It is the eve of your first premium session with your Personal Trainer, and understandably, you are feeling a little apprehensive. ‘What will he/she do to me in one hour?’ you might be asking yourself. Will you get through it? Will you be sore for days to come? Will you enjoy it? These are all natural questions to be asking yourself, especially if this is your very first experience with a Personal Trainer.
To get to this point, you have likely met with your Personal Trainer for a consultation. This
was the appointment when your trainer asked you many questions about your fitness experience, your lifestyle and your goals (and more importantly-WHY they are your goals). They also broke down for you a general outline of what your year of programming would look like with them. The night before your first appointment, you are likely failing to remember a lot of detail about what was on that plan, but the word ‘foundation’ might jog your memory.
The introduction to your Personal Training experience will begin with your foundation phase. This phase of training is meant to address how your body moves and ensure that you are comfortable performing some basic movements essential in our everyday lives. Examples are: Squating, lunging, bending over, pushing, pulling and twisting. The actual exercises you do to address these patterns will vary, but through your first six sessions, you should begin to feel your body moving more naturally through the exercises.
If you are like most of the population, your trainer probably noticed that a certain area(s) of your body were not moving optimally. For everyone who works at a computer all day, they likely have a ‘head forward’ posture, slumped shoulders and tight hips. This is just one example of how our bodies begin to develop dysfunctional patterns through lack of exercise and improper movement. Your trainer will begin to address these issues in your first 6 session, which optimally, will be your first 2 weeks of training. Correcting these imbalances will allow you to move with more ease through life and experience less aches and pains. This stage of training is absolutely essential in order to build a strong base before progressing to heavier exercises and the next level of intensity necessary for most fitness goals. Like a house, if the foundation is not strong, ultimately the house will crumble.Â
Your Personal Trainer will also begin to address lifestyle topics with you. Lifestyle includes: stress levels and management, sleep quantity and quality, and nutrition among other things. You will likely start setting small, reasonable and realistic goals with your trainer to attain on your own each week. Personal Trainers have knowledge in these areas and they are great to discuss strategies with to improve not just your workouts but all the lifestyle issues that affect our ability to achieve a fitness goal and a better quality of life. They also hold the important role of keeping you accountable!
You will begin to develop a closer relationship with your Personal Trainer in these first 2-3 weeks of working together. You will get more comfortable asking questions, and will gain more trust in your trainer. They are NOT there to make you hurt, to punish you or to make you feel badly about not having prioritized your health and fitness up until now (if that is the case). They are your biggest support and are proud of you for making the difficult decision to invest in changing your life for the better. Â
So, take a deep breath, relax a little and head to bed early so you can be full of energy for your first Personal Training session!
Kirstin Schell B.Comm. is a Personal Training Project Manager for GoodLife Fitness. In addition to numerous Personal Training certifications, she has completed her Nutrition and Wellness certification, Precision Nutrition certification and in the process of finishing her studies to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She presents on the topics of nutrition and exercise at fitness conferences across Canada. Kirstin also enjoys teaching a variety of group exercise classes as well as helping friends, family and her children make positive choices for their health.
Expect a quote for $8,000 to lose eight pounds lol
yeah waaayyy too expensive
Only for the rich……..
learn to count to 10?
I had the 6 free training sessions then if I wanted to continue I would have had to mortgage my house!
I looked into it about 8 months ago. The cost is unbelievable.
The first of my six “personal training” sessions was what most gyms would call an “orientation” on how to use the weight machines. I told them I wanted my money back so they switched me to real personal training but as soon as the six were done and I saw the $5000 quote to continue…seriously? No thanks!
It’s a dangerous thing. They will do what the can to keep u on it even if it’s hurting u account.
Id be expecting social shame for putting $7500 into my body instead of a car or, you know, something important
Just because none of you can afford it doesn’t make it overpriced, if you have a good trainer it’s worth every penny.
To me, my health is more important than my car, and totally worth it to get results with a trainer.
Personal training has to be a fit for YOU on so many levels – not just financial. Depending on your goals, and what you want to achieve – you make it work. You pinch pennies in other areas of your life – This is what I have done, and It was worth every single penny pinched. I have an entirely new outlook on fitness as a whole, and can say from the bottom of my heart it IS worth every single sacrifice, even if that means re-mortgaging your house. Heck, you wont have to worry about re-mortgaging your house if you don’t take care of your personal health and well being.
Yeah I agree, I worked with a personal trainer for almost over a year and I used up all my money for that instead of spending it on clothes or alcohool or the usual stuff. It cost 100$ per hour and I would do it again. It takes your training to a whole other level and you’ll benefit from it for the rest of your life. And after a while you don’t have to go to the personal trainer every time so it becomes cheaper the better you get. At least that’s how we handled it ^^
It is expensive. Just because u can afford it doesn’t mean it’s not expensive for other ppl.
as a personal trainer it is understandable that the majority of clients find it overpriced at first but all the clients I have worked with have had tremendous results and have been so happy with the changes in not only their appearance but how they feel on a day to day basis. They have more energy and are able to do things they never thought they where physically capable of doing. Its an investment in your health and if your trainer is doing his/her job you will learn so much that you will be able to apply those skills on your own. So many people underestimate the value of personal training… There are some trainers out there that could be doing a better job with clients and making sure they get their moneys worth but if you can find a trainer that is excited to work with you and really knows what they are talking about your experience will be priceless. If your goal is to lose 8 pounds and a trainer is charging you 8000 for that you probably didn’t do your homework or the trainer is taking advantage of you. Having a personal trainer isn’t for everyone but if you don’t have respect for what trainers have the ability to do, you will jump to conclusions about the value of it.
A Personal Trainer can be very helpful, I have been training with a PT for about a month now and I feel great. But when I went to extend my sessions, one of the only options I had was to do 72 sessions for $4500. I wanted to continue with a PT but I do not want to commit to such a large amount of money.
Right now I have 18 sessions for $1000, but am not allowed to purchase that again. I’m just a little confused as to why I have to purchase so many, especially since the sessions are non refundable.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Hi Tine,
The 72 session recommendation was very likely based on your long term fitness goals – the trainer was providing you with the best solution to achieving those goals. We know clients are most successful and able to reach their goals when they’re able to work out a minimum of 2 to 3 times a week. There are a variety of alternatives available if you’re not able to commit to the ideal option – for example TRX® TEAM™ and MYBootcamps. We would encourage you to discuss with your trainer what option best matches your needs and goals.
I’m a registered nurse who invests in other people’s health working ICU. No one pays me a$100/hr to do it?… I have a lovely broken body to show for it and yes I cannot afford a personal trainer.
When I first signed up to GoodLife I bought the 6 intro PT sessions and so far they have been all TALKING!! I haven’t even started to work out, and my last session was the trainer trying to push me to sign up for a year at a cost of $13,282. Seriously? what a rip off – very disappointed I even bought the initial 6 sessions.
Seriously think about what else you spend money on that you could be spending on training/making your life all around healthier. Buying a coffee a day at approx $2-$6 per coffee, that’s between $728 and $2839 per year. Smoking 2-4 packs a week of cigarettes at $10/pack is $1040-$2080 per year. Eating out 1-2x per week on average works out to around $2080-$4160 per year just for yourself. If it’s not these disposable things, it’s material THINGS that come and go. You only get one body and one life, so why not take care of it?? Common sense. Everything costs money, you just have to learn how to seriously spend it wisely.