How to find a personal trainer?

J

jts

0
I have a question about how to go about hiring a personal trainer. But first, a bit of my background:

I am 36 year old male, and about 8 months ago I started back into regular exercise 3-5 times per week at the gym (I am the sort that has always had a gym membership but for years would go only a few times per month). I am 5 foot 7, and when I started my regular exercise I weighed about 180 and my scale was reporting my body fat just over 25 percent; I do realize that these are not great for absolute bf readings, but it is all I have and at least I can use it for relative comparisons. I did not have any initial explicit goals, other than to develop a regular pattern of exercise. Of course, I did hope to generally lose the fat around the middle, tighten up the muscles, etc.

My workouts have varied between cardio sessions and weightlifting sessions, and by weightlifting, I mean the bigger basic moves: squat, dead lift, clean and press, bench press, pull ups, etc. With the weights, I was aiming at first to readjust my body to the movements, and then push myself to go fairly heavy once I was confident after a month or so that my was used to some of the movements I had not done in years (I had lifted for years when I was younger, but I stopped seriously lifting around the age of 22).

When I began my workouts, I counted my calories over a few weeks to really try to see exactly how much I was eating, with the goal of maintaining a calorie deficit. Also, I was eating several small meals per day, with quality protein at each setting. I have always eaten cleanly, even while fairly out of shape -- minimal processed foods, whole grains, no fast food, no regular intake of any sweets or sodas, etc. I figured my main issue was more portion control, and perhaps cutting down or out some of less desirable whole foods, such as fattier red meat, etc.

After the first few weeks, I was definitely feeling better, noticing better cardio endurance, getting stronger, and soon I was noticing muscles being a bit more pronounced. However, almost right away, I shot up 10 pounds and bf did not seem to drop. I was not too sure how to read this: on the one hand, I thought that my body might be trying to resist initially losing anything, as I had for years not been too active. On the other, I thought that maybe I did not have a calorie deficit and I was instead eating too much, so I cut back on calories a bit more. I was determined to keep going, as I was in this for the long haul and not too worried about instant gratification.

Fast forward several months: I have yet to see my weight drop, and according to both my eyes and my scale, I have not dropped any body fat. This is starting to frustrate me, and I want to employ the aid of a fitness specialist. I feel that if I continue to try to figure out what I am doing wrong, that I may just get too frustrated and that may cause me to quit. I have already scaled back on my lifting, and am trying to spend time each day instead just doing lower impact activities outside, now that the weather is warmer. I have read the perils of consuming too few calories, and obviously there is a problem with consuming too many calories. So, I want a professional to help me with this.

The problem I am having is that I do not know how to go about locating a trainer who would be good for me. Honestly, I do not want to hire the trainers in my gym, as I have observed them "training" people for months, and do not think they would be a good match for me -- I am obviously not a professional trainer, but I do prefer to lift with a high intensity (minimal rests, increased breathing, sweating), and the trainers in my gym seem to be more focused on a leisurely approach with their clients.

Are there trainers who do not work out of a specific gym but instead have an office? Will they show up at my gym for a workout appointment? Basically, how should I go about finding a trainer if I do not want to hire the ones at my gym?

If it matters, I am in the Atlanta area.

Thanks!

PS - sorry for the amount of text, I didn't realize how much I had typed until I finished.
 
There is a lack of good trainers everywhere...unfortunately:

Here's some help for you:
- When selecting a trainer look into his/her cert and education history. This certainly doesn't constitute he will be good, but it will let you know he has the "potential" to help you. Look for these certs. (ACSM, NSCA, NASM, and Chek (IMO))

- Make sure the sunofagun can actually assess you for posture, proper kinetics (movement), and performance abilities. There is nothing worst than a trainer who jumps right into training someone with no idea what he is capable or not capable of.

- Watchout for the car salesman trainers (buy 6 get 2 free...today and today only). Many times these ones are more cons and hustlers than anything else.

Goodluck though, I know Atlanta has a lot of good trainers. Seek and ye shall find.
 
Thanks for the reply, trainerty.

After I posted yesterday, I began to wonder about whether trainers typically also deal with aspects of their clients' nutrition, or if trainers are more typically concerned primarily only with the structure and mechanics of the actual workouts. I imagine that trainers will offer advice on nutrition at least, or would this be hit and miss depending on their own personal opinions?

Basically, are there trainers also trained as nutritionists, or do you have to get lucky to find one who does both in an informed manner?
 
Most trainers I know will either atempt to place the client on a well known diet (zone, south beach, velocity etc.) or will have another source to take care of this factor (precisionnutrition, apex nutrition etc.)

Messing with someones diet can be time consuming and since time is money...be prepared to pay extra for this feature.
 
May be able to help

Hello Jts;
I am in Atlanta too. I am new to the area so I can not recommend any trainers for you but if you like I can take a look at your workouts and help with a plan that will work for you.

