Does anyone here use a Personal Trainer? If so how do you tell them what you want to do when it's he that has all the knowledge?

For example, I had a session with one today and it wasn't what I expected. He had me do several exercises with a stability ball. When all I wanted was to lift weights safely. Seeing as my knee is vulnerable to tendinitis and soreness I want to learn to workout safely. It was a long a workout. But he did say I could do splits which would shorten the time in the gym. He also has some knowledge in nutrition and how to maximize muscle. And for cardio he says I could do a day of high intensity cardio (70-80 percent of MHR) and follow with a day of strength training then aday of LISS, which makes sense to me too. It's just that this is all so new and I'm overwhelmed. I used to just want to do my 45 minutes of cardio one day and lift weights the next without hurting my knee.

Now I'm thinking how do I tell this guy I only want to lift weights? My knee feels fine after working out with him, even with a really strenuous workout. I feel really comfortable doing his type of exercises for my legs since it's safer for my knee. I wonder if I should tell him I want to do more with weights, but stick with the stablizer ball for my legs and glutes? I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

I didn't pay him as this was a consultation not a real session. He is going to call back and I don't know what to say. My mind isn't made up and I'm wondering what everyone thinks. It's kind of a no-lose situation but I'm still not sure what to think.

Does anyone here use a Personal Trainer? If so how do you tell them what you want to do when it's he that has all the knowledge?


I have never used one. I have asked the head trainer that works for a gym to show me a techique or a new machine.

But the way to tell them is simply straight forward. Tell him your goals and what you want to achieve. Contract with him, understand what he offers and plans to guide you to. He is there to serve your needs.

If you picture this going beyond a few sessions, I would get references and call them, see what his clients say.

Hi Jordan,
I am by no means an expert but I did some personal training and taught Pilates. As a trainer and instructor I used the stability ball everyday and it is a superb tool for individuals with compromised motility/mobility. I am also currently in school getting my masters in Physical Therapy. I can see where your trainer would use the ball to give stability to a weak joint. From what you told his training sounds great from the view point of protecting your knee. From a building bulk standpoint, I wouldnt say that the glute and leg region will get much gain but definately can gain strength and lean out. Bottom line I would tell this guy what you want. Ask him how this workout will give you the results your after? Ask him how long will it take to see the results and if you decide to move forward and dont see them, will he tweak the routine free of charge? Any trainer worth their weight should be able to give you these answers in relativity. Good Luck!

From a building bulk standpoint, I wouldnt say that the glute and leg region will get much gain but definately can gain strength and lean out. Bottom line I would tell this guy what you want. Ask him how this workout will give you the results your after? Ask him how long will it take to see the results and if you decide to move forward and dont see them, will he tweak the routine free of charge? Any trainer worth their weight should be able to give you these answers in relativity. Good Luck!

No glutes and leg build up? Oh crap. That's what I was really hoping for. Maybe I'll tell him and let him tweak the routine. It's just that I've been so excited to start with weight training. Now I'll never get the bulk I wanted. I guess I'll get over that once I start seeing results. I only am signing up for 3 sessions cuz its 230 bucks for just that. And if I don't see any results I can talk to him within 8 weeks and he'll still help me.

I had the exact thing happen to me this week. It was my first workout with a personal trainer. I am looking for a way to add muscle and he had me stretching and using the ball and doing exercises on the floor. I only used one machine. I wanted him to lay out a lifting routine for me and show me how to correctly use the apparatus or weight. I've only paid for 4 more sessions so I guess I'd better be up front with him. Maybe he was being extra easy on me because I am twice his age and skinny. Is it wrong to ask for a full body routine that I could eventually do on my own that could add bulk?

I had the exact thing happen to me this week. It was my first workout with a personal trainer. I am looking for a way to add muscle and he had me stretching and using the ball and doing exercises on the floor. I only used one machine. I wanted him to lay out a lifting routine for me and show me how to correctly use the apparatus or weight. I've only paid for 4 more sessions so I guess I'd better be up front with him. Maybe he was being extra easy on me because I am twice his age and skinny. Is it wrong to ask for a full body routine that I could eventually do on my own that could add bulk?

