Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with trainer

Toronto personal trainer

pcameron — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:40:03 -0800

TorontoFilter: Help! I've been signed on by a modelling agency! I need to find a decent personal trainer and nutritionist in the Toronto area. Does anyone have any recommendations? I got scouted in an elevator, and two weeks later they signed me on, so this has taken me by surprise. They want me to spend two months getting in better shape, then come back. I need a personal trainer who can set me up with a decent exercise program, and a nutritionist to help me with my diet. I can only afford to see both one time right now to set up an exercise and diet plan for the next two months. My current career as a courier leaves me with not a whole lot of disposable income. I live in the Ossington/Queen area, but can travel across the city for the right person.

What does a baby sleep coach do?

mushroom_tattoo — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:46:11 -0800

Has anyone ever hired a "sleep coach" for their baby? What does a sleep coach do exactly - is it just a variation of the controlled crying techniques described in books by Ferber and Weissbluth? Also, they seem rather expensive, was it worth the money?

Training work

Meatbomb — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:17:23 -0800

Where to find well-paid corporate / executive training work? I am an experienced and very effective trainer and trainer of trainers. But all of my work so far has been in the English language teaching field, and therefore the pay tends to suck.

Where do professional, quality trainers make big bucks? Any advice in this regard, including links to specific recruiters or job sites, would be much appreciated.

(Just for clarification: I am not talking about physical / health training, fitness training, lifestyle coaching, etc. I am talking about the guy who comes to a company retreat or similar to do a weekend or week long seminar related to professional development, or who coordinates and arranges a series of professional workshops, etc.)

Can anybody recommend a personal trainer in Austin for my 70+ dad.

monkeybutt — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:45:35 -0800

Can anybody recommend a personal trainer in Austin for my 70+ dad? my dad is retired and has slowed down. his sedentary life is slowly killing him (and my mother with it). i need somebody i can hire to go to his house and kick his ass. s/he needs to be able to not only train him physically but motivate him psychologically so that he can enjoy his twilight years (and hopefully stay out of a home for a long as possible). nutrition training a plus but not necessary.

he is not infirm by any measure, just lazy and slowing down. i firmly believe that with the proper intervention he could reverse this trend and realize a healthier outlook.

i'm obviously looking for a concrete personal trainer referral that specializes in geriatric clients. however i will gladly welcome any advice from mefiers that have put up with the same situation.

The first session was free, but are the next ones worth it?

filthy light thief — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:45:39 -0800

FitnessFilter: how should I evaluate options for a personal trainer at a local gym? Lots more discussion inside. I recently joined a local gym with my wife, and I was told we received an evaluation or something of the sort with the membership. We're both gym novices, so I was glad to be shown around the gym and given help figuring out how things worked.

I went to the evaluation-type session today, and it was basically to get me to pay for personal training sessions. The work-out was good, and I'm sure I'd benefit from the sessions. I signed up today, after the initiation fee ($99) was waived, and I was given 5 free sessions ($35 per half-hour session).

It's $280 for 8 sessions per month, which doesn't sound that much right now, but we'd have to be tied into a year of training, or we have to pay a cancellation fee. I'm skeptical of gyms in general, and the sales pitch with fees that weren't disclosed up front today ($49 for processing, and the waived $99 initiation fee) didn't help.

I have a few days to try out the personal training set-up, and figured others would have some insight. Could I refer to training books or websites and come out fine? Or is it a good idea to invest in a trainer for a year while we get into working out at a gym? We're not looking to get bulging muscles, just to get fit and start some good work-out regimes.

Bike Trainers for the unambitious

Unred — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:04:56 -0800

I'm need lots of information about bike trainers (for the non bike rider) I'm not a serious bike rider, but like to take mine out when the weather is nice. Unfortunately, I've just had an arm injury, so real bike riding and most of any cardio equipment at the gym is out for the time being (as well as any patience I have for getting to the gym). I'd love to be able to use my bike in my apartment as a stationary bike while I recover. Is this just a crazy scenario or do other people do the same thing? What are the logistics of using one (setting it up, making space, etc)? From other questions it seems that a fluid trainer is my best option, but is there a cheap one that someone can recommend?

