When to quit your personal trainer?
August 21, 2013 11:10 AM Subscribe
I have been working with a personal trainer for about three months. I am about to run out of sessions. Should I re-up?
After a string of injuries, I finally quit Crossfit in the spring, which I had been doing off and on for a few years. In May I joined my local Y and bought a beginner's personal training session consisting of a consultation and two hour-long workout sessions. I liked the trainer so I immediately bought another package of 25 workouts for $1300 ($52 an hour). On top of this, my Y membership is $72 a month.
I have been working out with her twice a week (minus a couple of session here and there for illness and travel) since mid May. Today's workout was #19 of 25, so I have ~three weeks left.
I like her enough — though we have sort of a superficial relationship, we chat about books and movies and current events while I work out. Since I started working out with her while I was coming off a back injury, I think she was fairly easy on me. I am used to the intensity of CF workouts, but I told her I didn't like feeling so sore after a workout that it interfered with the rest of my week (which was what was happening in CF). Only in the past few weeks or so has she ramped up workouts enough that I am having some gentle DOMS, which is okay. They aren't so severe that they ruin my other workouts for the week (more on that below).
I can definitely tell my muscles have changed and I feel stronger. Several exercises she has me do, like planks, are gradually getting easier. I haven't lost any weight at all, though I'm certain that's because I have not really altered my diet. (I know, I know, abs are made in the kitchen.) I am also sort of used to quicker progress thanks to the nature of CF, but I am willing to make some trade-offs in order not to feel wrecked all the time.
Pretty much all we do is work out, though. Despite the fact she took measurements and got my workout history at the first session, she gives me no nutritional consultation at all. Our workouts are different each day and consist of cardio (jumping jacks, etc), weight machines and free weights, and bodyweight exercises like crunches, planks, pushups. We've also recently started doing some TRX stuff, which I really like (this is what has made me the most sore lately). I wonder if I might get the same benefits by working out in a bodypump class or just taking a TRX class, which my Y now offers without additional cost to my membership.
One plus to working out with her, though, is that she keeps me accountable to not skipping, which would likely not be a benefit of working out in a class setting. I felt more motivated to health better when I was in CF because it was drilled into us constantly.
In addition to my twice-a-week PT sessions, I also run 3-4 times a week and go to yoga a few times a week. Crossfit made it impossible to do either of these, because I was SO SORE all the time. In October I will start training for my sixth half marathon, and I am also thinking about taking on 40-day yoga challenge (yoga 6 days a week) on Sept. 30. I am used to "bricking" — PT in the morning and yoga in the evening, or yoga in the morning and running in the evening.
I do value my health enough to pay a premium for it. I can re-up on sessions for about the same amount, ~$50 a session. I have the financial means to do so (Crossfit was also expensive, but not that expensive) but I am trying to figure out if this is the best use of my money when I already have a basic gym membership.
After a string of injuries, I finally quit Crossfit in the spring, which I had been doing off and on for a few years. In May I joined my local Y and bought a beginner's personal training session consisting of a consultation and two hour-long workout sessions. I liked the trainer so I immediately bought another package of 25 workouts for $1300 ($52 an hour). On top of this, my Y membership is $72 a month.
I have been working out with her twice a week (minus a couple of session here and there for illness and travel) since mid May. Today's workout was #19 of 25, so I have ~three weeks left.
I like her enough — though we have sort of a superficial relationship, we chat about books and movies and current events while I work out. Since I started working out with her while I was coming off a back injury, I think she was fairly easy on me. I am used to the intensity of CF workouts, but I told her I didn't like feeling so sore after a workout that it interfered with the rest of my week (which was what was happening in CF). Only in the past few weeks or so has she ramped up workouts enough that I am having some gentle DOMS, which is okay. They aren't so severe that they ruin my other workouts for the week (more on that below).
I can definitely tell my muscles have changed and I feel stronger. Several exercises she has me do, like planks, are gradually getting easier. I haven't lost any weight at all, though I'm certain that's because I have not really altered my diet. (I know, I know, abs are made in the kitchen.) I am also sort of used to quicker progress thanks to the nature of CF, but I am willing to make some trade-offs in order not to feel wrecked all the time.
Pretty much all we do is work out, though. Despite the fact she took measurements and got my workout history at the first session, she gives me no nutritional consultation at all. Our workouts are different each day and consist of cardio (jumping jacks, etc), weight machines and free weights, and bodyweight exercises like crunches, planks, pushups. We've also recently started doing some TRX stuff, which I really like (this is what has made me the most sore lately). I wonder if I might get the same benefits by working out in a bodypump class or just taking a TRX class, which my Y now offers without additional cost to my membership.
One plus to working out with her, though, is that she keeps me accountable to not skipping, which would likely not be a benefit of working out in a class setting. I felt more motivated to health better when I was in CF because it was drilled into us constantly.