No-it's not. Be very clear with with about your goals. Tell him you want to do compound, multi-joint exercises. Plenty of freeweight work. You want to do some heavy work in addition to higher rep stuff. For those exercises where machines are appropriate, you want to be shown proper use. And you want to do it all with him so you can make sure you're learning the exercises and proper form. Stability and ballwork has its place and benefits for sure. But if you're paying for a limited # of training sessions you need to be doing some of the stuff you will ultimately want to make the mainstays of your workout.

I have never used one. I have asked the head trainer that works for a gym to show me a techique or a new machine.

But the way to tell them is simply straight forward. Tell him your goals and what you want to achieve. Contract with him, understand what he offers and plans to guide you to. He is there to serve your needs.

If you picture this going beyond a few sessions, I would get references and call them, see what his clients say.

It's really tough to put into words how I'm feeling. You know the word prevaricate? That's how I feel. I can't decide which way to go and I have to make a decision. I keep rereading your words over and it sounds so simple. But I keep having this feeling that I'm not going to make the right decision. Oh well, I'll sleep on it and see what's what in the morniing. Thanks again for all the advice.
Oh yeah and RTE, the trainer started me on several exercises that used variations of the supine hip thrust. In fact the first 6 exercises all stressed lifting the hips from various positions on the stability ball. I could really feel it later in my legs and glutes. Maybe I didn't make that clear and Trixi, in her post just below yours got a different idea of what I was doing.

It's really tough to put into words how I'm feeling. You know the word prevaricate? .
Prevaricate - to evade the truth.

The first question to answer to yourself - Is this a waste of time and money?

Next: Do I feel I can trust this guy to deliver what I want?

Given you said No to the first and Yes to the second - give it a try. By setting down first, and telling him what you want and expect and ask him how he will deliver it and for how much.

Prevaricate - to evade the truth.

The first question to answer to yourself - Is this a waste of time and money?

Next: Do I feel I can trust this guy to deliver what I want?

Given you said No to the first and Yes to the second - give it a try. By setting down first, and telling him what you want and expect and ask him how he will deliver it and for how much.

Good answer RTE. But I think I was going for the word oscillate. Look that one up if you like.
I've given the questions a lot of thought and I've contacted the Personal Trainer company's owner. We talked a bit and will talk some more. He is very confident that he can provide the services that I want. I've stated those enough that I don't have to repeat. I only want to write down all the questions that I've received in this thread to ask him next time we talk.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again

Hi,
just to possibly help out, I am and have been a personal trainer for the past five years. In working with my clients, (6 to 8 per day) I first have to find the most efficient and safest way to get my clients to there goals. Sometimes, it is hard to explain to a client, at least to their satisfaction that to begin a fitness lifestyle is a process and not just a full out run to the finish line. Remember that as an untrained or deconditioned person, your muscles will respond faster than your connective tissues and therefore you need to have a period of time for anatomical adaptation, getting your body ready for the more intense work to come.Also, your muscles will respond no matter how you begin resistance training, the idea that your beginning workouts will yield no results because of the type of lifting you do is not accurate. In this case you have to look at the fact that having been involved in no training, any training you do is providing your body with an adaptative stimulus. Please also keep in mind that as the body adapts and changes so does the training needed to create results. Just ask your trainer how he/she sees your program developing in relation to your goals, to give you a good idea about the direction your heading with this particular trainer.

Jim

Does anyone here use a Personal Trainer? If so how do you tell them what you want to do when it's he that has all the knowledge?

For example, I had a session with one today and it wasn't what I expected. He had me do several exercises with a stability ball. When all I wanted was to lift weights safely.

Yes, I use a personal trainer. Mainly to keep me from being injured. But in fact I've had a pretty good result. I've learned a huge variety of interesting exercises that I would never have come up with myself. All the Swiss ball stuff, and most of the medicine ball stuff I know I have found out working with this trainer.

Now as far as telling him what I want I normally only do that in terms of overall goals at the beginning, which he was careful to ask about in detail, and from workout to workout I tell him if I have any injury worry or joint pain. Other than that I we mostly talk about baseball and I do exercises that he has planned out. My brother, who was a competitive power lifter for a long time and was an Army fitness trainer and also a personal trainer, told me that the good trainers are the ones who teach. "It's why they are supposed to be training you!" he always said. So I'm learning. If I didn't feel like I was learning, or making progress over a period of a few weeks or months, then I would just bring it up in so many words. If I'm paying the guy then I want to be able to communicate effectively. No mind reading should be going on either way.

