How To Choose The Right Personal Trainer

So you’ve decided to get in shape. Perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred you into making some health resolutions, or you’ve let yourself get out of shape recently.

Whatever the reason, a personal trainer can be the perfect way to reach your goals.

A personal trainer can provide you with motivation and customized exercise plans as well as give your advice on lifestyle and nutrition. 

But choosing the right personal trainer for you is key to your success. They have the knowledge to help you and the attitude to keep you accountable to both them and yourself.

Check their qualifications

Doing exercises with poor form or too much weight can be dangerous and lead to long-term injury. A personal trainer should be well qualified for the job with the correct credentials and insurance in place.

Ask them about their training and how they keep up to date on the latest techniques and thinking. If they try and tell you that they don’t need qualifications because they have experience, then walk away. Personal training credentials include far more than learning to set exercise routines, they cover human physiology and nutrition too. As well as a general level of certification, a personal trainer should also have specialist training if they are going to be focusing on areas like pre-natal and post-natal training, or working with seniors. If you’re receiving treatment after a sports injury then they should know how to work with someone carrying an injury or weakness.

All personal trainers should be fully insured too. If you suffer an injury due to their negligence or liable action, you want to be confident that you can claim for any losses or income, or medical expenses.

See if you’re compatible

There’s an old-fashioned school of thought that personal trainers are hard taskmasters, there to shout at you and berate you while you try to get through their exercises without collapsing. If that kind of thing works for you, then great. But personal trainers aren’t there to be your drill sergeant. They should be friendly, inspiring, and motivational. They are there to spur you on. Yes, they are there to speak the truth and hold you accountable, but you should be excited for your personal training sessions rather than apprehensive.

Before signing on with anyone, talk to them first. Ask them about their style and how they interact with the people they are training. Most trainers will give you a free trial session or one at a reduced rate. Use this to get to know them and decide if you’d be happy to see this person on a regular basis to train you.

Don’t buy what they are selling

A personal trainer should have your health and wellbeing at the top of their priorities list, rather than trying to sell you the latest supplement or product. Unfortunately, a lot of trainers fall in with MLM companies and try to force their products on their clients. Often these products are ineffective and expensive.

If a trainer is more about selling you things than training you, it’s a warning sign.

Check out their other clients

Many personal trainers work with particular types of clients. This could be through a decision to concentrate on a particular type of client, or because word of mouth has made it work out that way. If a personal trainer is training hardcore weightlifters, then they may not want to train post-natal new mothers or those looking to lose large amounts of weight and vice versa.

When narrowing your list of choices down, have a look at their website and social media accounts to see the types of people they work with and the results they’ve achieved. If they don’t have an online presence, ask them what types of people they usually train in regards to age, goals, and results.

Ask for recommendations

Online research will only get you so far. Ask around for some recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues. First-hand knowledge is great and can really help you get a feel for their personal approach.

If no one you know has anyone they can recommend, try groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Read recommendations on Google, Yelp, and other platforms to gauge what their previous clients have thought of them.

Key points

Training with a personal trainer can be transformative. Some people find it hard to motivate themselves to exercise and respond better to the human connection. If you’re careful about finding the right one, the results can be amazing.