I am glad you had such a good experience.

I hope you referred him to other gym members/friends/family/etc..

I have worked in health clubs where the LOUD trainers have more clients than your guy. It made me shake my head.

I remember one male trainer in particular who would stare at his reflection in the mirror when he should have been focusing on his client’s exercise form.

His last name was Myers; we nicknamed him Mirrors.

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.

Our trainer was good – a young guy with a sense of humor who understood what we needed for our age. He was polite and professional. I happened to notice other trainers who frequently swore or used some language that would have ticked me off. I don’t know about their knowledge, but their attitude put me off.

and SO KEY that word GOOD before personal trainer.

I am going to assume chins – more biceps, more strength

At 8-9 chins, you are no beginner, but here is the progression I use for chin-ups. I learned this from Charles Poliquin

Stage 1 – Negatives – 4 sets of 1 rep – 30 sec negative reps mind you – 2-4x per week

Stage 2 – Negatives + Isometrics – 4 sets of max reps – Pull all the way up – chin over bar and lower yourself 1/3 of the way down – hold for 8 seconds, lower to 1/2 way – hold for 8 seconds, lower to almost all the way down – hold for 8 seconds. On the last rep of each set, do a 30 sec. negative

Stage 3 – Spotter assisted chins – Have a spotter help by holding 2 ankles and giving you a little help at your sticking points. When you can do 12 reps, move to the spotter holding 1 ankle. When you can do 12 reps like this, have the spotter hold you at the waist.

Stage 4 – We are going to blow right past standard bodyweight chinning and move on to added weight chins
(hold a dumbbell between your ankles / have a spotter resist your attempt / attach plates to a dip/chin belt)

4 sets of max reps – try to push the weight up as high as you can – play around – heavy weight for singles, lighter weight for higher reps

Stage 5 – Start playing with grips – a medium grip chin is your strongest style – add in wide grip pull-ups (palms away), narrow grip chins, medium grip pull-ups and finally narrow grip pull-ups

You can also try sternum chins – http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VwUdklIaInY
Eventually move to 1 arm chins

Once you get to phase 4, you will be blowing past 9 chins.

Even when you do, going back every now and then to the negatives and isometrics is a good idea

Hope this helps

Comparable strength/endurance/intensity/goals/schedule/knowledge of training (if they know more than you, even better)…

Re the cost of a good personal trainer, it’s only worthwhile if you need the education/motivation/company or you are verrrry image conscious.

I have actually had current clients refer me to their friends and inflate the cost of my training rate. They wanted to lay claim to the most expensive trainer in Toronto. Sad but true