First Day with Personal trainer... Is this normal?
 

My good friend has been seeing a personal trainer for 2 years. And asked me to go with her today. Preface: I worked out with a trainer years ago and LOVED it. Very hard toning weight lifting and core, ab workouts. I would leave barely able to walk or raise an arm. I lost a lot of weight and was very toned.

Well, today this trainer basically did all cardio. We ran around for an hour doing high-knees, bear crawls, back peddling, etc. It was a good cardio workout, but my muscles didn't get any resistance training. We did a couple rounds of push-ups and that was about it.

Is this normal? Have trainers moved away from lifting and just run drills now? I feel like cardio is something I can get on my own.

I don't know what to do b/c I don't want to go back and pay to get a cardio workout... but I also don't want to offend my friend.

I bit my tongue. I don't think this guy is what I need - I'm just scared to tell her... Thoughts... Also, set me straight if this is actually a good workout and I'm just not seeing it.

I dont think so.. i had a personal training session today actually.. and holy crap i did a 12 min warm up then did a bunch of different full body exercises .. it was soo intense ... just tell your friend hes not for you and find someone that will do something other than cardio!:) good luck!!!

I suppose personal training can be cardio, resistance, or both, depending on what the client wants - but, most often it seems to be resistance and I think that's the most accepted workout people do with a trainer.

Was there anything positive about the cardio workout with the trainer that you can mention to your friend? If so, how about saying something along the lines of: "He seemed like a friendly/great/nice/etc. guy and the cardio workout was great, but I really want some help/motivation/etc. with resistance training so I think I'm going to look for a new trainer". Maybe not those exact words.. but hopefully she won't take it personally and will be able to support you in your goals. After all, it's not as though you're insulting her judgment or preference, it's just a matter of difference in your goals/expectations/preference, and that's entirely okay.

Good luck! ;)

That's great advice beautifulone! It was a good cardio workout and he is a very nice guy. I'm thinking that I may attend through the rest of the month (it's only one day a week), and after that, say he's given me the motivation to take it a step further with weight training.

If you liked the PTs personality and think you'd be a good match... Speak to him about a lifting workout and advise him that you're not fussy for the all cardio workouts and that you can do that on your own... Or find someone else, you've got to love your trainer or you'll resent paying and going to workout with them...

My take is that the value of a personal trainer is to demonstrate and to correct your form. There's not much to do wrong on an elliptical or treadmill, but there's a thousand ways to do resistance exercises with the improper form in ways that hurt the body and don't yield the expected results.

I was absolutely aghast at how many time my trainer corrected me on a simple squat. Bugged me no end. I wanted to scream, "Just let me work out!!!" But, when I finally got it right, I could immediately feel the difference. I don't seem able to correct my own form - even with a book, DVD, and mirror.

Good luck in getting what you need; you're paying, you get to call the shots.

I would give this guy another chance. There's no reason to be criticising your friend's training - she seems to absolutely love her trainer and the workouts, she is consistant, and she has lost weight. So it's working for her and I don't see why you should make her feel bad about it. You can't judge a trainer by how much weight your friend has lost because there are more factors that go into that than just the trainer (like her food intake!)

If you're paying this trainer to help you work out then you have the responsibility to tell him what YOU're looking for. Tell him what kind of cardio training you do on your own and maybe he'll help you with that a bit but tell him you're mostly interested in resistance training. If he's worth his salt he'll accommodate your needs. If he doesn't want to help you with resistance training then move on and find someone who will.

I'm going to go a few more times, one big problem is that it is a group training session and I don't know the other two girls who have also been with him for years. Like I said, I'm going to give it another shot and then either find another trainer or shell out more money for individual sessions with him that include weight training.

Are you sure this guy only does cardio? You only trained with him once, so it might be different the next time...

If so, you should feel free to go your own way. I think resistance training is important, and yes, you can get cardio on your own... so I personally tend to agree with you.

You can simply say that this isn't for you because you're looking to get more resistance training. That's not offensive, is it?

Good trainers combine strength training with calisthenics and drills to boost your endurance, but it all depends on what your friend told him her goal was. Some people absolutely hate cardio and they need the trainer to give them different ways to fit in cardio rather than getting on a treadmill for an hour. Maybe you should ask him if you can sit down to discuss YOUR goals because they might be different from hers. I do agree with you, though, a good trainer should always promote both cardio and strength training because they go hand in hand (even if her goal wa just weight loss and not to get toned).

Last year I worked with a trainer who just killed me (but in a good way). We would do circuits of endurance drills (squats, high steppers, burpees, etc) and also do circuits of weights and core exercises. I was toned, losing weight and never got bored because we never ever did the same thing. I saw him 2 days a week and I just had to promise to do my cardio and my core daily on my own as well. Trainers are expensive and I think you need to find someone who can deliver on their promise and be a good fit for you personality wise. Don't be afraid to ask questions or find someone else. It's your money and your health. Good luck!

I had a personal trainer twice a week for 5 weeks right before I went on vacation (lost about 15 pounds in that time) and we did all cardio one day and all weights the other. It really worked well for me and toned me up no end. Maybe your next session will be with weights?

Communication is the key. Tell PT what your expectations are. Go with your intuition. If it doesn't feel right, don't go just to please your friend!

You're right, that workout sounded like it lacked weights. And she's been seeing him for 2 years and only lost 20 lbs?! But then again I don't know what her starting weight was or her goal. I think your hunch is right, don't bother paying for a service you don't think you'd be getting the most out of. As far as your friends feelings, just say that the trainer may work for her but probably won't for what you want to get out of it.