Give the Swiss ball a chance if you haven't done that sort of thing before. You might find, as I did, that there are some very productive exercises that come with those. You can take some quite simple moves and make them more intense using a Swiss ball. For example do a set of push-ups with your hands on a flat bench, as many as you can - however many that is. This should be easy compared to a normal push-ups because of the angle. Now compare that to the same set of push-ups with your hands on a 65 cm Swiss ball that is otherwise unsupported. In the larger sense - angles of your body, amount of load, those two exercises are quite similar. On the other hand, at least in my experience, they are not that similar in terms of difficulty.

For another example lie on your back with hands at sides, palms down and straight arms on the floor. Support your heels on the Swiss ball but keep your back straight. Now flex your knees, keeping them together, so that the ball rolls up to your butt with your heels still on it. Then extend your knees back. Repeat this slowly. It hits similar parts of your body as squats, but with more of a stability emphasis and with your back in tension as opposed to compression. The stability emphasis is because the Swiss ball has very little inertia and can move around a lot in response to a small motion on your part. As opposed to a loaded barbell which has a lot of inertia which makes it easier to stabilize - the barbell averages out little tremors and shakes in your motion. The Swiss ball actually amplifies them - if your heels move to the side a little, then the ball easily rolls them further along and down. Basically a static load on top of a sphere is in an unstable position. It is this destabilizing aspect which is why the Swiss ball is good for training stability.

Yes, I use a personal trainer. Mainly to keep me from being injured. But in fact I've had a pretty good result. I've learned a huge variety of interesting exercises that I would never have come up with myself. All the Swiss ball stuff, and most of the medicine ball stuff I know I have found out working with this trainer..
I'm glad you had good results. My question with the swiss ball is how to increase intensity in an exercise? If you can't add weight then you can't increase intensity without adding more reps, not thrilled with that, or changing the exercise, which I won't be able to do on my own. Remember that I only have 3 sessions with the trainer.

What I've decided is I'm going to make the trainer work. I want to go through my own routine and have him take notes. I want to make him analyze my methods, not give me his stock routine where one size fits all. I want him to first understand that I'm the boss. He is working for me and he has to do his homework. I want an explanation of each change he makes to my routine. I expect he'll have objections but I won't take no for an answer. I will fire him if he won't work with me.

That said he has to be there for an hour so he might as well do something. He should take notes and suggest form corrections, exercise order (legs, arms, core, etc.) He should protect my body from improper stress to joints, explain any danger in going to failure in terms of what accidents might happen when he isn't there to spot me. I would like that he take notes and at the end of the session explain and write out all the comments, examples, changes, deletions, suggestions, etc. I will leave time for this as most of the workout will be abbreviated for demonstration purposes mostly.

I know this flies in the face of some of the personal trainer experiences people have noted here. This is open to some debate but it really needs to be my final decision since I'll be the one responsible. I'm a computer programmer and when I start something I don't like to take a boss's program and try to make it fit. I'm more comfortable if I design it and I take pride in not only the finished product but the effort and methods used to create the finished product.

What I've decided is I'm going to make the trainer work. I want to go through my own routine and have him take notes. I want to make him analyze my methods, not give me his stock routine where one size fits all. I want him to first understand that I'm the boss. He is working for me and he has to do his homework. I want an explanation of each change he makes to my routine. I expect he'll have objections but I won't take no for an answer. I will fire him if he won't work with me.

Alright I'm starting to lose my nerve. The personal trainer comes today and I'm afraid I won't be able to tell him to sit and take notes while I go through my routine. Does anyone have any encouraging words? I mean what is the worst that can happen? Will he storm out? Will I lose my 230 dollars? What is there to do if this doesn't work? Does it mean I have to accept the one-size-fits-all approach? I could really use some feedback. I hope I'm on the right trax. But I have to admit I'm a bit overwhelmed right now with balance between what I expect and what to expect from the personal trainer.

That's all I want to say. Like I said I feel like I'm losing my nerve and I've been antsy all weekend preparing for this day. Tell me what you think.

If the trainer is worth his/her salt, then I'd imagine that it wouldn't be a problem to assist you with your pre-planned workout routine. I personally have no experiences with a trainer, but I'd say that if he/she is unwilling to critque, expand and work off of your desired routine then you need a new trainer or just need to go by trial and error.

