I just rejoined a new gym yesterday, and the staff talked to me briefly about personal training, and I'm wondering if it would be of any benefit to me. I know I have issues with sticking to an exercise plan; maybe it would be worth it to me to have a trainer to make sure I stick? I don't know.

Have any of you tried it? What have your experiences been like?

If the PT is included in your gym membership or if you can afford one, by all means take advantage of their knowledge!

The right trainer (ask around the club) will provide you with workouts to help you reach your goals. The workouts should change every month or so. The change combats boredom and confuses your muscles (a good thing!).

I wrote my experience in this recent thread
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exer...l-trainer.html

I just met with a personal trainer on Monday. I have to say I was floored at the costs. I am looking for someone to show me the ropes and just give me a basic understanding on HOW to use the gym properly. Lay out a simple routine that I can do on my own, comfortably. I want to be able to use free weights with confidence! I told them this before we even got started, but they still attemted to convince me that I should be signing up for a 9 month program for the "low low price" of $180 bi-weekly. Mind you this is a fancy gym in Saskatchewan, I have no idea what kind of rates are avail in your area!

Finally they did tell me about an intro program that they offer, which is a 3-6 weeks for 170-280 bucks. Still a large chunk of change for only a few days worth of learning. But I am still considering it.

If I had oodles of money to burn, I would totally hire a trainer long term.

But I don't so I will have to keep myself in check I guess

Good luck!

I would if I could afford to, just to have peace of mind in what I was doing.

I suggest having a session. Often they will do a free half hour - hour session with you to see if it was you are looking for. I did this yesterday. It totally kicked my @ss, but was a blast. She was motivating and not mean (I don't need a Jillian ) I ended up signing up for 12 1/2 hour sessions, once a week. She understood my financial concerns and "let me" pay by the session (26 bucks, totally do-able)

We'll meet Mondays, and she said that she will create 12 different routines for me, that I can continue doing through the week, and then forever and ever on my own! I'm looking forward to it