Your first personal training session: what to expect

Booking a first session with a personal trainer is the hard part. The session itself is easier than most people expect, and it is mostly about the trainer getting to know you.

Before the session

Eat a light meal a couple of hours before, drink some water, and wear clothes and shoes you can move in. With in-home training there is nothing else to pack: James comes to you, so the only thing to sort out is a clear patch of floor, a garage or a patio.

The conversation

Expect questions before any exercise. What do you want to change? What have you tried before, and what got in the way? How much time can you realistically give each week? Do you have injuries, aches or medical conditions? The honest answers are the ones that make the plan work.

The movement check

Next comes a look at how you move: squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling and balancing, at whatever level suits you. This is not a fitness test you can fail. It shows where you are strong, where you are tight, and anything that needs working around.

A first workout

Most first sessions include some real training, pitched so that you leave feeling you worked without being wrecked the next day. If boxing is part of what you want, you may throw your first jab and cross on the pads.

The plan

The hour ends with the shape of a plan: how often you will train, what the first few weeks focus on, and what you can do between sessions. From there the plan is adjusted as you go, not rewritten from scratch every few months.

Questions worth asking

• How will we measure progress?
• What should I do on the days we do not train?
• What happens if I miss a week?
• How do you handle the injury I mentioned?