Comment by mattzito

I have to agree - finding a good trainer has made an incredible difference. Years ago I tried a random trainer at my local gym who spent most of his time alternating between weird exercises and incredulously asking about how I possibly came to be so out of shape. I lost some weight and gained some muscle but it wasn’t worth it.

Years later an independent trainer was recommended to me, much more expensive, but I gave it a shot. This trainer didn’t make me feel bad, didn’t make outlandish promises, just made me lift weights and do some HIIT. It mostly the same 20 exercises or so in different combinations, focusing on different parts of the body each time.

And it worked - I’ve doubled my bench press, my squat, and my deadlift, and I’ve got better core stability and balance. My sporadic shoulder and knee problems have largely gone away. Even losing ground during 2020/2021, I’m in much better shape than I started.

I could probably technically maintain my current fitness now - I certainly could recreate many of the exercise loops we do- but the commitment and consistency is the key part that I get, along with getting help with what to do when my back is a little sore, or I pulled a muscle over the weekend.