Hi everyone,

I am a newbie to the forum, but I thought I would get your thoughts about personal trainers and gyms. I have just started to exercise. I have a treadmill at home and weight machine. My surgery was almost a year ago, and the exercise part of getting healthy has been slow to contemplate for me :-).

So, my question is do you prefer to exercise at home or at a gym? Do you have a personal trainer? If you do have a personal trainer what are the benefits you have seen?

Thanks for your input.

That $74 was if you buy a package of 5 at my gym - and he was okay but not stellar. However, my daughter just recently got certified as a PT and we did a trial workout yesterday to see how it went with her training her old mother. It was great! She's actually better than one would think being fairly recent - and I was so pleased to work with her. I'm sore, but that's part of what I expect. She's agreed to train with me once a week now. Yay! I guess when you pay the tuition you get a break.

When I told her my thighs were killing me from the prior trainer session at my gym, she wisely helped me stretch them out, roller them and then do a modified squat with a TRX system that helped immensely. Afterwards I told her in the future shoe could push me a bit harder, once she knew my limits, and how much I enjoyed working with her and respected her for being willing to try it out with me. Fun to be my daughter's student!

Thank you everyone for your help and input. I have joined a gym, and I did decide to bite the bullet and get a trainer. This gym has 30 minute sessions, but they are still very expensive. I will see if I can do it for a couple of months to put me on the right track.

Thank you everyone for your help and input. I have joined a gym, and I did decide to bite the bullet and get a trainer. This gym has 30 minute sessions, but they are still very expensive. I will see if I can do it for a couple of months to put me on the right track.

Sometimes you only need a couple of sessions with a trainer to kickstart you or learn some new moves to incorporate into what you are already doing. I had a trainer.. she was so mean to me LOL. Have fun!

I am member of the local gym. I had a horrible argument with the head of the trainers and have not been back since. I want to go back. I am hoping 40 lbs and a change in hair color and style will be enough to not know who I am. I really want to go back.

Similar to some others, I enjoy the personal accountability of a trainer. Mine is also a PT so I do appreciate the fact that he can help me avoid injury and keep me on track if I do get injured. No, it is not cheap but there is no gym overhead for him or me so that does cut the cost. The cost is going to be area specific so if you go this way, do the research.

I started about 8 weeks after my sleeve. I switched trainers about 6 months later. Much happier with my current one. At first I had a few people say to me that it was not a sustainable model to have a trainer. But I got rid of that guilt and negativity and it worked. I do cardio on my own but I am sitting here almost a year from surgery and 2 months short of working out at least 3 times per week for a year.

I wish you the best - bottomline - do what works for you. Focus on getting fit, using my fitness pal, getting in your protein and the weight will come off.

I love working with a personal trainer for two reasons...1. I don't have to think I only have to do. It is one of the few periods in the day when that happens. 2. It keeps me honest. I feel guilty when I cancel and so I go even when I don't "feel" like it because I don't want to let her down.

I've worked with two trainers, the first had a background in body building and while she was good (we became personal friends) I can see now that in some ways she was not right for me. Her focus on building muscle only was part of my burn out with the gym. The person I work with now, has a background in gymnastics and is focused on building muscle...AND...rehabbing/strengthening things like my poor knees. I still get my sweat up but I don't feel so totally wiped like I did with the first one.

I've taken a break from training for the next few weeks, lots going on, kids coming to visit, etc. But I've already talked with my trainer about my decision and she is on board! So after my apt on 07 July when my 3 month supervised weight loss period starts I'll be back at the gym....my doc requires a 5% weight loss before surgery.

I hired a personal trainer since I was 4 weeks out. I work out 3 days a week. $200 for the first 10 sessions, then 35 dollars per session after that if I buy more than 20. I purchased a 40 session package and referred some friends and got 15 more sessions for free. he's certified and he is great for weight loss. Love him!!

I go to Planet Fitness, and they have free training sessions.

Some gyms have high fees, and when you walk in the door there are trainers lined up trying to get you to sign up for expensive sessions. I suppose if you can afford the fancy gyms and pay the way, it probably works well for many folks,

I pay ten bucks a month, and most of the employees and trainers at PF are more than happy to talk to anyone without having their palms out.