Send me a PM if you would like a hand, I am happy to share what I know.

Good Luck
 
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Before you hire a personal trainer, read this article:

“Why 50% of Personal Trainers Suck”
By John Izzo​

I can feel the fists clamping and the teeth grinding as I write this. I can see the eyes slither up as if an un-welcomed cousin has entered the party. I can hear the whispers and the “whatevers” under everyone’s breaths. Well...if you are still interested in reading this, its because you want to stand apart from the 125,000 new fitness professionals that join the ranks every year, and hopefully, you don’t want to be one of the 25,000 that quit after 1 year.

In my opinion, you are going to continue reading this because you want to hear what I have to say. And who they hell am I you may ask? I am a lot of things....an observer, a student, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. I am a professional, an educator, and a coach. I remember being asked what I did for living years ago and replying, “I’m a personal trainer”, and everyone kinda looking at me like I had 3 heads.

“You mean you show people how to use those machines?”

“....Mmmmm, close....I help fat people get skinny and I help slow people run faster, and I help scared people be brave...and I help weak people be stronger, and I help diseased people become healthy”.

So, being labeled a personal trainer has come around over the last 3-4 years. Being one is not as foreign as it used to be when I first started out. Of course, they’re those that started out before me. Oh, yeah...they were called Biff, Zach, and Lance. They were the biggest guys in the gym with the darkest tans, and the highest Ottomix shoes around. They wore bandanas, belts, and earrings in the gym. They smelled like protein and they had more weightlifting gloves than some women had shoes. Some were old too...frequently telling me stories of feats past—big benches, big deads, big squats....torn pecks, bad backs, and messed up knees.

So these guys eventually fizzled out and a new breed of trainers came around. These trainers came out of college with degrees and athletic backgrounds. These new trainers came out of aerobics rooms and sought out certifications. These new trainers rose up out of the dungy gyms and became students of the game. These new trainers used what they learned in books and did research on themselves. They understood the function of the hamstring in a lunge is to decelerate the movement....they understood the function of the rotator cuff...they understood that cardiovascular performance was directly related to functional capacity. These new trainers even looked professional. They wore khaki’s, polo and golf shirts, dress shoes, and had smiles. These new trainers practiced what they preached because they learned in their own trainings; they learned in athletics; they learned in step classes; and they learned through trial and error. These trainers had a passion to share the knowledge they obtained with the average joe and once they were able to help their first client...a confidence was born. These trainers understood that their passion was becoming their bread and butter. These trainers began to understand selling their services was part of the game and they wanted to market their success to more and more clients. They understood they can achieve longevity in this field, rather which assuming it was a short term career detour. They made money! They helped people lose weight! They helped the weak become stronger, and the youths become more athletic. They wore the distinct “Trainer” label on their shirts and they carried their own business cards! Soon, word of mouth was the best sales tactic they could use...client were referring friends and family! Results were being noted everywhere—in the gym, at family reunions, at church gatherings, in public, and in homes!

But then “they “came...

Yes, then the ones that had little or no experience came in. The ones that wanted all the glamour without working for it. The ones that thought their time was too valuable and demanded to be paid more. The ones that followed all the false prophet magazines. The ones that felt they were destined to be trainers.

I wrote this article because in 6 years of direct personal training and 3 years of direct management of personal trainers, I have had the opportunity to interview 43 “wanna-be” trainers in my career. Some were destined to be good trainers and I hired them, some were destined to waste my time. I have the opportunity to instruct classes on personal trainers in community colleges in Connecticut and each year, I meet over 100 new people wanting to become a personal trainer. I workout in 4 different clubs 3 times a week and I have the opportunity to observe trainers in action. I teach workshops on advanced strength training techniques for trainers 4 times a year and have the opportunity to speak to trainers in their first year “on the job”. I talk and I listen, and I realize that 50% of the trainers fail. Here are my top 5 reason why:

1.) Trainers Think Their Time is TOOO valuable.
This one perturbs me to no end. Since when is your time to valuable to help someone? Many trainers charge up to $100 an hour for their time! I’m sorry but I would never pay anyone $100 for anything. Trainers tend to set their price based on what “more important things they could be doing at the time of the session” (playing with the kids, watching that DVD, making dinner, going out shopping, etc), rather than setting their price based on their level of expertise and background. Too many trainers want the Ferrari as soon as they get the driver’s license. I detail this in my book “Secret Skills of Personal Training”—in order to achieve longevity in this field, you have to position yourself to “service others”. Personal training is not a self-serving career. You help others...you give yourself to others, you sacrifice crappy hours, and dealing with different personality types to help others. The time of the less fortunate (or less healthy in this case) is more valuable than ours...because they don’t have as much left as we do.

2.) Everyone Wants to Be a Trainer
This one I can feel for. Some people develop a desire to help others. I truly understand that testament to help another human in an unfavorable condition. But...just like everyone is not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, and astronaut—neither is everyone meant to be a personal trainer just because you went through the Express line at your local gym for 12 weeks and lost 14 pounds. That doesn’t make you a professional. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be something in life...but to be good at what you do in this field is what separates you from everyone else.

