How Often Each Week Do You Train With a Personal Trainer?

Starting Out

When you're first starting out with an exercise program and you need guidance, it's useful to train with your personal trainer about three times a week. That way, he'll be there assisting and supervising every step of the way throughout every resistance workout to ensure that you're maintaining proper form and that you don't forget any exercises. He can advise you on how long and what to do for cardio workouts, but you won't need him to hold your hand for those sessions. After about three or four weeks of three training sessions per week, you'll be more confident with your abilities and may want to cut back on how often you meet with your trainer.

Maintenance Programs

Once you know your way around the gym, you won't rely as heavily on your personal trainer as you did in the beginning. When you're feeling more comfortable with your workout and the machines, you can cut back to meeting with your trainer once a week or as little as once a month. He can use those less-frequent sessions to evaluate your progress, tweak your workouts and suggest different regimens or exercises.

When Money is an Issue

Sometimes your budget may dictate how often you can work with a personal trainer. It is the rare health club that will include personal training sessions in the membership, so if yours does, you can feel free to get with a personal trainer as often as you'd like. If money is a concern, though, schedule a training session as often as you can, once a week if possible, but less if necessary. Be up front with your trainer to let him know you need to get as much as possible out of each session. That way he can concentrate on the issues that will help you effectively train on your own, making every minute you spend with him count.

When You Need Motivation

Training with a personal trainer is an effective way to overcome boredom with your workout and increase your motivation to exercise. If you've been training on your own for a while and need to renew your enthusiasm, schedule one session a week with a personal trainer for two or three weeks. Having an appointment with a trainer encourages accountability, making it more likely that you won't blow off a workout. Plus, your trainer has the scoop on all the up-to-the-minute workouts and training techniques, so he's a useful resource for keeping your fitness regimen fresh.