I am now over 40 and it is definitively more challenging to shed those pounds in excess that have been bothering me since I had my little one, so I hired a professional PT to help me achieve my goal of getting back in shape.
I had not expected to happen in an instant, however, it has been terribly disappointing to see no results after 5 months.
That is why I want to share with you the mistakes I made in choosing my PT, so that you can make a better choice and get the results you work for.

1.Be sure you and your PT are on the same page

I felt uneasy and disconnected from my PT from the very start, but once I was committed to the PT program offered by my local gym, I fell under the pressure of my PT’s selling skills. Silly mistake, and easily to be corrected, however, I never acted on it. Biggest mistake ever.

In my mind, a PT is a professional who measures you, discusses your goals, puts expectations right if needed, listens to your health issues, gives you a program tailored on what you want to achieve and gives you a rough timeframe in which reasonably you could expect to see some results. But we all know that expectations are disappointments waiting to be happening, because very little of that happened.
I ended up being just hopeful and following blindly a set of exercises that led me tired and unsatisfied. I was not enjoying any of it, but being my very first experience with a PT, I thought that it was meant to be that way. How many times you hear the expression “no pain, no gain”? But I ended up dreading my sessions with my PT, which was no good for my body and my mind.

I understood too late that feeling that way was not right. A friend of mine, who subscribed to the same program with a different PT, has been slowly seeing encouraging results and loves every minute of her sessions. I can assure you that it makes all the difference in the world!

2. What about nutrition?

As I am not 20 anymore, things work in a different way in my body, in fact, getting in shape is more challenging than 20 years ago.
Exercise alone is not enough, no matter how often or hard you train and my PT should have tackled the subject of nutrition from the very beginning. Nutrition is a big part of being healthy and getting back in shape at any age, however, especially for women over 40 like me, nutrition is especially important.
And it should be kind of a given for a professional PT that if a person is not in her best shape, something in the kitchen area should be corrected. Unfortunately, I did not receive a single nutritional advice from my PT as part of his PT service.

Make sure that you discuss nutrition with your PT.
I am not talking about any diet here, because I believe that diets do not work and I am very much against them. I am talking about even simple information that can help you understand how the body works and make you do better food choices to maximise your health and your fitness.

Some PTs may avoid to give any advice on nutrition because of the responsibility it entails, however, I personally feel my PT did a disservice to me. In fact, I did not see any reasonable shift in either my shape or my weight, and that was big let down to me and my confidence.
If interested to know more, I would suggest you to read these 2 very interesting articles on the subject of nutrition and PT http://aestrepreneur.com/can-personal-trainers-give-out-nutrition-advice/ and http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/the-elephant-in-the-room-nutrition-scope-of-practice.

3. Specific issues need specific measures

In the last year I have developed two health issues that need caution in the way I exercise.
I immediately made my PT aware so to avoid injuries and work out a specific program to strengthen areas of my body that can help correct my imbalances.
I found that my PT was not prepared to work with my health issues.
To be fair, he did some research and came up with some alternative exercises, but I felt it was too much of a challenge for him to make me achieve my fitness goals.

Make sure your PT is aware of any health issues you may have and works out a plan tailored to support you to achieve your fitness goals safely.
It can be done. You just need to find the right PT who is experienced, committed and knowledgeable enough to help you get back in shape, no matter the state of your health.

Most of my disappointment could have been spared, had I asked to work with a different PT from the very beginning, however, this experience had given me a good insight on what to look for in a PT.
Another point is, in doubt, ask questions. The more information you have, the more likely for you is to make an informed decision on who is the right PT for you.

I hope this helped.
Have you ever used a PT? Did it actually work for you?