3.) Millionaires Grant Everyone Permission to Call Themselves Trainers
Okay...over the last 2 years there has been an incredible influx of personal training studios, boot camps, websites, and products. This saturation has caused harm in the personal training industry. Many of these personal trainers are encouraged to market themselves and develop half-assed programs. Are they purposely developing half-assed programs? No...but that is the level of competence out there because they are focused more on making a buck through marketing and easy cash. So THEY are making tons of money off of these newbies. And potential clients don’t know the difference. And another detrimental effect of all of this is: newbies are great at advertising, developing websites, and using sales strategies; but when it comes to training a client....they suck! So the client is “turned off” by the lack of experience, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, and responsibility by these newbies and guess what?
The field has been overly clogged with people wanting to share their services BEFORE they are actually good at them! “Our field is labeled a JOKE!

4.) Trainers Don’t Workout Themselves
I see this one from time to time. Trainers encouraging their clients to perform a one-arm , one leg standing cable row with rotation on a ½ foam roller! Well....I’m not going to get in to the fact that they trainer may not know exactly why he or she is performing that exercise. But I will get into the fact that I know for a fact—just by looking at the trainer—that the trainer does not perform or cannot perform that exercise. Why do trainers do this? Is it because such an exercise is hard and we want our client to suffer, or is it because the exercise has a purpose? So many trainers are out of shape and not conditioned for the type of training they prescribe (power-lifting, HIIT, functional, etc, etc...) Well, guess what? It’s not only about being physically capable of performing the exercise, but it is more importantly about knowing “where and how” to cue the exercise and understand the mental skills required to perform the exercise. That is why if you preach it, you should practice it!

5.) Trainers Don’t Continue to Learn
I can’t say this enough. To be in the position of developing exercise programs for sedentary people that put they’re hard-earned money and trust into you is so important. A doctor doesn’t graduate school and start seeing patients---they perform a residency at a hospital...for years! Trainers must understand that this practice is more than holding a clipboard and counting reps...it is about understanding the human body and how it correlate to stresses your clients puts on it, and what physical stresses YOU put on it through exercise. An exercise program without modifications in its first 2 weeks is a joke to me. Any trainer that carries around the latest edition of Men’s Fitness during a session is a joke to me. Any trainer that cannot admit that they need assistance or need to refer out is a joke to me. I have met trainers that were certified in 1988 and have not learned anything new. Do you know how much fitness has evolved in just 3 years? Half of today’s trainers do not put the time, effort, and money into continuing education, seminars, or instructional books and videos. They want to make money and not invest in their skills or experience. Imagine this: If I sold you a computer with 2.5 Intel Pentium Processor for $1200, wouldn’t you be upset if you turned around and saw the same price tag on a computer with 4.0 Intel Pentium Processor? You would want the faster computer because you were getting more for your money! Well, sorry to say, not every client is getting the most for their dollars. Some are paying trainers based on their looks, sales tactics, or not knowing what they are getting themselves into.

I don’t mean for this article to offend anyone. I look at this article as a challenge for you to step it up. Personal training can be a dog-eat-dog career choice and if your intentions are placed correctly, you can enjoy a long successful career in it. Don’t let this article discourage you , but let it awaken the original reasons why you want to be a trainer.
 
From personal experience, being in the industry for over 15 years, and being in a management role at a large gym with a lot of trainers. (25 - 35 depending on if we found good people to hire.)

I would say that out of 10 candidates there would be 1 that had a shot at the job. If that person got the job they would more than likely be far from being on of our best trainers. Out of all the trainers we had there were about 3 - 5 good ones at any given time.

The other issue with trainers is that when there is a drought of good applicants and you need a body in the gym to start taking appointments you hire the best out of the choices you have at the time. Sometimes it is not that good of choices.

Here are some things I have learned about good trainers.

1. They are not necessarily certified.
2. They don't always have a college degree.
3. There is a constant thirst for more knowledge.
4. They have a great reputation for getting people results with no injuries.

On the whole I would say that about 5% - 10% of trainers are good trainers.

One of the other things I have noticed is that people tend to buy personality from their trainer over actual training knowledge. Bad trainers with a lot of personality have more clients for longer periods of time than good trainers with no personality.

Everyone who gets into the training business thinks that they are going to do things better and offer better trainers. What they are going to find out is that if they find a mediocre trainer who can sell, their hired, because you can't make it without making money.

Just my 2 cents. :)

The reality of finding a good trainer that you will like is more luck than anything else.
 
If you happen to be in the North Fulton area or are willing to travel to it from where you are, check out Studio One to One. It's a studio that only does personal training.
They are picky about which trainers they hire and in fact get many respected doctor endorsements in the area.
 
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