[Archived] Personal Trainer

[ihtd]

I am currently teaching in a college in the Manchester area and I hate it, when I signed up to start teaching I did not sign up to be teaching the 'inbred', got no brain no respect for others chavs that I have not found out consumes the entire FE sector when it comes to sports science. Out of the 40+ kids I have contact with over the week about 7 of them could be classed as decent human beings and I feel so sorry for them as they actually want to learn and with the right tools they could do something great, it's just a shame that the vast majority of 'learners' do not want them to. (Literally cannot have a learner removed without being assaulted at this college)

Anyway that is the back story to what I would like some advice on;

I have a degree in Sports Science & Coaching/Will have my PGCE in 5 months too and I am thinking of scrapping all of the teaching for a few years and starting up my own business as a personal trainer. I know I have to do a few expensive courses etc but that isn't a problem.

What I want to know, are there any personal trainers on here? Has anybody used a personal trainer on here? Know somebody who has dealt with a personal trainer? Would you consider using a personal trainer? If not, why would you not want to use one? (assuming you had no prior knowledge of training etc) I am assuming it is down to value for money as it appears that they seem to charge a lot of money for very little work which is something I do not agree with.

I want to know whether I will be able to make a decent living out of working for myself doing something I really love. I would have gone straight into this and not into teaching if I had the money to do so at the time but now I realistically can do it.

I would appreciate your advice guys as I know a lot of you are really into your training etc.etc.

EDIT-I will apologise now if some of this post does not make any sense, I'm typing it on my iPhone and it has a bad habit of changing words to words that I do not want to it.

[philipl]

Presumably you mean personal training in sports as opposed to one-to-one teaching?

[ihtd]

Yes for sports/fitness not one to one teaching.

Sorry I should have made that more clear :S

[RoyRover]

Yes for sports/fitness not one to one teaching.

Sorry I should have made that more clear :S

Part of my new years resolution was to lose weight. I'm an extremely sporty person, but I have knee problems for the around 8 years now. There's only been a handful of times in those 8 years that I actually was unable to play sport because of it. However last season it got so bad, that I missed the entire Gaelic football season, because it has broken down so badly. It got to the point that I could barely jog, let a lone play a sport like Gaelic football, which is so dynamic with all the jumping, cutting and running that is required. I've always been a big guy, not fat, just a big unit, but I could have done with losing a stone or so. When I went a way to university in America, I played a huge amount of football, and with it being so hot in Virginia, a long with a much better diet (I was provided with a meal plan by the University, which covered all my meals in their brilliant food hall, where salad bars, a range of fruits, cereals and healthy meals, made it far easier to eat healthy), when I returned home, I had lost around 2 stone. However, since I've been back at home, mum's cooking has slowly taken its toll and being unable to do any sports at all for the last year, I found myself heavier than I wanted.

So at the start of the year, I joined Fitness First in Belfast and have loved it. I took up an monthly membership as well as a Body First+ package for an extra £60. Basically this allowed me to have 3 sessions with a personal trainer, who would assess my health in the first session and I would tell him what I wanted to achieve. Over the next 2 sessions, he took me on a personal fitness course, showing me exercises, to help me lose weight, tone up and strengthen my knee. The advantage of the Body First+ package was that if you went to the gym 20 times, within your first 2 months, you got your money back. I've now taken the PT on, on a semi-permanent basis. I go to him once a week, for £25 and he has drawn me up a fitness plan to work with, to help me reach my goals. It's been really good so and I've lost a stone already. It's good to have someone there, supporting you and giving you professional advice, instead of going in blind, dicking around on different machines for an hour and convincing yourself that you've achieved something. I don't know how long I will be able to keep with him, because I've recently booked flights to America, which weren't cheap.

I do think that it's worthwhile to see a PT, even if it's only for a couple of sessions. At least then you have an idea of what your doing, what needs to be done to reach your targets.

[Presty On Tour]

I did sports science in college, only the 2 year national diploma level but it was a very enjoyable course.

Pretty similar story to RoyRover, I've had problems with my knee and needed acl reconstruction surgery. Was doing physio in the hospital for 5 months and then got referred on a nhs gp referal scheme where I can use the local sports centre gym and facilites for a £1 a session and was allocated a personal trainer.

The 1st session he had all the notes from the surgeons and physio's from the hospital which was a big help, asked me what I wanted to achieve and he said he would help me to the best of his ability. He done a few basic tests like bmi, weight, lung capacity, heart rate, blood pressure etc, agreed on a diet and set a training plan for me to strengthen the knee so i could play football again.

He showed me how to use every machine in the gym properly and then set targets to achieve each week. I go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week and see him for a session on one of those occassions which a date and time is set from week to week. He will stay with me for the 2 hour workout and is always full of encouragement and advice. After the session he will upgrade the program and do the routine tests again. I've gained 10kg of muscle weight since I've started and have got about 3 months left before i can play again.

The key for me was motivation and I had it right from the start because all I wanted to do was play again. Once I started noticing the gains in power and strength, I caught the gym bug big time and haven't looked back.

[tcj_jones]

I feel for you Roy and Presty, I have patella tracking problems and they're extremely frustrating.

IHTD, people will always use gyms and there will always be a demand for personal trainers. I'd say, by all means take it up as a profession, but maybe go through a gym rather than risking it on your own? Then after a few years if you still felt like you wanted to, you could take the plunge?

It's important to enjoy your career. I'd love to do something like personal training, but I just have to many injury problems.