I’m honestly at breaking point with this and just need to vent.
At the end of last year, I signed up to a gym and got a personal trainer. To give credit where it’s due, it did help my confidence - I learned how to use machines properly, got comfortable with weights, and picked up some useful tips. That part I’ll always appreciate.
But the actual experience with the trainer? Exhausting.
She clearly knew her stuff, but it felt like just a job to her - not someone genuinely invested in her clients. She had too many people to juggle and was constantly trying to fit sessions around her own schedule, not mine. I finish work at 5:30pm, yet she kept asking me to come in at 3 or 4pm. I’d say no, she’d say “that’s fine”, then ask again the next week.
I was constantly rushing after work, and on my days off she wanted 7am sessions - twice a week. I was shattered. On top of that, there was zero structure. No plan, no goals, no tracking progress - just “today we’ll use this machine”. When I suggested dropping to one session a week, she said it wouldn’t be enough to see progress, which didn’t sit right with me at all.
I went away for two weeks, came back, told her things were hectic and I wouldn’t be booking sessions for now… and she didn’t reply. That honestly said everything to me.
After that, I found another PT at a small private gym. I see her once a week alongside training on my own. She’s lovely as a person and more reasonably priced, but I’m starting to get really frustrated again.
She just doesn’t seem to listen.
I’m 5’2, quite petite, and when she gets me doing lunges, she keeps telling me to step further out to the point where I lose balance. I’m literally wobbling side to side and she says things like “I feel like you’re afraid”. I’ve told her clearly - I’m not afraid, I just physically don’t have the leg length for that stance. I’ve shown her what works for me and she agrees… but then goes back to pushing the same thing again.
Same with squats - she keeps telling me to go lower and lower, to the point it feels excessive. I’ve asked why I need to go that low and the answer is just “that’s how squats are done”, which doesn’t really explain anything and just makes me dread doing them with her.
The final straw was goblet squats. She handed me a weight that was far too heavy. I was struggling just to hold it, let alone squat. After the first set I told her it was too heavy and hurting my back. She laughed it off and said it wasn’t heavy. I refused to continue, asked what the weight actually was, and she said she didn’t know. That really annoyed me - I don’t appreciate being pushed like that and dismissed when I say something feels wrong. My back has been hurting since.
I completely understand that training isn’t meant to be easy, but there’s a difference between being challenged and not being listened to.
After two back-to-back experiences like this, I honestly don’t think I want to work with a personal trainer again. I don’t know if I’ve just been unlucky, or if this is common, but it’s really frustrating paying someone and still feeling unheard.