Personal Trainers - Are they worth the dosh?

[Taxi 4 Hutton]

Think of getting a personal trainer to motivate me to do more exercise for a couple of months.

Any experiences of them good or bad?

[BliarOut]

Personally I would go for self motivation..... Wait until you really want the benefits badly enough and then go for it. You can do it

[DanBoy]

I'd say it depends what you want.

If you need a specific routine they can be very helpful.

But as far as motivation goes, I don't think they're necessary. Just ask yourself how badly you want to get in shape/get in even better shape. If you really want to do it, you'll find the motivation anyway.

[UKBob]

Definitely put your energy into a trainer! Get a good feeling of them inside and out, their enthusiasm, your own stamina and endurance, let your motivation for good habbits become ingrained and try going solo when you've finished with her

[Taxi 4 Hutton]

Yeah, I swim three times a week and i really enjoy it. Hmm.... perhaps an exotic holiday in a villa with a pool

[ZR1cliff]

If you can get to know a like wise person that frequents your gym around the times you do and are flexible then pairing up in training can help,with spotting,motivation etc,plus its cheaper!,when it comes to fitness ive found there is never a saying so true as 'you only get out of it what you put in'.

[R988]

Why pay for someone to yell at you when you can join the territorial army and get paid for it

[Taxi 4 Hutton]

ZR1cliff said:

If you can get to know a like wise person that frequents your gym around the times you do and are flexible then pairing up in training can help,with spotting,motivation etc,plus its cheaper!,when it comes to fitness ive found there is never a saying so true as 'you only get out of it what you put in'.

Yep, I am quite fit, I just need to tone up. Small waist, large bust etc etc. But a gym buddy sounds like a good plan too... when i get back from the exotic holiday.

[rico]

I generally get a PT session once every couple of months.

It's not so helpful if you just use cardio machines, but if you use free weights, its very handy to have a professional watch you and make sure you're doing it right. It's very easy to do damage using decent sized weights, so I'd rather make sure I'm doing it right than risk injury.

For £20/3months it makes sense.

If you're a relative newbie to the gym scene then I would recommend a series of say 10 sessions, ideally 2 a week, to get you into a good routine. Then refresher sessions every month or so after.

[bosscerbera]

Not really, if you have a common shoe size it's cheaper to borrow other people's.

[moleamol]

los angeles said:

Best advice I was ever givn: go for a swim every day, use your money to take an exotic holiday. Swimming is the only sport to exercise every muscle in the body, heart and lungs too, the holiday relaxes you and exercises the intellect.

Well I think mountain biking exercises most, if not all muscles, and takes you to lovely places if you can be bothered. Cannot be beaten IMHO.

[ZR1cliff]

Taxi 4 Hutton said:

ZR1cliff said: If you can get to know a like wise person that frequents your gym around the times you do and are flexible then pairing up in training can help,with spotting,motivation etc,plus its cheaper!,when it comes to fitness ive found there is never a saying so true as 'you only get out of it what you put in'. Yep, I am quite fit, I just need to tone up. Small waist, large bust etc etc. But a gym buddy sounds like a good plan too... when i get back from the exotic holiday.

A gym buddy helps with discipline when you find it hard going and visa-versa,to tone use light weights with a lot of reps ,say 15 - 20 in 3-4 sets not forgetting to do opposite muscles,you make sure to enjoy that exotic holiday

[MilnerR]

I've started running (again) with a mate after work, its a lot easier than trying to motivate yourself to go out and run. Wouldn't bother with a personal trainer, they cost a fortune and I hate being told what to do. The more a trainer tried to motivate (nag) me the less i'd do. Find someone who's about the same fitness as you and inject a bit of competition into your training i.e. see who can run the furthest before chundering

[D_Mike]

I can't afford a personal trainers, I have to share a pair with my brother. Its OK as we don't often want to go for a run at the same time.

[mutt k]

Yes imho. No matter how motivated you think you are, a personal trainer will push you further than you think you can go with consequent bennfits for your fitness

[love machine]

My mate Benny Bobbles Bonbon is a personal trainer and earns a load of bucks, which I expect is from a different kind of full personal service. We all know what Benny gets up to with his clients (most of which are horny old rich women)

[Jasandjules]

Find a mate who also wants to train. But they have to also be able to push you, i.e. when you think you have to stop, they make you do another rep, or mile etc...

I went through three friends who "hurt too much to train"...... They all had asked me to train them......... So I did !!

[Harry Flashman]

rico said:

I generally get a PT session once every couple of months. It's not so helpful if you just use cardio machines, but if you use free weights, its very handy to have a professional watch you and make sure you're doing it right. It's very easy to do damage using decent sized weights, so I'd rather make sure I'm doing it right than risk injury. For £20/3months it makes sense.

Absolutely - also helps someone to have a look and see what you're doing and give your programme a shake-up every couple of months; stops plateaus and disillusion.