I would like to employ someone to pump clap us up.

QUHZK — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:51:39 -0800

How do you go about finding/picking a personal trainer? How do I know if I've found a good one? Mrs. Quhzk and I would like to start working out with personal trainers, mainly because we want to learn to exercise properly (I have a little exercise experience, my wife has none) and also because we know we need the extra motivation of forced responsibility. Group exercise classes are too anonymous and we would be tempted to skip (thinking nobody would miss us), and we've tried on our own but we've never gotten further than a very very gently used treadmill which usually collects dust at our apartment.

We both want to be able to go at the same time (early in the morning, say 6-7 am) so that we can carpool, shower, and then go to work/school respectively. We also want to go to the same place for the same reason.

So what should we look for in a personal trainer? Are there any gyms to avoid/try to get into? How much should we expect to pay (we're in the Midwest if that matters)? How often should we expect to meet with the trainer? Should we get different trainers? We both want to lose 50+ pounds apiece.

Any and all information or experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I did check the archives and found this question, but I figured it was old enough that it wouldn't be redundant to ask something similar again. I also saw this more recent question, but I'm interested in all personal trainers/gyms and not just Bally Total Fitness, so I still figured I was safe.

Is this workout routine a bad idea?

mizrachi — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:59:57 -0800

A trainer at my gym recommended this workout and I'm not entirely sure it's safe or effective or the right one for me. I've itemized the routine below, but in short it involves both upper and lower body workout every day, Monday through Friday, three sets of 10 -12, with one muscle group off per day after what he considers the toughest exercise for that body part. The trainer says it's worth doing for 12 weeks and will help build strength and muscle endurance and that working the same muscles a for five days in a row isn't wrong to do as each exercise targets different parts of the muscle and I'm using fairly low weight.

Here's the workout. Does it make sense? Or is it a mistake? Or should I consider making some substitute exercises?

MONDAY:

Chest - Bench press
Triceps - Rope pull down
Biceps - None
Back - Close grip row
Shoulders - Front raise
Quads - None
Traps - Shoulder Shrug w/straight bar
Hams - None
Calves - Seated calf raise

TUESDAY:

Chest - None
Triceps - Dips
Biceps - Preacher curls
Back - Wide grip pull down
Shoulders - Lateral raise
Quads - Squats
Traps - None
Hams - None
Calves - Donkey calf raise

WEDNESDAY:

Chest - Incline db press
Triceps - Overhead extensions
Biceps - Alternating db curls
Back - None
Shoulders - Military press
Quads - Leg extension
Traps - None
Hams - Seated leg curls
Calves - Angled calf raise

THURSDAY:

Chest - Machine Fly
Triceps - Close grip bench press
Biceps - None
Back - Close grip pull ups
Shoulders - Rear delt machine
Quads - None
Traps - Upright rows
Hams - Straight leg dead lifts
Calves - Standing calf raise

FRIDAY:

Chest - Hammer strength bench press
Triceps - None
Biceps - Seated Incline hammer curl
Back - Wide grip row
Shoulders - None
Quads - Lunges
Traps -DB shoulder shrugs
Hams - Standing leg curl
Calves - None

Personal trainers who do house visits?

simona — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:34:11 -0800

I want to solicit a personal trainer to come to my father's apartment twice a week and do a session with him in the building's gym. He's too depressed and demotivated to go on his own accord, but he'll comply if someone shows up at his door. How do I do this without paying a fortune? Are there Human Kinetics students around looking for part-time work? How would I go about finding them? There's also a swimming pool, so a swimming instructor would also be possible, but my dad can't swim, so it'd have to be someone patient enough to coach a cranky 57-year-old in swimming. As I've mentioned above, he's 57, overweight, and thoroughly demotivated. Prone to excusing himself from exercise with bad jokes.

