Thinking about hiring a personal trainer

[AmmunitionVx]

I need somebody ( in person ) to help me get fit, my form seems to be off ( hurt my shoulder yestarday during bench pressing ), I also suffer from a shitty diet..


So, I was wondering how many people here have personal trainers or have had them before? and if you had a good trainer , did you tend to make better gains working with that trainer vs by yourself?


I don't want to sound lazy and not do research on my own, but i think i need help being pushed to my limits and some and a layed out diet plan..


also, when looking for a personal trainer ( at my gym ) what should I look for?

 

[gymtime]

First of all, assuming you can afford it, go with a real certified traininer, not some gym employee. Trainers are great to help get you started. If you're new to lifting and have the time and money to learn that way, I'd say go with one for a couple weeks and learn the basics, but no more. The rest will be up to you. A good trainer is great to learn your shit from, but the last thing you want to do is become dependent on one for motivation.

 

[bignate73]

look for solid certifications (reputable nationally recognized ones). a degree would be even better (though dont hold me to that, ive seen my share of trainers with degrees....nevermind). (hehe) hit the search on here for good certifications, tons of threads on the subject.

your mealplan should be well rounded, and not a from the hip type of plan. ex. "oh...try to eat about 1 g per pound of bodyweight of protein and fill the rest in with carbs and fats." you should have a calorie goal to shoot for based on your body composition.

ensure that when you learn an exercise you know what it is working, and how to change it up for variety/plateau busting.

if you can do it, start out strong with a trainer, then taper off (wean yourself and make yourself accountable for the proper intensity and your food intake) make sure before you wean yourself though, that you can take a particular exercise and you know what to look for as far as bad form. if you just know how to do it, but dont know what NOT to do...you wont be as effective alone. have the trainer give you workouts to do on the days you arent with him/her. this will get you looking at your own form instead of relying on the trainer to constantly correct you.

im a trainer, so i know basically what i want to try to get across to my clients if they buy 2 sessions or 200, i still want them to be effective and use good form, since its my name they are saying when someone asks who taught them.

hope that helps.

 

[AmmunitionVx]

even tho I haven't seen this trainer yet, I'm thinking about going with this person( at my gym )


Area of Expertise
Training the Elite Athlete; Sport specific training; Post-rehab
Cetification(s)
Certified Rehab Specialist; C.C.S. - Certified Conditioning Specialist for N.S.P.A
Additional Experience
Speaker & Evaluator for the N.S.P.A

Accomplishments
Fitness Director of the Year - 1999; Three time All Conference Collegiate Football Player

Philosophy
The more balanced you are mentally, physically and spiritually, the more sound you will become!

School Attended Degree
Towson State University B.S. in Sports Management



I still haven't made a descison yet, but from viewing this alone, do you think he would be a good trainer?

 

[gymtime]

Looks like a complete hack to me.

j/k....very impressive credentials, imo. bignate will know more about them though.

 

[edgecrusher]

The credentials look good, but as was said, talk to him, and see if you can talk to some of his clients.

 

[spatts]

Make sure your trainer is geared toward your goals. If you hurt your shoulder benching, it's probably because you're benching like a body builder. If you stop using your chest and shoulders to bench, and start using your lats and tris more, you won't f*** your shoulder. A trainer, certified or not, may not know proper form. If you want to learn how to bench correctly, find a strength and conditioning coach that used to be, or is, a power lifter. If you want to build big pecs without f***ing up your shoudlers, do flies.

 

[bignate73]

not everyone is predisposed to shoulder injury because they bench out wide. just because someone teaches it that way doesnt mean they are "ignorant" to how powerlifters train either. there are many strength and conditioning coaches that teach a "pec" bench because it trains the prime movers of that exercise....the chest and shoulders. if you think that the triceps and the lats (hehe) are involved in a 500 lb bench as the prime movers, i dont know what to tell you. i know the whole "back release" principle, whatever its supposed to be, but the lats prime motions are not the direction that one presses. unless you can reverse contract. the shoulder may be put out of less precarious position but to attribute a pressing movement to a pulling muscle is like saying "my biceps hurt doing dips".

i dont care who puts what numbers up and swears by thier lats being a prime mover. muscle action will tell you whats really going on. i've had this debate before.

 

[Hannibal]

if you think that the triceps and the lats (hehe) are involved in a 500 lb bench as the prime movers, i dont know what to tell you. i know the whole "back release" principle, whatever its supposed to be, but the lats prime motions are not the direction that one presses. unless you can reverse contract. the shoulder may be put out of less precarious position but to attribute a pressing movement to a pulling muscle is like saying "my biceps hurt doing dips".

i dont care who puts what numbers up and swears by thier lats being a prime mover. muscle action will tell you whats really going on. i've had this debate before.

Well we won't debate the lats involvement because you seem to have closed your mind to that. But if you don't think that TRICEPS are the #1 "mover" in the bench press..then I don't know what to tell you.

People post big numbers...and when their lat strength increases their bench goes up, but you don't care? As a trainer that doesn't make sense to me. Even though I train one way...I am always open to new ways of doing things. Next year at the Arnold Classic...I will look for the guys with the big triceps and thick back...they are the ones that will put up some serious weight.

It is true that not everyone is predisposed to shoulder issues...many people develop them as a direct results of "benching wide" as you call it. Just look at the amount of shoulder rotation that is involved when you bench with your elbows at 90 deg....as compared to when you bench with your elbows tucked. Why subject your shoulder joint to the extra rotation if it isn't necessary??

 

[b fold the truth]

Look for someone who has done it!!!! Just because someone has a degree or a certificate...it doesn't mean that they know squat about getting big, lean, strength, etc...

If I want to learn how to get huge, I don't ask someone who is 180lbs. If I want a huge squat, I don't ask someone who can squat 405. If I want to learn how to do the atlas stones perfectly, I don't ask someone who can barely do a 300lb atlas stone.

Just burns my tail that everyone thinks that because they can "scientifically" back something up about training that it is true. Lots of things are true in theory ONLY. Find me a guy who has done it...actually done it...then take their advice.

B True