# Personal Training



## Bagheera (Apr 23, 2013)

I signed up for some personal training sessions to help me get on track with a good workout regiment. I've never done personal training before. What should I expect?


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## livelovelaughride (Sep 13, 2011)

Your trainer will have you fill a medical par-q form which is a brief questionnaire about your medical history, age, past and current issues, and your goals.
They might check your normal range of motion for various joints so that they can plan which exercises are/aren't appropriate for you.

Once they get an idea of your goals, the time you can afford to spend at the gym, frequency, etc., they'll chart out a plan for you. This usually includes warming up on the cardio machines, the workout itself, and information on stretching how tos and the exercise how-tos.

There seem to be divergent directions the personal trainers are heading. One that I don't quite agree with, is doing many "fancy" exercises using kettle balls and other props and complicated movement patterns in each exercise session. The trainer does not repeat the same exercise so the participant doesn't get the benefit of recall and muscle memory. They rely on the trainer to give them things to do each session. Often the client does not have the necessary core foundation for these exercises, much less remember what they are doing should they want to train on their own.

What my preference is, is to give the client enough information about XX exercise and then have them practice during the week, then follow up with new exercises designed to challenge them. I want the client to be able to come in and train eventually on her own, with good form and build on a foundation. 

I have observed a client who has worked with a trainer for two years, still not able to do a push up off a physio ball with good form. The complicated stuff can come later, but I believe in getting a good strong base to start with.

Have fun with your trainer. Bring water and don't forget to snack on something with protein/carb/fat within 45 minutes of your session!


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## Bagheera (Apr 23, 2013)

Awesome! Thanks for the great feed back! I'm really excited to get started! I'll let you know how it goes!


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

My best advice if listen to your body. If you feel he is pushing you go hard, beyond normal difficult stop. Playing rugby was the most physically challenging things I've ever done. If put myself when the going to rough, but eventually I would have cool it for a little while. I knew right where my breaking point is. I find a lot of there personal trainers have tendency to work you out like your been working out your whole like. That's a nice way to end up with an injury.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## livelovelaughride (Sep 13, 2011)

Agree with Slide. I've seen trainers who do not "qualify" their clients for the exercise, meaning the exercise is too difficult for the client to perform properly. It can be too much weight, or too quick a movement, or the client might not have the core strength needed to do the exercise in proper form.

It will be unlikely that this will happen to you, but if you ever feel something you're doing is not quite right for you, say so. I once heard a trainer tell her client who was complaining about her knee pain during exercise, to ..'work through the pain, it will probably go away". Yikes. Any trainer worth her salt should be able to modify any exercise to suit the client or substitute for it.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

I'm going to put in a "highly recommended" for Pilates as a fabulous form of workout that is complementary to horse-riding, and not rough on joints or likely to cause injuries. In fact, Pilates prevents many injuries you can get in everyday life or horse-riding! And while it looks easy, it's actually very tough exercise. You will discover muscles you never thought you had...


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## Bagheera (Apr 23, 2013)

Sorry I'm just responding now. It's been a busy week. I was paired with a trainer who has a lot of experience and skill working with injuries. I tore my left rotator cuff three years ago and am still very week on my left side. I also have arthritis in both knees. My trainer has been really good so far about asking me how I feel as we go through each series of exercises. He has also shown me a few really good exercises I can do every morning at home and given me a list of exercises to incorporate into my workout routine when I go to the gym on my own. So far I'm feeling really good. I was definitely sore after my session with him, but I'm feeling really good now that I've been doing every thing he showed me. I have another session on Friday. I'm pretty excited. 

It's kind of interesting though that some of the exercises that I thought would be hard were easy, and some that I thought would be easy were hard. I would think to my self, I use my body like that when I go riding, this will be easy. Yeah. Not so much. Lol

I've been trying to do the yoga classes they offer on Thursdays as part of my membership, but I usually have to work late. I try to swim laps at the pool once a week as well, to get some diversity. 

Edit: I actually had to ask him to turn down the resistance on the bike at the end because I felt like my knee was about to give out. He was totally fine with it. He also showed me variations on some of the exercises I did with free weights so that I could decide what I was capable of. I felt he did a good job of pushing me but not overdoing it. I was really worried it'd get someone who would run me to the ground.


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