Sorry my post is going to stray into the area of fitness and not have mention of kilts but I don't know how to reply to this post so that it shows up in the off topic area.

Quote Originally Posted by Hamish
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By the way, I gave up the gym after 7 months of concentrated work and a lengthy discussion with my training instructor. After 2½ hours of serious work, three days a week, I had not changed my shape at all, I had neither lost nor put on weight at all, I was not feeling any fitter at all and, above all, I was absolutely not enjoying myself!...
Wow, 7 months? That's far too long to go without any changes. I've heard far too many stories like this. My wife works for GNC, a nutritional supplement chain, and is constantly asking me to help design workouts to help her clients achieve their fitness goals because they can't find the help they need at their gyms. I give tips where I can, but in order to actually design a proper workout for someone I need to know a lot more than what they can tell me through a middleman.

A good personal trainer should recognize within the first month, according to your weight and body measurements if a particular routine is working for you or not. I also feel that one should have fun, or at least enjoy their workout program.

2.5 hours is also far to long to be in the gym unless you are a professional athlete, or attempting to become one. You can get a very good workout in one hour or less.

I'm very impressed with your sheer grit at sticking with it for so long without enjoying it, however I'm quite disappointed that the trainer could not recognize that your program was not working.

The trainer should have also given you suggestions on:
1)Proper diet to achieve your goals
2)Multivitamins
3)Supplements to either help you lose weight or build muscle

Quote Originally Posted by Hamish
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I am of the opinion that many gyms are there to make money, not help their clients....
Unfortunately Hamish, I do feel that you are right. So much of the business of fitness is being taken over by "chains", or only being operated for profit, that it does seem to be a sad state of affairs indeed. In order to truly achieve your fitness goals, you either need to spend an ungodly amount of money on a "good" personal trainer for one on one tutoring, or do an extensive amount of research. Unless of course you are lucky enough to have a small owner operated gym nearby that has knowledgeable people who care about your fitness goals.

As for the having fun part of it, only you can add that.

From what I've seen in your pictures, and as active as you are, you seem like you're pretty fit to me. As long as your doctor says you're fit and healthy, I wouldn't worry about it too much.