Regarding the money.....it seems that the owner of the company is looking to please. If you aren't satisfied with the service that the trainer is giving you, you should complain and will more than likely get your money back. You have a good idea of what you want to do and the trainer should be a resource along the way.

Remember, the trainer works for YOU, not the other way around.

Good luck and don't back down!

-Stromie

If the trainer is worth his/her salt, then I'd imagine that it wouldn't be a problem to assist you with your pre-planned workout routine. I personally have no experiences with a trainer, but I'd say that if he/she is unwilling to critque, expand and work off of your desired routine then you need a new trainer or just need to go by trial and error.

Regarding the money.....it seems that the owner of the company is looking to please. If you aren't satisfied with the service that the trainer is giving you, you should complain and will more than likely get your money back. You have a good idea of what you want to do and the trainer should be a resource along the way.

Remember, the trainer works for YOU, not the other way around.

Good luck and don't back down!

-Stromie
Thanks man, it sounds like my head is on straight. Just placed a call to the owner informing him of what my plans are for today. Just a caution that my plans are based around my routine not the one-size-fits-all. Actually I've talked to the owner before and he is very pro-active. Not too worried about the money, but I would like to get something out of this process. Even if it's just clarity with what I need to go forward.

You need to tell the trainer that you're happy with what you learned so far but that you want to learn [insert exercises of choice] as well. These should preferably be squats, deadlifts, bent-over barbell rows. Whatever big, compound exercises where form is important that you would ultimately like to be doing and you feel you need some guidance on to get you started.

I'm glad you had good results. My question with the swiss ball is how to increase intensity in an exercise? If you can't add weight then you can't increase intensity without adding more reps

Technically, you can add intensity just by slowing the exercise tempo down. Try this with say, pushups. Do ten at one second each. Then rest. Do ten at ten seconds each. One of these is more intense than the other.

There are other ways to add intensity without weight. Adding motion can do it. For example, do ten pushups with your hands on a Swiss Ball. This might be harder than ten simple pushups. Now, when you do the pushups on the Swiss Ball, roll the Swiss ball toward you by turning your wrists so that it is close to your stomach when you are down, and roll it back away from you as you push up. This added motion adds intensity, and a farther roll is more intense. Finally, try rolling the ball away from you as you go down and back toward you as you go up. That one is the hardest for me. All with no added weight and just a Swiss Ball.

But to tell the truth, my trainer adds weight too. For example today we were doing lots of stuff, but one of them was single leg (on bench) dumbell lunges with small amplitude flys (where you don't let the dumbell come down too much).

If you read the "some trainers are funny" thread or my fitness journal "easy part is probably over" you will see several examples of things that turn out to be intense which might not look intense at first.

We also do a some conventional stuff but I can tell you the unconventional stuff is the stuff that really gets me.

Technically, you can add intensity just by slowing the exercise tempo down. Try this with say, pushups. Do ten at one second each. Then rest. Do ten at ten seconds each. One of these is more intense than the other.

There are other ways to add intensity without weight. Adding motion can do it. For example, do ten pushups with your hands on a Swiss Ball. This might be harder than ten simple pushups. Now, when you do the pushups on the Swiss Ball, roll the Swiss ball toward you by turning your wrists so that it is close to your stomach when you are down, and roll it back away from you as you push up. This added motion adds intensity, and a farther roll is more intense. Finally, try rolling the ball away from you as you go down and back toward you as you go up. That one is the hardest for me. All with no added weight and just a Swiss Ball.

But to tell the truth, my trainer adds weight too. For example today we were doing lots of stuff, but one of them was single leg (on bench) dumbell lunges with small amplitude flys (where you don't let the dumbell come down too much).

If you read the "some trainers are funny" thread or my fitness journal "easy part is probably over" you will see several examples of things that turn out to be intense which might not look intense at first.

We also do a some conventional stuff but I can tell you the unconventional stuff is the stuff that really gets me.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I have seen the "some trainers are funny" thread. The funny thing is my trainer kept suggesting different exercises when all I wanted was him to validate what I am doing...which he eventually did, with a few minor changes. Since his demonstations took up most of the time we barely got through my 11 exercises in an hour. I never got to ask about nutrition or cardio.

