Everyone has different goals, different experiences, different triumphs. In the end what should matter to you in a trainer that you are choosing is their ability to achieve your goal, not if they had to achieve that goal themselves. However, hold them to their word, question them, make them work for you!
I had a potential client recently call me up and ask me to fax her my documentation of my certification, insurance, and photo copy ID. You know what I said to her, I said "I can't wait to work with you, because if you take this part this seriously, I know you will rock our workouts together!". I sent her all the info and we are starting tomorrow.
Here is an article I wrote that might help you out with choosing a local trainer. Good Luck.
How to Choose a Personal Trainer
I find it pretty amazing how at ease people are about putting their body…their BODY in someone else’s hands. For the most part though we do it out of desperation for real change in our lives. That is a great thing, to make change for the better, to better ourselves. The problem comes in when you put that decision in the hands of people who either don’t care or can’t really help you because they lack the knowledge. It’s really like most service professions, nobility is just not found easily. I could get into it using a range of doctors, therapists, and mechanics as examples, but instead of telling you were they all fail, I am going to tell you how most personal trainers fail.
The Hunt
If you can get referred to a trainer, do so. This way you can see what results they have already given and what kind of experience you could have with them. If you can’t do that though here are some tips and what to look for in a trainer you have no prior knowledge of.
-The Right Certification-Now let me pre-empt this with the fact that a trainer could have a college degree, all kinds of certification and years of experience and be horrible. It doesn’t take much to memorize stuff from a book to take a test. That being said you up your chance of getting a better trainer if they have a good certification. Here is a list of some good certs to trust…
CSCS, NASM, ACSM, ACE, ISSA, and NSCA are a few. I have my personal preferences, but again like I said truly it’s the trainer, not the paper.
-The Right Price-Basically if its to cheap there is a reason, if it is really expensive it may be hype. Look for someone willing to work with your budget but that takes his or her career serious.
-Right for your goals-You aren’t going to get served training for bodybuilding by an aerobics instructor. The best trainer can cover all ground, but if you have a really specific goal, then find a specific trainer.
-Ease of contact-If you can’t get in touch with them to start a program, how good do you really think it will be once you start?
As far as where to look for a trainer I recommend private trainers over gym trainers if you’re really looking to push forward. Most gym trainers are just getting by to something bigger and better, to them it’s just a job. If you can, find someone that makes it their life. Private gyms are great for this as well as self employed trainers. They will work harder for you because they don’t get paid no matter what. The phonebook is a great place to start. Call around, talk to people and see who you will feel most comfortable with.
The Assessment
This is by far the most important time you should be spending with your trainer. It takes truth on your part, and listening on theirs. If the following isn’t discussed, say thank you, pay them for their time if needed and move on.
-Medical History-including surgeries, medications, injuries, the works
-Goals-where you want to be and how they can get you there
-Nutrition-Now this does get a little tricky. Unless your personal trainer also has some sort of nutritional cert then technically they aren’t ALLOWED to give you a detailed diet. Being that any goal you want to reach, be it fat loss or muscle gain, involves diet this may make a trainer seem moot. Not the case, they can give you guidelines and a basic structure. They can tell you what you shouldn’t be eating and direct you to how to in a free manner arrive at the needed info for your situation. Basically they should tell you in detail what you should do to do it yourself. That IS allowed and should occur.
-Daily Habits-This involves understanding your daily routine, how fitness and better health can fit into your life, and what they can do to help you figure all that out.
-Timeline-Involving more detailed knowledge of where they think you can go, how far and how soon.
When to run…
If during the assessment a trainer does or says any of the following, get out that phonebook and find another one.
-Is negative-the last thing you need is a bad attitude, especially when most of the time people don’t really want to be doing lunges in the first place. It is their job to always try to make you happy. That doesn’t mean walk all over us
we are sensitive too, but they should be in a constant state of making you feel better about yourself.
-Tells you not to eat or to eat a low number of calories-See at first you will lose some weight, think your trainer is a god and then guess what, either your sessions are over and you put the weight back on or somehow they turn it back onto what you are doing wrong. What do they care, they got your money or will get more of it trying to help you “get back on track”
-If they don’t give you options and try to work with your schedule-Of course they don’t have to be at your beck and call and this is their living, but they should try and make it affordable for you and they should be open to new ideas and ways to work training options for you.
The Workout
Okay so they passed your assessment test, now on to the workout. Already your goals should have been discussed and the “plan of attack” should be laid out. Here is what you should look for (men or women).
-Use of Free Weight-Free weights work stabilization muscles, help create balance and provide a better overall look when used properly.
-Compound movements-One what a compound movement is should be explained to you. Now if you are doing a bunch of leg lifts and bicep curls move on. You need a full body workout when starting off and I still advise them for advanced lifters as well.
-Proper weight-you should be assessed on what weight is right for each movement. I would also suggest taking a look at my Lifting Intensity article for more detail there. And for the ladies if you are afraid of those weights, check out the truth about bulky muscles article.
-Talking you through form-How do you know what to focus on if they don’t tell you? Our job is to instruct you on proper form and make the exercise SAFE and worthwhile. This is the only time it’s okay for someone you are getting cuddly with to look at your rear end.
-Warming up-Now granted sometimes when on short sessions with a trainer the warm up may be a little less intense then it needs to be. My advice is if you know you have 30 mins to workout with a trainer, get there early and go ahead and do your warm up so that the two of you can get right down to business.
-Enthusiasm-Your trainer should make you feel pretty good about yourself. They should remind you that you are there for a purpose and are not doing all those squats for nothing. We feed off the energy of others and intensity, it’s very important for a trainer to have that.
When to run…
-They put you on machines-There are a few, FEW machines in the gym worth using (row, dip/pull up assist, cable pulls) that’s about it. If they are making you do leg extensions and that weird butt raise thing…just say thanks but no thanks.
-They aren’t paying attention-If they start getting chummy with a buddy while you are working out, no matter how good they are, leave it. If you aren’t their main concern for that period of time, they aren’t worth it.
-They have you doing tons of crunches and isolation movements. If you are just working your triceps and triceps only…move along.
-Wrong weight-If they try and over power you with weight or don’t try to see where you are at period.
-Hydration-If they don’t make sure you are hydrated and overall okay and checking with how you are feeling, JET!
I hope after you finish reading this you have a better idea of where to go for your training needs. Remember this is your body, treat it just as important as it is.
-Leigh Peele
