Post by igloogal:

 Nah, google is my friend.

 

This is probably your best bet anyways. I've worked out with a trainer before and I didn't find it was useful at all.

Google any exercise and you'll find a description of how to do it properly, and nothing needs to be super complicated anyways. Just remember to always keep your core strong and lift only as many reps as you can with good form.