Which personal trainer would you choose?

I would go with trainer A, to be honest. Mostly because you enjoyed the session more, which is important.

I am starting with a PT as well, we are going to do free weights and cardio together. Basically anything we can in order to quickly drop as much weight as possible in order to start IVF.

Trainer A, as others say you can do cardio in your own time.

I've been with my PT for five months and it's definitely worth it for learning to lift etc properly and to motivate you towards your goals.

A by a country mile. BUT I would want A to do me a programme I could follow outside of PT sessions.

I never in a million years thought I'd be doing deadlifts in the gym - but my body is changing!

It's a revelation, isn't it @Tinselandlights ? I love having biceps and hard abs (not a 6 pack - to much elderly crepey skin). But squats & deadlifts give you abs and quads to die for. I love it.

For me, Trainer A.

But before I worked with a trainer who introduced me to proper weight lifting, I would have gone with Trainer B.

Working on heavy weightlifting (well at first I was only dead lifting 40kg!) has been a revelation, in my late 50s/early 60s.

My PT sessions tend to be a mix of both lifting heavy stuff, and then cardio/body conditioning/moving around. 30 mins of weights - deadlifts or squats, then probably work on lats via a cable machine or banded assisted pull ups; then 30 minutes of metcon (metabolic conditioning): box jumps, burpees, SkiErg, assault bike, sled, lunges, ball slams, wall balls ...

The list of torture goes on (my PT calls them "games").

But it works for me - I do 2 sessions a week, plus a couple of group Bootcamp/Pump classes & I am strong AF. Solid abs and thighs, and can even almost do a full hand release push up!

But the burpees make me want to die.

Personally I would go with A because I've seen better results with free weights and you don't need a trainer to do cardio - that's easy to do on your own.

I would also be wary of someone in a first session telling me to 'cut carbs' (unless you are diabetic or other carb-related health problem). Cutting carbs is not necessary for weight loss and comes down to personal choice.

A.

I’d go for A as I like weights more than I do cardio. Weights also shape my body well. Cardio bores me.

I got weighed but told him not to tell me… ( I was very overweight). I didn’t realise the stats would upload on the gyms app until the stumbled across them one day. That was a shock I needed to have.

I’ve lost 2 stone this year and although I have a PT who likes to jokingly take credit it’s down to my diet. The PT has helped with lots of other aspects - body shape, muscle definition, core strength etc and that’s from lifting weights. We mix it up though…. Some weeks it’s flipping tyres and other weeks it’s bar bells.

Trainer A as when you decide you don't need them any more it will be much easier for you to carry on doing free weights.

A. I get much better results using free weights and they are more versatile.

A, every time. You can do cardio stuff in your own time.
As a pp said, you seem to want people to pick B, but A will be more effective long term.

I might be reading you wrong, apologies if I am, but I get the feeling you'd like people to pick trainer B.

If you do a quick blast of cardio before starting to lift you actually burn more calories so doing it beforehand is sensible, it therefore can't be replaced by doing it on a different day!

I vote trainer a, if you felt like you might puke it means he pushed you to work hard and that is what you need. I wouldnt pay someone for cardio cos you ca do that yourself through running, cycling etc.

Weights will tone you up, make you stronger rand ultimately lose weight and keep it off because even a small increase in muscle mass means you burn more calories even at rest compared to those you have less.

The best PT is the one you will actually go to. What works best to motivate you and which of them is more likely to convince you to keep going.

PT will be much more successful in loosing weight in combination with a change to your pattern of eating. Do you have any changes in mind?

I don't do any cardio whatsoever with my PT - it is all weights/machines. I can do cardio in my own time, so for that reason I'd go for A. It might seem the less fun, but it'll give you long lasting (but slower) changes.

I feel like PT is an incredibly expensive way to get fit, so I'm using my sessions to learn about how my body works, what I can push it to, and how it moves. I never in a million years thought I'd be doing deadlifts in the gym - but my body is changing!

Food wise, I'd increase protein but make changes once you're a month or so into training so it's not too overwhelming. The podcast Freedom From the Diet Cycle has been a revelation to me, too!

You could easily run yourself on days you are not with your trainer to get some cardio in. Or even a brisk walk would do this. A fitness tracker could track your progress there.

I could see the benefits of doing free weights with a trainer as supervision there would be useful.