Personal Trainer

[RaleighDeacon]

Trainers are highly overrated, for the most part. What you're typically paying for is the accountability of showing up and working out. The benefit is generally very limited and rarely are they doing anything for you that you could not have figured out yourself (be it programming, form, etc etc) with the right research.

That said, if paying a trainer is what a person needs to be active and healthy, so be it...I just think that the law of diminishing returns kicks in a lot earlier with trainers.

I could see that, and won't really argue against it. I would add though that even though I could research things and find a lot of the same stuff out on my own, part of what I am paying for is for him to show me how to use everything, etc. So just like a lot of other services, a lot of it for me is to save time so I don't have to do extra research and take extra time to learn everything.

But your point is well taken and I doubt I will continue on with a trainer after my initial two months I set up.

 

[DeacHoops]

i get leftcoastdeac's point, but i disagree. you can find websites that tell you completely contradictory stuff about the right way to work out. and if you're using any real kind of weight, chances of hurting yourself if you do something wrong can be pretty high. if you're starting something brand new, i think it's really beneficial to have a session or two with a trainer so that you learn what you need to do while you have somebody correcting your form.

i mean, if my company didn't pay for the trainers, i never would have paid for it myself. but i also didn't lift weights 99% of the time. and it's one of those things where, now that i know what it's like to have a trainer, i can see why they're beneficial. but if i had never used a trainer, i wouldn't have known.

 

[leftcoastdeac]

Definitely depends. It is way too expensive to be sustainable as a regular workout, but I workout with a trainer on occassion and the workouts with him are WAY more intense than any other workouts I have and he mixes stuff up a lot more. That might be because if it isn't with him I am alone and that makes it hard to motivate yourself the same way.

Without digressing into a discussion of crossfit, you could go to any number of sites and pick up different work out every day if it's variety that you need. Ultimately getting after it in the gym is on you. In your case, it sounds like having a trainer on occasion is for variety and to have someone to hold you accountable (ie., help you stay motivated).

I could see that, and won't really argue against it. I would add though that even though I could research things and find a lot of the same stuff out on my own, part of what I am paying for is for him to show me how to use everything, etc. So just like a lot of other services, a lot of it for me is to save time so I don't have to do extra research and take extra time to learn everything.

But your point is well taken and I doubt I will continue on with a trainer after my initial two months I set up.

That's a legitimate use of a trainer, although as I mentioned - I think you'll hit the ceiling pretty fast. There are only so many machines on the floor and once you know how to use them, the utility of the trainer drops off.

i get leftcoastdeac's point, but i disagree. you can find websites that tell you completely contradictory stuff about the right way to work out. and if you're using any real kind of weight, chances of hurting yourself if you do something wrong can be pretty high. if you're starting something brand new, i think it's really beneficial to have a session or two with a trainer so that you learn what you need to do while you have somebody correcting your form.

i mean, if my company didn't pay for the trainers, i never would have paid for it myself. but i also didn't lift weights 99% of the time. and it's one of those things where, now that i know what it's like to have a trainer, i can see why they're beneficial. but if i had never used a trainer, i wouldn't have known.

You can find websites that contradict each other on any number of issues. With some effort in research you can figure out who knows what they're talking about and who doesn't - not unlike many other topics.

Any program that's worth doing should advise you to take it easy as you learn new movements so as to prevent the situation where you're using more weight than you can handle and get hurt - the ramp up period, if you will.

I'm not saying not to use trainers; you guys have made some valid points. I just think the usefulness of MOST trainers dries up quickly.

 

[buckets]

The internet is a great place to get workout tips. You will also get conflicting answers from trainers, its not like personal trainers at the gym are all geniuses with brilliant insight. I feel like I know enough about the gym and working out that a trainer would be a waste of money, but I can see how a newbie would benefit from an intro to getting swoll.

 

[bojanglefunk]

Without digressing into a discussion of crossfit, you could go to any number of sites and pick up different work out every day if it's variety that you need. Ultimately getting after it in the gym is on you. In your case, it sounds like having a trainer on occasion is for variety and to have someone to hold you accountable (ie., help you stay motivated).

Yeah and to be fair he has asked me to come demonstrate for other clients how intense he wants things to be. It is kind of like playing sports- having the coach there makes you eek out one more suicide, one more rep, etc. Def a difference for me at least, but I tend to be a little more intense about it than a lot of people who hire trainers. It pisses me off when I see people working with trainers and not pushing themselves and mouthing off at them. What a waste of your time, your money, and his time.

 

[bojanglefunk]

Also, there is a lot of stuff at my gym you can't use or access unless you are in a class or with a trainer, so that helps mix it up (stuff like TRX, ropes, etc)

 

[leftcoastdeac]

Also, there is a lot of stuff at my gym you can't use or access unless you are in a class or with a trainer, so that helps mix it up (stuff like TRX, ropes, etc)

I think that's bullshit, but unfortunately it's not uncommon for gyms to pull that kind of stuff.

 

[HeavyPetter]

Yeah, I'd tell my gym to eat shit if they told me I couldn't use a piece of equipment as long as they didn't need it for a class.

 

[bojanglefunk]

I think that's bullshit, but unfortunately it's not uncommon for gyms to pull that kind of stuff.

Yeah I agree. I at least kind of get it with the TRX stuff and the rope (the rope and some of the other stuff in that room are actually equipment the trainers purchased with their own money so they don't want rando people breaking it).

 

[wakelaxer]

Also, there is a lot of stuff at my gym you can't use or access unless you are in a class or with a trainer, so that helps mix it up (stuff like TRX, ropes, etc)

What gym do you go to? Mine gives me access to whatever I want.

 

[RaleighDeacon]

Bumping this back up to say I am cutting my training sessions back to once a week, but still continuing on with them for now.

So far, since January 1, I am down about 16 pounds and have reduced my body fat by about 3 percent. My strength and flexibility have improved.

It's been nice having the trainer drive two intense workouts a week, so I am sticking with one per week for now, but the arguments about hitting a ceiling are valid as well.

I can't see the point of working with someone continually. Of course, that depends on your ability to continue driving yourself after stopping working with the trainer...

 

[leftcoastdeac]

Bumping this back up to say I am cutting my training sessions back to once a week, but still continuing on with them for now.

So far, since January 1, I am down about 16 pounds and have reduced my body fat by about 3 percent. My strength and flexibility have improved.

It's been nice having the trainer drive two intense workouts a week, so I am sticking with one per week for now, but the arguments about hitting a ceiling are valid as well.

I can't see the point of working with someone continually. Of course, that depends on your ability to continue driving yourself after stopping working with the trainer...

Raleigh - congrats on your progress!!

Stay motivated and keep hitting it hard between your training sessions.

 

[bojanglefunk]

What gym do you go to? Mine gives me access to whatever I want.

02 Fitness at Seaboard. It is a liability thing- the parts that are off limits are things that you have to have a certified instructor for or things the trainers purchased with their own money and they don't want idiots wrecking.

 

[RaleighDeacon]

Raleigh - congrats on your progress!!

Stay motivated and keep hitting it hard between your training sessions.

Thanks! I have actually been enjoying it, except for getting up so early on trainer days.

I still need to get a heart rate monitor though. Especially for running, which will begin again once it warms up outside some more.

 

[2&2 Slider To Leyritz]

02 Fitness at Seaboard. It is a liability thing- the parts that are off limits are things that you have to have a certified instructor for or things the trainers purchased with their own money and they don't want idiots wrecking.

I used to represent a now-defunct chain of gyms, and we would get lawsuits like every month because a trainer would bring in a homemade plyo box and some fat cow would jump on it and fall through it.