In addition to my twice-a-week PT sessions, I also run 3-4 times a week and go to yoga a few times a week. Crossfit made it impossible to do either of these, because I was SO SORE all the time. In October I will start training for my sixth half marathon, and I am also thinking about taking on 40-day yoga challenge (yoga 6 days a week) on Sept. 30. I am used to "bricking" — PT in the morning and yoga in the evening, or yoga in the morning and running in the evening.
I do value my health enough to pay a premium for it. I can re-up on sessions for about the same amount, ~$50 a session. I have the financial means to do so (Crossfit was also expensive, but not that expensive) but I am trying to figure out if this is the best use of my money when I already have a basic gym membership.
You should quit when that last string of value breaks.
posted by Kruger5 at 11:17 AM on August 21, 2013
posted by Kruger5 at 11:17 AM on August 21, 2013
The best use of your money is towards a routine that you stick with and that makes you feel satisfied. You mentioned that going to PT makes you more accountable and stick with it, which is a very good thing!
It sounds like maybe you need to ask her to get a little tougher with you so you can see slightly faster results. Not so tough as Crossfit, but there's bound to be ways she can kick your ass just a little harder.
As for nutritional counseling, I dunno - I would NEVER turn to a trainer for advice on nutrition. Lots of gyms have nutritionists on staff for this sort of thing, and as far as I know trainers don't need to know anything about nutrition to receive certification. This is what I've been told by trainers in the past, anyway.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
It sounds like maybe you need to ask her to get a little tougher with you so you can see slightly faster results. Not so tough as Crossfit, but there's bound to be ways she can kick your ass just a little harder.
As for nutritional counseling, I dunno - I would NEVER turn to a trainer for advice on nutrition. Lots of gyms have nutritionists on staff for this sort of thing, and as far as I know trainers don't need to know anything about nutrition to receive certification. This is what I've been told by trainers in the past, anyway.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you will not work out without the accountability factor of her being there, waiting for you, then you need to re-up. I am the polar opposite of "disciplined" and I don't exercise at all without someone nagging me to do it. Not being overweight and out of shape is worth the expense.
posted by brownrd at 11:32 AM on August 21, 2013
posted by brownrd at 11:32 AM on August 21, 2013
I go to a gym 3 times a week, and see a trainer one of those times. At first I worked with her 3x per week. After a few months I tried doing it on my own, but my motivation flagged fairly quickly. Why not see how you do without a trainer, and after a while you can sign up with her (or someone else) if you feel like it's worth it.
After overhearing many trainers talking with clients about diet, I'd never assume that a trainer is knowledgeable. I might use a trainer to "keep me honest" on whatever eating habits I'm trying to get used to. I hear some people just reporting to the trainer every little thing they ate yesterday, or just saying in general how they're doing.
posted by wryly at 11:37 AM on August 21, 2013
After overhearing many trainers talking with clients about diet, I'd never assume that a trainer is knowledgeable. I might use a trainer to "keep me honest" on whatever eating habits I'm trying to get used to. I hear some people just reporting to the trainer every little thing they ate yesterday, or just saying in general how they're doing.
posted by wryly at 11:37 AM on August 21, 2013
If you absolutely aren't going to go to the gym unless you're paying somebody to spend time with you there, then I guess it's a worthwhile investment. But it sounds like your trainer is getting you to exercise, but not teaching you how to train. This makes sense for the trainer's bottom line -- you stay dependent on the trainer and keep coming back for more sessions. But it's not the way for you to get the most results for your time and money.
If you've done 19 sessions, your weight hasn't changed, and the only progress you mention is that some exercises are gradually getting easier, I can't imagine why you'd buy more $50 sessions.
I think you'd save a lot of money, get better results in the short-term, and be better off in the long term if you just did some research on your own and found a gym buddy or an online community to keep you accountable. This page is a good collection of info with lots of links to other resources about training and diet.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:48 AM on August 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you've done 19 sessions, your weight hasn't changed, and the only progress you mention is that some exercises are gradually getting easier, I can't imagine why you'd buy more $50 sessions.
I think you'd save a lot of money, get better results in the short-term, and be better off in the long term if you just did some research on your own and found a gym buddy or an online community to keep you accountable. This page is a good collection of info with lots of links to other resources about training and diet.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:48 AM on August 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I ran out of sessions with my personal trainer 4 months ago. I have been to the gym exactly four times since. If you can afford it, even just for the shame aspect, do it!
posted by custard heart at 11:56 AM on August 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by custard heart at 11:56 AM on August 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
If you already have enough self discipline to exercise twice a day some days without them being one-on-one sessions, you should have enough self-discipline to make it to a couple of group classes that replicate the workouts you're getting with your PT. You might find you make friends at class whose presence motivates you to come out on the regular.
posted by drlith at 12:01 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by drlith at 12:01 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Why not get a trainer from CrossFit? That's what I do and we work on modified WODs.
