Hey Steve,
I'm sorry to hear your experience with the PT's has not been good. You need to see results with your training to keep motivated there is no doubt of that, but as you are aware, it takes time. Have a look at Lyle McDonald's piece which is a sticky here in the Articles section - I think it is an excellent read. Fantastic to hear that you want to learn how to do the lifts correctly - this will be the key to you achieving results & staying injury free as much as humanly possible.
What I would recommend to anyone in your position is to pick yourself up a copy of Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe - check out Amazon.com to get hold of it. It is a comprehensive book that will teach you in detail how to perform the compound lifts, and arm you with the knowledge to answer the PT's with informed responses as to the safety & effectiveness of the exercises you have chosen to do. Google Mark Rippetoe & explore his credentials, and then hit the PT's with informed questions of your own demanding they justify the stupidity of squatting in a Smith Machine etc if you so desire. Knowledge is power IMO - you should know the reasons for the way you train, the program you have chosen, the exercises you have selected etc.
I know this is anecdotal, & have posted something similiar in another thread, but a friend of mine began training with me at the start of the year. He had no prior lifting experience & basicly put his trust in me to point him in the right direction. He learned the squat, deadlift, bench, military press, pendlay rows, and used pull ups & dips as his arm work. He did high rep Roman Chair Sit Ups alternated with Hyper Extensions every session to strengthen the core.
The result was he built a solid base with noticable size improvements and major strength increases. He looks like a different guy, & more importantly, he looks to be a much happier person due to his achievements IMO. Now the foundations have been built, he is introducing direct arm work & other isolation type movements, but they are secondary to the continued compound movements which make up the basis for his training.
The Starting Strength program itself is a simple, 3 x week fullbody routine. A summary of it is posted here in the Beginners Section, & also in the Training Section. It is basic, but will serve you well up until the point where you can't keep increasing the weight on the bar every session. If your focus is on good form, which it should be, you will start with lighter weights & work up, so this program should give you months of progression. If you choose not to do Starting Strength, I would recommend something in this spirit fousing on compound lifts to build you a base for any other training you might choose to do in the future. Once you have packed on some size & increased your strength, you can focus or specialise as you choose, but the compounds should be the meat & bones of any program IMO.
