We are all on our own journeys, and as a client attending your first personal training session, your unique experience with fitness may have shaped your outlook on what is possible.
This could range from trying a personal trainer and being underwhelmed, to a few solo gym sessions and feeling overwhelmed about what to do, to learning what you should do and choosing to seek support and guidance for a strong start.
As such, your first session of personal training – or first session with a new trainer – is an important moment; it sets the tone for what could become a special and life-changing relationship.
In this post, we’ll discuss what happens before your session, why this relationship is important, and what you can expect during and after your first session with a personal trainer.
Personal training, however, is highly personalised.
“What to expect from your first personal training session” can elicit different answers depending on who you ask. To avoid overgeneralisation, we want to make it clear that the process and information below is based on our process, values, and expected outcomes for our clients.
Other providers may have a different process.
Why Your First Personal Training Session Matters
From a professional standpoint, this session is more important than you might first think, as it allows your practitioners to learn your body, assess your movement capabilities, and map your biomechanics.
When done properly, this session serves as the foundation for your exercise program. This information is also used throughout your future sessions to inform our training programme design.
For example, with lunges, we can tailor exercise decisions based on weaknesses/strengths identified in the first session. If we identify a weakness in your glute medius, we may use a simpler lunge variation to build strength and support progressive overload for injury prevention.
This initial personal training assessment should also be low-friction. While your practitioner expects you to give it your all, it’s key to remember that it’s also an introduction to your trainer, a chance to understand whether you’re a good fit for one another, and an opportunity to ask questions.
The Relationship Behind One-to-One Training
Throughout our time in this industry, we have onboarded and worked with numerous specialists. Our Founder & Director, Adam Hewitt, has a unique question he always asks during this process:
“I have onboarded a fair few Personal Trainers, Reformer Pilates Specialists, and Exercise Physiologists over the 20 years I’ve been in this field. One question I always look to ask during initial conversations is whether they can name me five people in their lives that know them, but aren’t associated by family, work or friends. It’s a powerful question, and one that isn’t as easy as you think.”
From a professional standpoint, a personal trainer is a specialist with extensive knowledge. Knowledge that can prove beneficial to those in different walks of life.
This initial question is intended to prompt reflection on how an individual applies their knowledge and talents to benefit those outside their immediate circle. As a client, you can be sure our PTs value forming and maintaining these relationships on a deeper level.
It means more care is placed into the process. Your PT understands you, your unique background and cares about your results, not just showing up.
How Your Session Is Tailored Before You Even Arrive
A unique part of the process at Exercise Right UK is that, prior to an initial personal training session, you’ll be required to complete a personal training consultation. With this fitness consultation, we aim to better understand your “why” for starting, as well as the possible risk factors to consider when planning a programme.
Therefore, your selected trainer will have already tailored this first session to fit your training history.
“Selected trainer” is deliberate here, as after this consultation, our team will pair you with the personal trainer we believe best suits your needs. We make this decision based on:
- Your personality
- Your goals
- Your Physiological needs
- Specific requirements as to who you may not want as a trainer
#3 on this list is a powerful factor in our decision-making. The relationship you form with your personal trainer is not dependent on whether you think they’re nice, but whether you trust them with your health and wellness goals.
Only through getting this right will you experience the full extent of how sessions can support you, not only to get you moving better, but also to feel full confidence in that movement.
Ultimately, the goal is to deliver results and help you enjoy every moment of every session.
What Happens During the First Session?
Your first session with an Exercise Right personal trainer includes a full movement assessment.
A movement assessment may seem like a series of simple movements at first, but it provides an opportunity to quantify imbalances, injury-risk areas, overactive/underactive muscles, asymmetries, and more.
This data, combined with our initial consultation information, provides a clearer outline of ‘you’ and your confidence in exercise and movement, your ‘why’, and your goals.
This session is also the perfect opportunity to ask questions about training and healthy-lifestyle advice, and to discuss what long-term wellness could look like for you after a dedicated plan.
Why Movement Assessments Are Not About Passing Or Failing
It is within human nature to want to pass and receive a “well done” from your trainer. The reality is that this is not true to life, and continuing a training programme with this line of thought can lead to overconfidence and injury.
Instead, it is typical that you’ll do great in some areas and not so well in others.
The underlying ideology of our assessments is to identify how well you move, and to determine this, we may alter the assessments based on the results of initial exercises. Fortunately, our team knows all the ‘tricks of the trade’, allowing us to alter movements with specific instructions to assess something very different.
For example, static movement versus velocity may still be completed by some knee flexion and extension, but the results could be very different.
Staying true to yourself and your capabilities during this initial assessment will allow our specialists to create a truly unique programme. This information can also help determine how often you should work with your personal trainer going forward.
Why Filming And Analysis May Be Part Of Your Session
Prior to the start of the assessment, you’ll be asked if you’re okay with your session, or parts of it, to be filmed. The purpose is to capture your movements visually, allowing our team to conduct deeper movement analysis, exercise technique analysis, and layer the results into your initial assessment report, which will be delivered to you after the session.
These images are not used nor serve any purpose outside of providing you a true, visual representation of how you move. With your report, you can gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, areas for improvement, and potential injury risks.
It is genuinely okay to say no to this. It is not required, but an optional add-on if you want a visual representation of your current capabilities.
What You Should Leave Your First Session Feeling
Being part of this industry for so long has allowed our team to work with individuals of all abilities. We have seen countless individuals who have trained hard to achieve their goal, only to see it slip away at the account of a serious injury that results in the inability to train for months.
This initial personal training session is designed to minimise your risk of injury, help you understand how you move and feel, and build confidence that future sessions will keep you on track and at your desired intensity.
Long-term consistency comes first, and our goal is for you to leave this session with renewed vigour that your journey is sustainable.
Feeling Confident With the Next Step of Your Fitness Journey
Your first personal training session should be the central piece, the catalyst and the line in the sand for both you and your practitioner.
In our opinion, you should NOT leave covered in sweat, pushed to your limits, and crawling out of the facility.
Instead, you should have greater insight into the process and a positive outlook on starting the next phase with your specialist, whom you enjoyed working with, found knowledgeable, and who pushed you when appropriate.
Most importantly, you want to return for another session.
If this is what you’ve been missing from your fitness journey or you’d like to start your path forward with a solid foundation, get in touch with our team to learn about our personal training packages, or visit our Personal Training page for more information.