General answer: if she's not giving you what you want, then you have three options. You can stay and be dissatisfied. You can schedule a sit down to discuss your expectations (push harder, work on nutrition, etc). You can quit. If you think you can do more and she can help, then just talk to her. It sounds like she can push harder but may hav been overly cautious since you were injured. Ask for a sample program. As for the nutrition aspect, my trainers don't immediately offer nutrition advice unless you say you want it. I would agree that a trainer at the Y might've less qualified to dispense nutrition advice. So I go back to the original advice to maybe try a trainer from CF. My trainers are about comparable, price-wise, to what you are citing as your price point.
posted by mrfuga0 at 12:12 PM on August 21, 2013
General answer: if she's not giving you what you want, then you have three options. You can stay and be dissatisfied. You can schedule a sit down to discuss your expectations (push harder, work on nutrition, etc). You can quit. If you think you can do more and she can help, then just talk to her. It sounds like she can push harder but may hav been overly cautious since you were injured. Ask for a sample program. As for the nutrition aspect, my trainers don't immediately offer nutrition advice unless you say you want it. I would agree that a trainer at the Y might've less qualified to dispense nutrition advice. So I go back to the original advice to maybe try a trainer from CF. My trainers are about comparable, price-wise, to what you are citing as your price point.
posted by mrfuga0 at 12:12 PM on August 21, 2013
Did you have motivation problems before you left CF for the trainer? Maybe go back to crossfit, but work on scaling the WODs better? From what I understand, you should be a little bit sore, and maybe aerobically wiped out after a crossfit workout, but so sore you can't function all week? Sounds like your CF coach wasn't helping you scale down enough.
I know the culture is all 110%, push yourself hard, be a firebreather, but in my experience nobody really gives you crap about e.g. 65# thrusters vs. 95 if that's what you think is best for you.
posted by ctmf at 12:57 PM on August 21, 2013
I know the culture is all 110%, push yourself hard, be a firebreather, but in my experience nobody really gives you crap about e.g. 65# thrusters vs. 95 if that's what you think is best for you.
posted by ctmf at 12:57 PM on August 21, 2013
I can't even tell what your goals are. Do you want to get stronger, lose weight, lose fat, run faster, run longer, run a race, hike up a mountain, play better tennis, or other? Because all those things are subtly different in how to approach exercise. And until you have a target in mind, you don't really have any metric to provide feedback.
Try: "Trainer, I'd like to achieve fitness goal in time period. How do I get there?" Then take it from there.
posted by disconnect at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Try: "Trainer, I'd like to achieve fitness goal in time period. How do I get there?" Then take it from there.
posted by disconnect at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'd recommend re-uping and going to the personal trainer once a week, and then doing one or two work out session(s) on your own. Ask your trainer to give you a routine for that work out.
Otherwise it sounds like it's going ok, so I'd be cautious of just stopping, since setting up a fitness routine that you can stick to is pretty hard for lots of people (me included).
If you find that you end up skipping working out on your own, then go back to twice a week sessions with your trainer.
If you have no problems working out on your own, then slowly reduce the frequency of the personal training visits, maybe to every second week etc.
posted by fruit sandwich at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2013
Otherwise it sounds like it's going ok, so I'd be cautious of just stopping, since setting up a fitness routine that you can stick to is pretty hard for lots of people (me included).
If you find that you end up skipping working out on your own, then go back to twice a week sessions with your trainer.
If you have no problems working out on your own, then slowly reduce the frequency of the personal training visits, maybe to every second week etc.
posted by fruit sandwich at 3:47 PM on August 21, 2013
I hate exercising with the white hot fury of a thousand burning suns. But I go to a place called Fitness Together, which is all personal training all the time. I haven't lost any weight, but I'm a woman in menopause, so I'm kind of doomed. They have franchises all over the place, they might have one near you. They also do nutritional counseling as part of the sessions.
It does get me working really well. I experimented for a time with fewer workouts, but I started gaining weight again, so I go pretty regularly and also have my Y membership so I can swim and stuff. The nice thing about FT is that they are sort of like cross fit but they can temper your workouts specifically to you, and you can avoid certain issue areas (such as your soreness problem).
I don't connect with any of my trainers anymore (my favorite one left), but they do always check in with me each session about what specific things I'm feeling, if I have any soreness issues, even how I'm sleeping in case that might affect my workouts. If there's nothing in your area, maybe there is another gym around you could get a more intense workout or a better package of lifestyle plus workouts.
posted by emcat8 at 11:32 PM on August 21, 2013
It does get me working really well. I experimented for a time with fewer workouts, but I started gaining weight again, so I go pretty regularly and also have my Y membership so I can swim and stuff. The nice thing about FT is that they are sort of like cross fit but they can temper your workouts specifically to you, and you can avoid certain issue areas (such as your soreness problem).
