If you’re thinking about personal training but keep wondering, “Am I fit enough to start?” or “Will I be judged because I’ve never trained before?”, you’re not alone.
Many women come to personal training because they don’t feel confident in a gym, haven’t exercised in years, are returning after an injury or simply don’t know where to begin with strength training.
You do not need to get fit before seeing a personal trainer. It’s the most ideal time to ask for help. And we always start WHERE YOU ARE!
Every woman starts somewhere different
Personal training for women shouldn’t mean giving everyone the same workout and simply changing the weights.
Every woman arrives with a different body, training history, confidence level, lifestyle and goal. My job is to understand what is in front of me and choose a starting point that is appropriate, achievable and still moves you forwards.
For one woman, that might mean sitting on a chair, doing some gentle upper-body movements, ankle mobility and breathing.
For another, it might mean reviewing her deadlift technique, improving her push-ups or working out why a particular exercise keeps aggravating the same old niggle.
I see women (and men) starting from a wide variety of places, and there is always a way for them to get stronger, more mobile and fitter.
Whether your goal is to build strength, lose weight, move better, return to exercise or simply feel more confident in the gym, the goal is to move you forwards from wherever you are now in a sustainable, achievable but gently challenging way.
What happens in your first personal training session?
Your first personal training session is not an exam, and it isn’t designed to find out how hard I can make you work.
We start with a conversation about your goals, exercise history, current activity levels, previous injuries or movement limitations, and anything you’re nervous or unsure about.
Then we move.
Depending on where you’re starting, I might look at how you squat, hinge, push, pull, balance, breathe or move through particular joints. If you already lift weights, we may spend more time reviewing your technique, exercise selection or movements where you feel stuck.
If you’re completely new to strength training, the session may be much simpler.
I’m looking for information: what feels comfortable, what feels difficult, where your body compensates, what you already do well and what we can build on.
That gives us a useful starting point for your training.
If you’re in significant pain, maybe we start by looking at ways you can move more comfortably, gently improve blood flow, or perhaps we look at ways you CAN move around any injury or discomfort you currently have. We might also talk more about nutrition/recovery strategies to support your goals.
Will I be judged if I’ve never trained before?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
You don’t need to know how to use gym equipment. You don’t need to know what a Romanian deadlift is. You don’t need to be able to do a push-up, squat to a certain depth or lift a particular weight.
And you certainly don’t need to apologise for being unfit, stiff, nervous or out of practice.
If the gym feels intimidating, one-to-one personal training can actually be one of the easiest ways to build confidence in the gym, because you have someone beside you showing you what to do, adjusting exercises for your body and answering questions as you go. Or alternatively, working with a personal trainer can help you build up to feeling more comfortable going into a gym over time, if that’s your goal!
When I first started training I had been a smoker, drinker and had never done exercise before. I was weak, unfit, coughing, and could barely run 100m without slowing down to a walk. I had no strength, the exercises felt like agony, and I was pretty embarrassed training in front of other ladies my age, because I was by far the most unfit. So I completely understand the feeling. I wish I’d had a private space to work with someone, which is why I’ve intentionally started working with clients in my home gym in Hemmant. It can be far less intimidating initially to train in private, and for beginner clients, I find it works well!
Strength training should challenge you, but not break you
I want my clients to become stronger, but not at the expense of their range of motion, well being, energy or daily life demands.
As your body adapts, I’ll gradually ask more of it. That might mean progressing from a seated exercise to a standing version, increasing how many activities you do daily, increasing your range of movement, improving your push-up, adding weight to a squat or eventually learning to lift considerably heavier.
But progress should be appropriate to YOU and YOUR GOALS!
You should feel challenged enough to improve without feeling as though every personal training session is something you need to survive.
Client story
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely lady who came to me wanting to get stronger, fitter and lose weight. She was in so much pain with her knees, she could barely walk up the stairs at my house.
We spent much of our first appointment talking about her goals, her life, and her current movement limitations. I showed her a simple adjustment that helped her foot feel more comfortable, gave her some nutritional suggestions, and we practiced some gentle mobilisation exercises.
By the end of the session, she reported feeling more balanced, more comfortable, and was struggling FAR less getting down the stairs.
This determined lady has just started her journey and was so thrilled to see there was hope that she would be able to move more comfortably again! It was such a wonderful experience.
Our plan is to support her recovery, increase daily movement, and gently mobilise and strengthen her wrists, shoulders, ankles, knees and hips with exercises she can do on a chair. Once she is able to move more and is in less pain, we will progress to other strengthening exercises, deep core work, and functional movements to support her daily life.
Personal training that starts with you
Whether you’re a complete beginner, returning to exercise after a long break, wanting to build strength around an old injury or already lifting weights and looking for more technical coaching, we start with where you are.
I offer individualised personal training for women at Goodlife Health Clubs Wynnum and from my private home gym in Hemmant, working with women from Wynnum, Wynnum West, Hemmant, Manly, Lota, Tingalpa, Wakerley and the surrounding Brisbane Bayside area.
How to book personal training in Wynnum or Hemmant
If you’re looking for a female personal trainer in Wynnum, Hemmant or Brisbane Bayside and would like to know whether my approach is right for you, you can book a free discovery call or send an enquiry through my website.
Tell me a little about where you are now and what you’d like help with.
You don’t need to get fitter first.
Now is the perfect time!!!