I see him again Wednesday at the gym and we talked about doing some barbell and smith machine exercises. I can't wait to see what he has cooked up in there. I'll never finish workout with all the different things he wants to demonstrate :lol:

Question for you trainers: Is there some kind of progression away from swiss balls? Do you eventually get a client into free weights? From the outside, I see all the trainers at my gym (must be like 10 trainers) and every one of them have their clients doing the stupidest exercises (I have been weight lifting for 15 years). The swiss ball is a freaking crutch for them. I have only seen one trainer use free weights.

I would think that there is a definite market out there for personal trainers to specifically offer routines and consulting that specifically states they will not use machines nor swiss balls. No one else is doing it. 2-3 years and all this core stability will be like atkins.

Question for you trainers: Is there some kind of progression away from swiss balls? Do you eventually get a client into free weights? From the outside, I see all the trainers at my gym (must be like 10 trainers) and every one of them have their clients doing the stupidest exercises (I have been weight lifting for 15 years). The swiss ball is a freaking crutch for them. I have only seen one trainer use free weights.

I would think that there is a definite market out there for personal trainers to specifically offer routines and consulting that specifically states they will not use machines nor swiss balls. No one else is doing it. 2-3 years and all this core stability will be like atkins.

Hey Banditfist, great sig. I saw that a while ago in some thread and thought it was cool. I see you live in MD. So do I. Where do you workout? I have a gym in the office building I work in. Nothing fancy but they have freeweights and a few machines. And of course the Swiss ball.

I work out at the Gold's in Crofton, but I work up near the BWI airport.

The Gold's in Crofton just won the National award for the number and variety of classes that they have. It is the sweetest gym that I have ever seen. THey have a cardio theater that rocks. Plenty of room to work out. I had to complain about the trainers recently always leaving swiss balls everywhere. The last two weeks, they have been putting them up.

Question for you trainers: Is there some kind of progression away from swiss balls? Do you eventually get a client into free weights? From the outside, I see all the trainers at my gym (must be like 10 trainers) and every one of them have their clients doing the stupidest exercises (I have been weight lifting for 15 years). The swiss ball is a freaking crutch for them. I have only seen one trainer use free weights.

I would think that there is a definite market out there for personal trainers to specifically offer routines and consulting that specifically states they will not use machines nor swiss balls. No one else is doing it. 2-3 years and all this core stability will be like atkins.

I think that a well educated trainer should be able to address whatever goals their client has. That being said...since the client has already decided that they are lacking knowledge in some aspect of their training, then they should remain open minded that they may be doing more wrong and potentially more damage with their current training methods than they think. :confused: In my case, so that I can better address the bodybuilders needs...I'm seriously considering jumping on a plane to Utah to spend some time with and get another certification through Larry Scott's foundation. Larry was trained by Vince Gironda, and this could well be my best opportunity to learn Vince's methods as first hand as possible.
Now in regards to the information that I needed to digest to get my cert...I never knew that there were so many things that needed to be considered and taken into account when working with a client, or even designing my own training program.
You've got existing postural distortions, muscle imbalances, relative vs functional flexibilty, reciprocal inhibition, synergistic dominance, nutritional deficiencies...etc...etc...etc. All of the these issues contribute to the outcome of any training program. Proceeding with an accellerated weight training program without addressing existing postural distortions and muscle imbalances is like driving through a mountain range doing 80mph knowing that you've got two bald tires with one of them showing the cord through the rubber. It's just may not be the brightest thing to do.
Now...with all of that being said, trainers can be expensive. What I like to do is spend a few sessions going through some flexibility and core stabilizing exercises, with the intent that the client will be able to do these exercises on their own, before I meet with them for our session. This way we can address the areas that the client has interest in during the session time.

LATE EDIT: Let's not forget that we are living in a time where people will sue at the drop of a hat. :rolleyes:
Hence having to carry a $2,000,000 liability policy... :lol:

Question for you trainers: Is there some kind of progression away from swiss balls? Do you eventually get a client into free weights?

In my case it is more the other way around. We did a lot of machines, then free weights, and then the stability stuff came into play. The progression was from more conventional to stability stuff as I made more progress.

In my case it is more the other way around. We did a lot of machines, then free weights, and then the stability stuff came into play. The progression was from more conventional to stability stuff as I made more progress.
TAKES NOTE: Your trainer is even smarter than I originally gave him credit for.