Have you hired a personal trainer?

Have you hired a personal trainer for climbing? How did it go? Recommendations? Is it worth it? Remote training or in person? 

Are you looking for a trainer to improve your fitness, or a coach to improve your techniques, or somone to do both?

I have had great success with a personal trainer to help me with my climbing fitness as an Alpine climber who is not getting any younger. I had to raise my level of commitment to get to the level of fitness I wanted to continue to climb hard in the alpine. It has been worth every dollar.

Good luck and choose wisely.

In person would be better. But remote was al that was available to me. I’ve done a 3-month training plan with Kris Hampton/Power Company climbing.

I think it was worth it.  But trainers/coaches can’t work miracles. You are still the one who has to put in the work.

I don’t mean just “show up and do the exercises/drills”, though obviously that is the bare minimum. I mean that a lot of the work is decisions of picking the right problems for the drills, doing the exercises correctly, and at the right intensity. There is a lot of trial and error, and the remote coach is not very helpful in the moment, when you are trying to do things like these. 

I bought my wife lessons with a climbing coach for her 50th birthday.  Her progress in 6 months was nothing less than astonishing--she went from struggling on 4as to projecting 5cs and 6as.  I then started working with the same coach, and I would say that after about 8 weeks I improved by a solid grade.  It was interesting to learn that technique and flexibility are not necessarily my shortcomings, as I assumed.  My main obstacle is developing greater hand and finger strength without getting injured. The coach has been extremely helpful to increase my understanding, focus my attention, and guide this process.  

 I've also worked with some coaches from Uphill Athlete.  Once again, it was completely worth the money, and an incredible value.  Their depth of knowledge and experience is astounding.

The resistance to coaching and systematic training in some quarters of the climbing community is ridiculous.

Working with a trainer has been really helpful in keeping me motivated and accountable for my fitness goals. It's also been great to have someone who can help me identify areas where I need to improve my form or technique, which has helped me avoid injury and get better results from my workouts.
I'd def recommend considering a personal trainer if you want to improve your fitness or technique in any area. Just make sure to do your research and choose someone with experience working with clients with similar goals to yours.

I have been a trainer for 15 years. I do not work with climbers but I know a lot about all aspects of the industry. 

Although the quality of trainers in general has gotten better over the last 10-15 years the majority are still lacking. Knowledge through education and certification does not necessarily make someone a good trainer. Being a professional athlete does not make someone a good trainer. The ability to understand different personality/motivation types and formulate an appropriate safe plan to help someone reach their goals makes a good trainer. 

IMO the best way to find a trainer is through their success and longevity in the field. Maintaining business as a trainer is hard and those that aren't good don't last very long. They usually end up getting their real estate license. 

I stopped doing remote sessions immediately after covid lockdown. The quality and attention to detail was not the same and I did not feel good about the service I was providing. That's just me though, others may be different.

All that being said, getting set up with the right trainer (for you) can be life changing in many ways and can forever change the way you use and relate to your body.