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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Personal Training But Were Afraid To Ask!!

Ally van de Pol



  1. If I Have Access to a Gym or I Have Weights at Home, Why Do I Need a Personal Trainer?


Trust me, I’ve seen the technique used by the average gym goer in public gyms. And rarely is it good! I have also trained hundreds of people over the last nine years- almost nobody walks through my door straight off the bat with great form- they have to be coached through the movement patterns to  be able to perform them correctly. A good personal trainer will make sure your form is tip-top so that you can go to the gym on your own and knock out your programme effectively, without risk of injuring yourself.


And that brings me onto programming. How does the average gym goer know what to do in the gym? First of all, many people just use the cardio machines and then the weight machines. While that’s not inherently bad, adding a free weight programme to your repertoire will mean that you are utilising your time more effectively, by engaging your core and stability. Before I was a PT, I’d copy programmes from Oxygen or Women’s/ Men’s Health magazines. I’d have lots of different programmes I could cycle through, but essentially they were just a combination of exercises, with no real programming skill behind them. Were they optimising MY body? Helping ME to become stronger and bringing up my weaker areas. Not really. That’s why a trained professional, after he or she has had a few sessions with you and is satisfied that you know how to perform the exercises correctly, can give you a programme for you to do on your own. Anything less and you might as well just cut and paste from a fitness magazine, like I used to.


2) I Really Don’t Want to Get Shouted At or Leave Feeling Exhausted and Sore. Does it Have to Be Like That?


The answer is no, it doesn’t. I personally don’t believe you should be in pain during a workout or after it. Of course, if you are using muscles that you haven’t used in a while, you might experience a little soreness until they strengthen up, but you should be able to walk downstairs and use the toilet just fine!


As for shouting, no I don’t, unless there’s a lot of whinging - ha! I don’t even fist bump!


3) I Have a Sore Back/ Sore Knee/ Sore Hip (delete as appropriate), Won’t Training Make it All Worse?


It’s likely that training will make it better. Many ouchies and sore bits are caused by smaller ‘stabilising’ muscles ‘switching on’ instead of the bigger  ‘action’ muscles, by training the big guys- think glutes, quads, shoulders, back etc, you’ll get stronger and therefore your muscles will learn/ relearn what they really should be doing.


4) I Don’t Want a Six Pack, I Just Want to Feel Stronger and Age Better. Is Personal Training for me?


Absolutely. Personal trainers generally get a bad rap; a vain bunch who flex their biceps in the mirror a lot! While they might do that sometimes (ha!) most PT’s enter this profession because they are good coaches and they want to help others get healthier and fitter. Sure, there will always be people who want to get super muscular and shredded, but that really isn’t what constitutes the vast majority of my clients who are in their 40s/50s/ 60s, predominantly female, skirting around or post menopausal who just want to feel better in their own skin and be able to do the activities that they love without pain.


5) But Personal training is so expensive. I’m not sure if I can afford it.


Any personal professional service is unlikely to be cheap. Good PTs have years of experience and have spent a lot on continual training and education along the way. And, like anything in life, you tend to get what you pay for. You may not need personal training forever (although you might like it so much you may never leave!), but getting good at the essential movement patterns, learning how to brace effectively is super important and will prevent injuries further down the line. Getting injured is expensive with physio/ doctors, time off work etc, not to mention the frustration factor. Also, getting disciplined, fit and strong is a great foundation for other positive health changes that you may make in your life and picking up some hints and tips about these from your PT may be truly valuable.


As a PPSC Coach (Pain Free Performance Specialist Coach), I view myself as half way between a PT and a Physio as I do a lot of prehab and rehab work and a decent amount of getting people out of pain. I work out which exercises the individual can do to keep them out of pain but enable them to achieve their goals along the way. It’s often a fact finding mission and often a lot of sleuthing involved, which is far more interesting that counting reps of burpees.


Ally van de Pol is a Strength & Conditioning Coach (NASM-CPT, PPSC), Senior Exercise Specialist, Health Coach (as well as a Naturopath). She is a Certified Emergency First Responder, CPR/AED Certified.



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