Personal trainer?

[TR888]

I have a very sedentary job and as a woman in my early 50s, I feel it's really important to be one for. I'm reasonably slim and healthy, but I lack energy, and this is (I think) due to working from home a lot and not exercising.

I want to start doing weights as this can be very beneficial to women. Would a personal trainer help? My relative says he'll help me but I don't think I'll respond to him as well; also, he's just a regular bloke who exercises (but doesn't do many weights).

What's the advantage of personal trainers for someone in my situation? If you have one, how did you find him / her?

I’m 50 & started weights as a total novice, for the same reasons as you.

I found my PT through the local gym - she’s roughly my age & we have a good laugh. She listened to what I wanted, drew up a training plan for me & showed me how to do all the exercises on it. I go to the gym regularly by myself & have a check in session with her once a month. It works really well.

I think a PT is really good when you start weights - it helped me a lot. Get someone used to training people in mid life - ideally pay a bit more for the well qualified..

If you have any dodgy bits, see a physio first for advice on what is ok and what isn’t - they may even be able to recommend a PT (I had a nice but poorly qualified PT before I had a good one, and really did my knees in)

They’re not cheap, I pay £40 for an hour but she pushes me so much harder than I would push myself, also lots of chat so therapeutic in that sense. Worth every penny .

Wow, that sounds expensive! I'm on the same boat but £40/hour seems a lot. Do you see your PT every week?

40 an hour is very much at the cheap end. You don’t have to see them every week.

I see! I guess you don't need to spend that kind of money for life. I assume it is an initial spend until you get the hang of things and then you perhaps see them monthly or so?

I do see her every week, she has a well equipped gym in her garage and is just across the road so very convenient.
She came highly recommended and at age 60 ( me not her) she is one of the things that I am still working for.

I think having a PT to make you a programme and help you in the beginning is a good investment. Once you know what you are doing you can continue by yourself. I trained with PT over the spring and summer and now continuing by myself with the programme she made for me.

I can’t afford weekly sessions but monthly ones work fine for me, with following the detailed plan in between.

I book a few sessions with a PT every now and again. They can give you an exercise plan that suits you based on your age, fitness etc and make sure you're exercising in the right way to maximise the benefits and prevent injury. At 50, having moved find any weights before, I think you'd definitely benefit from a PT.

At 50, having NOT DONE any weights before, I think you'd definitely benefit from a PT.

You need someone to correct your form and work out a plan aligned with your goals. They can also provide accountability- left to my own devices I either don't do it or don't do it hard enough.
Try one out! You need to get on with them so the first one may not be a good match but give it a go.

One other bonus of getting a PT was that while I’d started by using the machines, she helped me get the confidence to switch to free weights which are much more fun.

I'm late 40s and got a PT 12 months ago. I signed up for a 12 week programme but 52 weeks later, I think this is me for the foreseeable! I've always going to the gym 4-5 times a week but wanted more confidence with weights and the machines - my PT is through my gym so we have sessions in there while everyone around is is working out.

He's in his early 30s but really knows his stuff and has me lifting more weights than I ever thought possible. I now have very defined shoulder and back muscles which I love 💪 I pay £35 a week and will see him every week, sometimes twice if we've missed a week (holiday, etc.)

I'd also recommend getting started with PT, if you've never done weights and are 50 - last thing you want is an injury!

Hi again and sorry for the late reply. Thank you very much for your suggestions. The consensus is that PT fees are money well spent! I will look into recommendations 🙂

Good luck!

Have you already joined a gym? Mine offered three free Pt sessions to get me started and the PT was great and worked out a programme for me