Fitness expert reveals four reasons why a personal trainer is a waste of money

Personal trainers should teach you how to workout so that one day you won't need them

This is how to know if your personal trainer is a waste of money (Stock)

Stepping foot in a gym for the first time can be intimidating and personal trainers are often recommended to help navigate.

However, whether they are really worth the money is up for debate.

Alan Thrall, a YouTube fitness star and Marine Corps veteran with close to 500,000 subscribers, created a video in which he lists four reasons why your personal trainer may likely not be the best person to help you achieve your fitness goals - and it will help you determine if you are getting your money's worth.

Adam Thrall explains why personal trainers are a waste of money (YouTube)

They don’t teach barbell exercises

According to Thrall, whose video has had almost 300,000 views, the first reason a trainer may not be worth the money is if they don’t teach you barbell exercises.

“Barbell exercises are difficult to teach, proper instruction is very time-consuming, and if performed incorrectly with too much weight there is a high risk of injury,” Thrall explained - which is why many personal trainers decide to skip them.

Trainers need to teach proper barbell exercises (Stock)

Instead of teaching clients how to properly use a barbell and other gym equipment, some trainers simply “prescribe hard workouts” just to make you tired.

But “just because something burns does not mean it is making you any better,” according to Thrall, who believes that trainers should take the time to teach people.

No programming

Trainers who do not create a personalised fitness plan may also be a waste of money - as they are not actively tracking your progress or goal-planning.

If they do not have a plan created, it means they are making things up off the top of their head as they go along - which will not help you in the long run.

According to Thrall, the purpose of a personal trainer is to teach you so that one day you won’t need them.

Don’t prevent your urge for instant satisfaction

Even if you can lift a certain amount of weight, it is only beneficial if you can do so correctly.

Trainers that let their clients constantly test out their max, without considering form, are not being helpful.

It is not about how much weight you can lift (Stock)

“You want to build your strength, not constantly test it,” Thrall said.

Barbell math

Finally, personal trainers that do not teach you the basic parts of exercising with weights, such as how to add the amount of weight you need to put on a bar, are failing their clients.

Because the point of a trainer is to teach you how to workout on your own, it is important that they cover all bases - including “how much the bar weighs and how many plates to put on.”

Look for a trainer that teaches the “landmarks of barbell math," Thrall advises.

For people who may not have experience in the gym, working with a personal trainer can be a good place to begin.

However, if you still think that you would not be able to exercise successfully without your trainer after months of working with them, then they are not doing their job correctly.