Let's Talk About Personal Trainers

[Righteous1]

Waste of money unless you're a noob and don't have a bro to teach you the science.

[Hammertime]

Originally Posted by Slava

I work with a trainer over email (we've never actually met). Every week I send him measurements and my weight and a general update. He sends me a workout plan and a nutritional plan. The nutrition is just calories/protein/carbs/fat amounts per day and I can configure my actual eating however it works for me. The workouts are hard, but thats what I want.

I think its $100/month. I hate the actual gym, so I workout at home, but you could definitely use that program and workout in the gym. I love it because its flexible, easy to measure progress and quite frankly it works very well. I have gotten what I consider great results.

Who do you use? There are too many on google, I'm having a tough time sifting through the gimmicky services online.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Hammertime

Who do you use? There are too many on google, I'm having a tough time sifting through the gimmicky services online.

The guy I use is Darcey MacDonald of http://www.precisionconsulting4you.com/

I know what you mean about gimmicky guys or it being hard to find someone trustworthy. I only started because I have a friend who used him and got amazing results, and then my wife did for a while before me. After seeing how it goes first hand I could see the value, so I signed up. I don't work for the guy, or anything like that, so this is really just an endorsement from a satisfied customer!

For those curious, its not all starving yourself to death either. I'm currently trying to add some muscle and eating 3000 calories a day. Anyone can eat that if you're eating big macs, but to do that and eat a lot of protein and eat healthy I feel like I'm eating basically all day! Combine the eating with some good hard workouts and voila; to no ones surprise it works.

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by Slava

The guy I use is Darcey MacDonald of http://www.precisionconsulting4you.com/

I know what you mean about gimmicky guys or it being hard to find someone trustworthy. I only started because I have a friend who used him and got amazing results, and then my wife did for a while before me. After seeing how it goes first hand I could see the value, so I signed up. I don't work for the guy, or anything like that, so this is really just an endorsement from a satisfied customer!

For those curious, its not all starving yourself to death either. I'm currently trying to add some muscle and eating 3000 calories a day. Anyone can eat that if you're eating big macs, but to do that and eat a lot of protein and eat healthy I feel like I'm eating basically all day! Combine the eating with some good hard workouts and voila; to no ones surprise it works.

I work with Darcey, and I'll vouch for him. Lots of my Co workers have used his program and were really happy with the results, definitely seems to work!

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Aleks

I work with Darcey, and I'll vouch for him. Lots of my Co workers have used his program and were really happy with the results, definitely seems to work!

Like you work with him as an EMT or you do the work out plans and such through him?

[Aleks]

Yah I'm a Paramedic.....my workouts don't go beyond hockey 😆

[Sr. Mints]

I was doing physio for a number of years, and it use to piss me off so much. The therapist would say 'do this, this, and this', show me, then leave to go flirt with the secretary for 30 minutes.

Of course I realize not everybody is like that, but it really soured my experience with trainers.

On another occasion, I had a personal trainer come to my home six times, one-on-one, and it was amazing. Night and day experience. She did an assessment, showed me a bunch of different things and what to work on. We went to the gym in my building and she showed me what was of most benefit to me.

I would have someone come over again if it weren't something like $140 (~2011 dollars) each time.

[Burninator]

It depends on your personality but I would focus on changing your food habits before you spend thousands of dollars on a personal trainer. You can't out run your fork. You wouldn't want to spend $60 to workout for an hour then drink a gatorade after and undo the time, money and sweat you just used. Your diet will be responsible for around 80% of your results, exercise being the other 20%. I read a good article about it today.

Why Exercise is the Least Important Part of the Equation

Maybe start with improving your diet and then once you have consistently stuck with that habit then considering hiring a personal trainer. While people like to jump into new habits with both feet they are terrible at sticking with them when they do this (I am guilty of this too). It's more sustainable to start slow and change only a couple things (or one thing) at a time. Build a habit then add the next one. I should say that changing your diet isn't one habit, but many (drink less pop, eat more veggies etc.).

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Burninator

It depends on your personality but I would focus on changing your food habits before you spend thousands of dollars on a personal trainer. You can't out run your fork. You wouldn't want to spend $60 to workout for an hour then drink a gatorade after and undo the time, money and sweat you just used. Your diet will be responsible for around 80% of your results, exercise being the other 20%. I read a good article about it today.

Why Exercise is the Least Important Part of the Equation

Maybe start with improving your diet and then once you have consistently stuck with that habit then considering hiring a personal trainer. While people like to jump into new habits with both feet they are terrible at sticking with them when they do this (I am guilty of this too). It's more sustainable to start slow and change only a couple things (or one thing) at a time. Build a habit then add the next one. I should say that changing your diet isn't one habit, but many (drink less pop, eat more veggies etc.).

I agree 100%. It all starts in the kitchen, and that line that "you can't out run your fork" is awesome. Never heard that before, but that's a great line!

[SlapPuck]

Originally Posted by Burninator

It depends on your personality but I would focus on changing your food habits before you spend thousands of dollars on a personal trainer. You can't out run your fork. You wouldn't want to spend $60 to workout for an hour then drink a gatorade after and undo the time, money and sweat you just used. Your diet will be responsible for around 80% of your results, exercise being the other 20%. I read a good article about it today.

Why Exercise is the Least Important Part of the Equation

Maybe start with improving your diet and then once you have consistently stuck with that habit then considering hiring a personal trainer. While people like to jump into new habits with both feet they are terrible at sticking with them when they do this (I am guilty of this too). It's more sustainable to start slow and change only a couple things (or one thing) at a time. Build a habit then add the next one. I should say that changing your diet isn't one habit, but many (drink less pop, eat more veggies etc.).

I agree with this as well. Start eating healthy and then possibly hire a personal trainer. My problem with personal trainers is that the exercises most of them are showing their clients you would never do on your own. Then you end up having to keep hiring them so they can show you how to push a bench up and down the gym with weights on it, pissing everyone off in the mean time.

When I first started working out around 16 I actually would read fitness magazines to learn different exercises. I recommend this or YouTube and then start building a schedule. The key is you have to keep on going. Even till this day if I take two weeks off it sucks balls trying to get back into it.

Good Luck with your goal and I am sure you will be rocking a 6 pack this summer (beer or abs are both cool).

[DuffMan]

I'll be your personal trainer for half that price.
I hired myself and I am kicking my Ass, every day I wake up sore as hell, and I actually don't even leave my basement. It's simple, if it hurts, that's excercise. Get some barbells and a stationary bike and get back to me when you do, I'll send you a plan.
or just subscribe to Mens Health, for a couple of bucks a month and do their workouts. Or start with their Belly Off diet and workout, it's good.