Prey seeks hunter

kenzi23 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:06:20 -0800

My head needs hunting...how do I find the hunters in my field? I want to make a move into software training in the legal field and am not finding a lot of jobs in the usual listings (monster, careerbuilders, hotjobs, nytimes). I'm just starting the search for real and calling all my contacts in the legal field, but I also want to put myself in the path of headhunters in this field. My googling looked like this "software trainer headhunter legal new york", and the results were not at all helpful.

Is there a reputable guide to headhunters, maybe with breakdown by field and rankings/ratings? Should I be looking at IT headhunters? or legal headhunters? How do I know I'm getting a good one? If you have actual headhunters or agencies to recommend, please post them.

BTW, I'm in New York City. Thanks!

My dog loves me TOO much!

modernsquid — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:29:18 -0800

Help me find a very good dog behaviorist/trainer in the NYC area! Bonus points if they specialize in seperation anxiety. I have recently moved into an apartment by myself and my 5 year old beagle is freaking out. I can't leave her alone for 5 minutes. A few weeks ago she clawed at a wooden door so badly she destroyed the door and badly sprained her front leg in the process. Its safe to say this case of separation anxiety is severe. The vet gave me some meds to help calm her down while her leg healed but they did nothing so i had to send her home to my parents so her leg could get better. She's returning to me this weekend.

I've done a lot of research and reading about it online and i've tried everything to no avail. I'm ready to hire an experienced and reputable behavior therapist or trainer to help us work through this. Except I don't know of any!

Does anyone in the NYC area know of a good behavior therapist? Extra points if you have experience with the trainer and extra extra points if you have seperation anxiety experience with the trainer!

Contact info that needs to be kept private can be emailed to modernsquid at gmail dot com.

Thanks in advance!

I wanna be fit!

AsRuinsAreToRome — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:55:07 -0800

How much does a personal trainer from Bally Total Fitness cost? I have a membership to Bally's and I want to hire a personal trainer for once or twice a week. Has anyone here had experience with a gym personal trainer and know the cost?

Do gyms lie?

timory — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:00:11 -0800

Do trainers at gyms lie to sell memberships or classes? I have a friend who just joined a gym in NYC. A trainer there told her that she has 40 pounds of fat that she needs to turn into muscle. Now she is convinced that she has to work out like a beast. But the thing is... she's about 5'2 and weighs around 100 pounds. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are lying to her to make her get a personal trainer or something like that. Has anybody ever heard of this sort of thing? Is there any literature I can point her to so that she stops freaking out about this?

I need another pair of these awesome shoes

special-k — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:52:44 -0800

Where can I find this shoe (or something similar)? I bought a pair of Gravis Makani trainers two years ago and I love them. My current pair is wearing out and I'd like to get a new one (black or blue). However, I can't seem to find them on sale anywhere. Not Zappos. Not anywhere. ebay has a few odd pairs but none in my size (10.5).

Does anyone know a place where I could get them online?

If not, do you know of something similar that would be a fun casual pair of everyday shoes?

Thanks!

My Hot Trainer is the Reason I'm Motivated to Workout

chase — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:27:21 -0800

Where can I find plain language research results about emotional attachments to care workers? In general, I'm interested in articles about the process of how/why individuals develop emotional attachments to care workers. e.g.: physical fitness trainer, therapist, doctor, mentor, etc. Specifically, I'd like to find information that covers the range of the different types of attachments: crushes vs. stalker depth. Physical fitness trainer is the profession I'm most curious about. What is it about the profession of fitness training that lends itself to the cliché of women being infatuated with their instructor? Personal anecdotes are welcome.

Looking for certification in health and fitness

cdavidc — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:00:03 -0800

I would like to be certified as a fitness trainer and possibly in diet therapy. In looking at online and corespondent courses it seems there are a lot of different orgs to go through. Some are obviously not so great and a scam in themselves. I have pretty much narrowed my search down to a few: The ISSA, AFPA, and NASM look to be the best options. But there is such a span in tuition and course options. Any recomendations from anybody in the field?

