What to expect when working with a Personal Trainer

Written by Carole Dowling: Personal Trainer Tunbridge Wells 

There is a perception that working with a personal trainer is going to be an intimidating experience and is likely to involve pain.  Some people believe personal trainers will only work with you if you are a certain level of fitness to begin with and that you won’t be able to keep up otherwise.  I believe it is important to dispel these myths and to show that the vast majority of personal trainers are focused on working with you in a positive, personalised and inclusive way.   

Here are a few tips for working with a personal trainer so you get the most out of the experience.    

1 - Do your research

When you are first considering getting a PT take some time to reflect on what you want to achieve.   If you have a very specific goal, find a PT with experience in helping clients achieve that goal.  It sounds obvious, but not only will they have the programming experience but they’ll be better placed to empathise, motivate and connect with you.  If you have a medical condition, find someone qualified to work with you, particularly if it’s a chronic health condition.   

2 – Meet for a consultation

After the initial research create a shortlist of personal trainers.  It is important to meet your trainer before you commit to training with them and most PT’s offer a free no-obligation face to face consultation.  I think one of the most important goals of this meeting is to make sure the chemistry between the two of you is right.  You will potentially be spending quite a bit of time with your them so you want to feel comfortable in their company.  They should ask you lots of questions and be interested in finding out about you, your exercise history, lifestyle and goals.  This is also your opportunity to find out more about them, so ask as many questions as you need to, to feel you have a good feel for what training with them will be like.  

Once you’ve decided on which personal trainer is right for you make sure you understand all the practical elements.  How long the sessions are, cancellation periods, what equipment do you need (if any).  It’s best to get these things agreed up front so ask to see their terms and conditions. 

3 – Get a personalised service 

Your personal trainer should always meet you at your level of fitness. My personal approach is that you should leave the first session feeling confident and pleased with your ability so I’ll always be cautious about how far I push a client in the first few sessions.  The first few sessions are really important for me to find out more about you so I can plan and programme effective, safe and enjoyable sessions.  They are not about me giving you a beasting so you can’t sit down for a week!    

One of the areas of expertise a PT brings is to work you through a progressed programme, following established exercise principles.  These programmes will have been written in line with your goals, to enable you to meet them so they should always be working from a written programme.  

4 – Give and receive feedback

Feedback is really useful for both parties.  Planning client programmes is much more effective if we have a clear goal.  It’s also good to know how hard you feel you are working and what elements of a session your enjoy or don’t enjoy.  Don’t be afraid to give this feedback, it will mean you get the most out of your sessions.  Your personal trainer should also be giving you feedback.  Working with you to improve your form and technique and motivating and encouraging you so you leave a session feeling energised and proud of your achievements.  

Use these tips to find the PT that’s right for you and you will make it a positive experience.  It’s always good to hear the other side of the story though, so please read on for a client view.   

The Client Experience

Phoebe started personal training as someone who hadn’t ever really felt comfortable in a gym environment. She had been to yoga and more gentle movement classes, but exercise hadn’t really been a regular part of her life.  In fact, she was pretty intimidated and felt nervous about how she’d manage given her current fitness levels.  Phoebe was reassured that whatever level of fitness or experience she had, that was ok.  The aim was to progress from her individual starting point and help her establish a long lasting and positive relationship with exercise.    

Here’s an extract from Phoebe’s exercise diary. 

Before my first session...

As I start on this training program I would be lying to not say I’m a little worried, after all it is very scary and a little embarrassing to start getting fit when you are so unfit, however I am also very excited about getting control back and feeling good.  

Session 1…

It’s Friday and I am just relaxing after workout number one and I feel really surprised. I had a lot of fun!! I feel like I have had a good work out, Carole really took into account what I wanted to achieve but also my worry about my asthma.  My work out was designed to push me, not kill me!! I finished my workout and could go to my own shower then crack on with my day – sooo much better than going to a gym. 

Week 1…

It’s the end of my first full week of personal training. I have done 2 sessions with Carole in Tunbridge Wells and one yoga session as well. I know I have worked my body.  As well as moving, I have had some great nutrition advice and I feel less bloated.  It is really inspiring to already feel the start of the results. 

Carole has been giving me the tools and her very great skill of reading people’s limits makes it all very easy. I now realise Carole’s job isn’t to hurt me, it is to work with me to get me fit. My job is to do the best I can!!

Week 4…

It’s the last day of my foundation sessions and we’re checking in to see my progress. I have worked hard over the last few weeks so I was hopeful that things would go okay but I was delighted by the progress I had made, almost as delighted as Carole herself! I thought at first I was only going to be interested in whether my clothes were looser but I found seeing such big improvements in my fitness and strength really motivating.  I could also feel the positive impact our sessions had on my mood, energy and general mental wellbeing.  

What do I think now…

My message, for others who think you have to start fit to have a personal trainer, is to go for it. My results and enjoyment prove different.  The biggest shock is that I can be one of those people who enjoys exercise! This has made me think I might be able to keep it up long term, so it becomes an important part of my life. 

Over the course of 6-9 months Phoebe went on to run a 5k and a 10k, something she thought she would never be able to do. The key to her success was doing something she enjoyed and focusing on the immediate returns of increased energy and better mood, rather than long terms goals such as fat loss.  

If, like Phoebe, you think you’ll never be able to enjoy exercise, then just take one step and start with something you might get a small amount of enjoyment from.  Take a small step, such as a daily walk, and build up gradually from there.  

If you would like some support from one of our female personal trainers, please get in touch.  We would love to hear from you.  We are qualified in pre & post-natal, GP referrals (so work with people with chronic health conditions) and also have mental health first aid qualifications.  We can support you to embrace exercise sustainably and enjoyable.