@derp said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
Does anyone have any experience with personal trainers?
Yup.
I am thinking of looking for one, but I honestly don't even know where to start. Do certifications really make that much of a difference for the cost increase? Are certain certifications better than others?
A lot of certifications don't mean much because chains (such as Goodlife in Canada) churn them out by the shitload. It takes them a couple of weeks and a hefty fee paid to the mother company and they get one of those, which doesn't amount to much at all.
It doesn't help that most gyms will cram PTs down your throat, whether they are good or not. A "free consultation" for an hour is basically a marketing opportunity for them to have your ear for that long, and at least at first you don't know who's going to be much good for you.
A way to go about this is to look at yourself and answer some basic questions...
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What you can start with is figuring out what your goal is. Is it to lose weight? To gain something (flexibility, strength)? General conditioning?
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What is this worth to you? How many hours per week are you willing to put into it? How much money are you willing to spend? You should be aware ahead of time since it will absolutely come up when you are deciding on whether to give it a go.
The goal of any PT theoretically is to bring the trainee to the point where they are no longer needed. That's what the best of them will do - start you on more hours, then ween them out as you become more proficient with form and confident in your limits, until you want to go further.
Do you need a PT? That depends on your current level of fitness and general experience. Personally I got a lot of traction out of reading articles, watching a lot of youtube videos by reputable people, subscribing to subreddits (/r/fitness is pretty good, for example) and then hiring PTs for short bursts to go over my form and correct specific issues.
Another factor is that many gyms offer classes for free. Depending on what you want to do (say, yoga or pilates are pretty common) you might get traction out of those, at least while you determine what you want to do.
A third factor, if you can manage it, is getting a workout partner; they are worth their fucking weight in gold; they are the ones who sometimes make the difference between "meh, I don't feel like getting off my ass today" and "shit, it's more of a hassle to call and cancel than just put my shoes on and go". Plus, y'know, your buddy might be able to help you with some tips too if you find someone who's slightly more advanced than you are - for the price of buying them a beer after.
Whatever you do, don't commit to a long term plan with anyone, about anything, until you know it's for you. The best workout plan or PT are useless if you don't do them. Start slow (and they'll always try to give you discounts for more commitments, it's gym-running 101), see if you like it. You need to like it. If you don't like it you won't do it, not in the long term, and the long term is all that matters.
Edit: You can also consider an online PT for hire. I know Stefi Cohen's program is very good for instance, at least for the kinds of stuff they cover, and they will go over your form through videos for a fraction of the price. Plus there are communities you can join, etc. It might be worth your while.