How do you tip a friend?

Not in my backyard — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:38:04 -0800

Holiday tipping: I want to tip my personal trainer...but there are complications. Here's the long and short of it. My personal trainer and I have become very close friends. We developed our friendship out of our training appointments. I continue to train with her weekly, but we hang out socially all the time - I have met her family, been to her daughter's birthday parties, been to her house and she's been to mine a number of times, and so on.

I know that, as my personal trainer, I give her a holiday gratuity. Last year, as this friendship was developing but before it'd gotten to the point we are at now, I gave her about $150 worth of her favorite bath supplies from L'Occitane.

This year, I am confused about what to do. She's one of my best friends, so the issue is not getting her a gift. Should I combine the "friend" gift and "personal trainer" gift into one big gift, or should I give her separate gifts? I feel so awkward about this, it's driving me nuts!

Cycling Turbo Trainer setup

srboisvert — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 12:47:31 -0800

I am considering setting getting a turbo trainer like this one but I am not sure about the skewer. I have a pretty low end mountain bike. Will I have to pull the axel out of my rear tire?

Help me get my booty into shape, without killing my knees!

barnone — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 12:18:37 -0800

What qualifications should I look for in a personal trainer? What do the ACE certifications actually mean? I'd like to hire a trainer for a few sessions, but I really don't want to hurt myself or hire a nut. Please help me sort through the options! I've had some substantial health issues in the past few years. I'm now in a place where my apartment has a gym, I'm healthy enough to exercise on a regular basis, I'd like to lose some (fat) weight and build muscle, lower my BMI, increase cardio capacity and generally not hurt myself doing it. I know that I can do some of this on my own, and I have, but I'd like someone to kick it up a notch and show me some safe ways of working out without aggrevating my problem areas (knees, mostly).

So, I've started looking into local personal trainers - but they have a bewildering amount of acronyms, bogish-looking qualifications and fitness mumbo-jumbo on their sites and ads. I don't know anyone who uses one in the area, so I can't ask for personal recommendations; even then, I'd like to know what *I* should be looking for in a trainer. What kinds of questions should I ask them? What is a good qualifying degree or program, if there is such a thing? I've seen people hire trainers who push them too far too fast, resulting in an injury, and then physical/mental set backs as they recuperate. I'd like to avoid that -- how do I find a well-trained trainer?

More specifically, if I may, I found someone that looks relatively decent with the following qualifications: "Three certifications from the American Council on Exercise (ACE): Personal Trainer, Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant, Clinical Exercise Specialist. Also certified by the American Academy of Health, Fitness & Rehabilitation Professionals (AAHFRP) as a Medical Exercise Specialist." Does that mean anything?

I'm in Durham, NC if anyone wants to recommend a local trainer, but I'd really like to learn how to differentiate among the options for the future, as well. My left knee and my back thanks you in advance, dear MeFites!

Heart-rate monitor attached to treadmill

Saucy Intruder — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 08:15:31 -0800

Yesterday on "CBS Sunday Morning," a correspondent chronicled his attempt to lose weight. I'm trying to identify one of the machines that his personal trainer used to evaluate his progress. The device was attached to an ordinary treadmill. The subject would exercise for a few minutes, and the device would check his vital signs (presumably his heart rate, but perhaps also other indicia.) When he first came to the trainer, the machine said that his health was "poor." Ten weeks later, although he hadn't lost any weight, he was reevaluated as "excellent." The trainer said that this was because he had exchanged fat for muscle.

What kind of machine is this? Is it a simple heart rate analysis or is something more complex going on?

Biking in the Basement

bonehead — Fri, 19 Dec 2003 06:54:16 -0800

I'll soon have a basement, and be able to bring at least one bike inside for the winter, so I'm wondering: do I want a trainer? If so, do I want rollers, a fan-trainer, a fluid-trainer, a mag-trainer, what? I'm not a racer, I'm just looking for an alternative to spinning classes to keep my lungs in shape.