I don't connect with any of my trainers anymore (my favorite one left), but they do always check in with me each session about what specific things I'm feeling, if I have any soreness issues, even how I'm sleeping in case that might affect my workouts. If there's nothing in your area, maybe there is another gym around you could get a more intense workout or a better package of lifestyle plus workouts.
posted by emcat8 at 11:32 PM on August 21, 2013
So, hey, just my two cents.
I'm lazy, and I got kind of fat. Not super fat, but I as a big 6'4" guy, I had aims of being around 200 pounds, and through inactivity and bad eating habits and bad other habits I got up to about 260. Things did not fit.
I tried going to a personal trainer on 3 different occasions. Each time, I told myself I would buy an initial set - then, after that 5 - 10 sessions - I would take what I had learned to the local Y or the local gym or whatever and just continue the routine.
What a farce. It just didn't work for me. It might work for some people, but for me, I just... I didn't prioritize it, and I didn't want to d o it, and I would go to the Y for a week or two but eventually I would slip and it would just go off the rails.
That's just me. For some people, they could just keep with it.
So, about 3 years ago, I went back to the personal trainer, and I've stayed there for 3 years. It's expensive. It puts a ding in our finances. But I go, twice a week for sessions and 3 times a week for cardio - and I've droppped the 60 pounds and I feel pretty good.
My situation sounds just like yours - I mean, the workouts - I have a nice (if largely superficial) relationship with my trainer. He gives me some nutritional advice sometimes, when I ask for it, but not really a lot - and our sessions are just a 60 minute mix of cardio and muscle building excercises (with some TRX, jump rope, free weights, planks, bench press, incline press, pull downs, step-ups, etc, etc).
I've thought several times about stopping, or cutting back, or whatever - because it's bloody expensive. But it's scary to me. I've fallen into a routine and I like it. I like that I have an incentive to show up. I like that he corrects my form and keeps track of my weights and plans my exercises. I like that I get to "do it with someone" - even though it's a client/trainer relationship.
He's even gotten me to come out on weekends to play basketball/play football/do other active stuff - just, like, as friends - that I would normally never get into it.
Maybe I could make a go of it by myself and let this go and stick with it on my own schedule with my own resolve.. but... right now, I've got other stuff in my life that needs that resolve and attention and it's a limited pool, so I'm going to stick with it for the foreseeable future.
posted by kbanas at 9:03 AM on August 22, 2013
I'm lazy, and I got kind of fat. Not super fat, but I as a big 6'4" guy, I had aims of being around 200 pounds, and through inactivity and bad eating habits and bad other habits I got up to about 260. Things did not fit.
I tried going to a personal trainer on 3 different occasions. Each time, I told myself I would buy an initial set - then, after that 5 - 10 sessions - I would take what I had learned to the local Y or the local gym or whatever and just continue the routine.
What a farce. It just didn't work for me. It might work for some people, but for me, I just... I didn't prioritize it, and I didn't want to d o it, and I would go to the Y for a week or two but eventually I would slip and it would just go off the rails.
That's just me. For some people, they could just keep with it.
So, about 3 years ago, I went back to the personal trainer, and I've stayed there for 3 years. It's expensive. It puts a ding in our finances. But I go, twice a week for sessions and 3 times a week for cardio - and I've droppped the 60 pounds and I feel pretty good.
My situation sounds just like yours - I mean, the workouts - I have a nice (if largely superficial) relationship with my trainer. He gives me some nutritional advice sometimes, when I ask for it, but not really a lot - and our sessions are just a 60 minute mix of cardio and muscle building excercises (with some TRX, jump rope, free weights, planks, bench press, incline press, pull downs, step-ups, etc, etc).
I've thought several times about stopping, or cutting back, or whatever - because it's bloody expensive. But it's scary to me. I've fallen into a routine and I like it. I like that I have an incentive to show up. I like that he corrects my form and keeps track of my weights and plans my exercises. I like that I get to "do it with someone" - even though it's a client/trainer relationship.
He's even gotten me to come out on weekends to play basketball/play football/do other active stuff - just, like, as friends - that I would normally never get into it.
Maybe I could make a go of it by myself and let this go and stick with it on my own schedule with my own resolve.. but... right now, I've got other stuff in my life that needs that resolve and attention and it's a limited pool, so I'm going to stick with it for the foreseeable future.
posted by kbanas at 9:03 AM on August 22, 2013
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posted by telegraph at 11:17 AM on August 21, 2013 [6 favorites]