personal training - how does it work?

shortie_chik

I've previously been a member of a gym. Started out with an assessment, was given a training programme & I did it regularly (used to go Mon - Fri before work) and could get reassessed every couple of weeks to change the plan around (there was no extra charge for this). I was cycling to / from work, going for a short run maybe twice a week, and swam on days I didn't feel like the gym. Worked pretty well for me.

Lately I've been wondering about a personal trainer rather than joining a gym. There's a trainer based very near me at home, and there would be a few near work. But how does it work? You get an assessment and then what? I don't have any equipment at home (besides a yoga mat!) Do I need to be going to the trainer's centre every time I work out? Surely you pay the training fee then every time you work out? If I'm going to just do it as part of my regular weekday morning routine, that's gonna be prohibitively expensive!

Will I get some programme I can do at home, and just check back in with the trainer when I want to change it around after a couple of weeks?

Also I guess personal trainers' prices vary like hairdressers', but if anyone could tell me their experience of pricing, that would be great!

Taboola

You'd really have to ask the personal trainer you are planning on going to this. No two are the same.

zzxx

I have a trainer and what I do is go see him about once every 6 weeks and he updates my program. I am a member of a gym and I go to the gym and do my program in between sessions. If you don't have access to a gym then you'll need to tell them so they can design a program you can do without equipment.

LuckyLloyd

shortie_chik wrote: »

I've previously been a member of a gym. Started out with an assessment, was given a training programme & I did it regularly (used to go Mon - Fri before work) and could get reassessed every couple of weeks to change the plan around (there was no extra charge for this). I was cycling to / from work, going for a short run maybe twice a week, and swam on days I didn't feel like the gym. Worked pretty well for me.

Lately I've been wondering about a personal trainer rather than joining a gym. There's a trainer based very near me at home, and there would be a few near work. But how does it work? You get an assessment and then what? I don't have any equipment at home (besides a yoga mat!) Do I need to be going to the trainer's centre every time I work out? Surely you pay the training fee then every time you work out? If I'm going to just do it as part of my regular weekday morning routine, that's gonna be prohibitively expensive!

Will I get some programme I can do at home, and just check back in with the trainer when I want to change it around after a couple of weeks?

Also I guess personal trainers' prices vary like hairdressers', but if anyone could tell me their experience of pricing, that would be great!

Good personal trainers will be flexible in terms of the service they offer. They would probably work out of a facility and offer packages where they coach you through sessions 1 on 1; they might offer simple programming / remote coaching options; they might have a client drop by for a progress gauge at defined intervals and use that contact to change / update the plan.

If you have no equipment at home then you may be automatically limiting the value a personal trainer could provide as the range of exercises you could do would be limited. Realistically, the range of equipment available will limit what's possible and the potential gains you can derive from the experience.

In terms of price, well - a good trainer with an excellent record will be in high demand and able to charge for their time. The cheaper you go the more likely it is that you'll elicit a lower return (though there may be exceptions to that of course if you catch someone new in the industry on the way to building their business). Obviously the cost you pay will also be a function of which option you choose. Paying a good trainer to take you through three hour sessions a week one on one; work out your programming; spend time assessing your progress and replanning; and potentially aiding some of your queries via mail, etc may be very expensive but it could potentially aid a turnaround in your fitness over a period that is impossible for you to achieve by yourself.

Your starting points are really to:

- identify some trainers local to your area;
- get in touch and try to discuss where you are and what they have to offer;
- compare prices and then try and get as much information about them online and if there are any reviews available, etc;

Somebody like Transform would be a gold standard in the industry for example:

http://www.dominicmunnelly.ie/

And you can see from his site that he's serious and passionate about what he does. But there will be plenty of charlatans and chancers out there also.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

shortie_chik

Ok I have a better idea of what to expect. Thanks for your help!

Transform

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Good personal trainers will be flexible in terms of the service they offer. They would probably work out of a facility and offer packages where they coach you through sessions 1 on 1; they might offer simple programming / remote coaching options; they might have a client drop by for a progress gauge at defined intervals and use that contact to change / update the plan.

If you have no equipment at home then you may be automatically limiting the value a personal trainer could provide as the range of exercises you could do would be limited. Realistically, the range of equipment available will limit what's possible and the potential gains you can derive from the experience.

In terms of price, well - a good trainer with an excellent record will be in high demand and able to charge for their time. The cheaper you go the more likely it is that you'll elicit a lower return (though there may be exceptions to that of course if you catch someone new in the industry on the way to building their business). Obviously the cost you pay will also be a function of which option you choose. Paying a good trainer to take you through three hour sessions a week one on one; work out your programming; spend time assessing your progress and replanning; and potentially aiding some of your queries via mail, etc may be very expensive but it could potentially aid a turnaround in your fitness over a period that is impossible for you to achieve by yourself.

Your starting points are really to:

- identify some trainers local to your area;
- get in touch and try to discuss where you are and what they have to offer;
- compare prices and then try and get as much information about them online and if there are any reviews available, etc;

Somebody like Transform would be a gold standard in the industry for example:

http://www.dominicmunnelly.ie/

And you can see from his site that he's serious and passionate about what he does. But there will be plenty of charlatans and chancers out there also.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

cheers dude

Transform

shortie_chik wrote: »

Ok I have a better idea of what to expect. Thanks for your help!

i gave a 4hr seminar on wednesday last and the biggest gap for the trainers that came along (8 out of the 10 people that attended) is they have no systems, no base principles laid out and their business skills need major work. So i laid what i do out for them in detail so they could simply use my templates with clients if they wished, simples

reading this might help also - http://www.dominicmunnelly.ie/2015/04/the-fitness-tipping-point-in-ireland/

aaabbbb

shortie_chik wrote: »

I've previously been a member of a gym. Started out with an assessment, was given a training programme & I did it regularly (used to go Mon - Fri before work) and could get reassessed every couple of weeks to change the plan around (there was no extra charge for this). I was cycling to / from work, going for a short run maybe twice a week, and swam on days I didn't feel like the gym. Worked pretty well for me.

Lately I've been wondering about a personal trainer rather than joining a gym. There's a trainer based very near me at home, and there would be a few near work. But how does it work? You get an assessment and then what? I don't have any equipment at home (besides a yoga mat!) Do I need to be going to the trainer's centre every time I work out? Surely you pay the training fee then every time you work out? If I'm going to just do it as part of my regular weekday morning routine, that's gonna be prohibitively expensive!

Will I get some programme I can do at home, and just check back in with the trainer when I want to change it around after a couple of weeks?

Also I guess personal trainers' prices vary like hairdressers', but if anyone could tell me their experience of pricing, that would be great!

I pay €300 p/m for one 1:1 training session with my PT a week
I've a program that I work on outside of that and I can contact them via email/phone during the week if I've any questions

As said previously though prices really can vary