Personal Trainers

Lisa asked on her blog about Personal Trainers. I thought seeing that PT is my current obsession I would post my thoughts for all to see.

I got to Fitness First, so I pay my membership and then pay for PT on top of that. The trainers there are self employed - so they operate as their own business. They pay rent to FF which gives them access to the gym and clients. The cost depends on what type of training I am doing, and I do get a discount cause I train so much, and have been doing so for 12 months - generally for a one on one session you are looking at between $65-100 an hour. I also train with a friend once a week, which costs us $42 each. And then there's running group which works out at around $30 a session cause there are lots of us. Although sometimes it is just me, so I get a bargain!

For me it is worth every cent - and there are a hundred reasons! Motivation, accountability, advice, counselling, fun. I find if I book in a session then I have to go even if I don't feel like it. Once I get there I am fine. I also train alot harder when someone is standing beside me, and get better results. I lift heavier weights when I am with my PT because I am less worried about injuring myself or dropping them. I get pushed to do things I didn't think I could do. This was really highlighted in running group - Rusty would tell me something like - "run for 3 minutes on level 11". Yeah right! I was used to running on 8 or 9. Anyway, I did it every time. He always had faith in me, even when I didn't. This has made a huge difference to my self confidence and self belief. I have achieved things I didn't think were possible.

PT may not be for everyone. But if you are going to try it, find a trainer you like and stick with it. The more trust you have, the better results you will get. For me, having a PT (or two!) has been the best thing I have ever done - both mentally and physically.