How to choose a personal trainer

If you've read my previous and rather redundant posts, you will know by now that I am a personal trainer by trade. I have been in the fitness industry for the last 12 years and feel that I have grown enough as a person to be able to coach people on how to choose professionals in the fitness field. Let me begin by telling you that I saw a couple of disturbing things in one of the gyms that I work out of today. First, I saw a trainer on the phone with another person while he was supposed to be training a client. Then, he was just sitting there talking with his client when she should have been benefiting from his time working out. A few minutes later, I observed another trainer performing what we call "super slow" training techniques with a client and forcing "negatives" where he actually pulls on the weight while she attempts to resist placing the weight back to rest. This wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that she was in her 50's and clearly a beginner exerciser.

These happenings in the gym really irk me as a fellow professional and I see it occur entirely too often. The average consumer simply does not have the proper resources to effectively choose a good trainer. I truly hope the following finds its way to people who can benefit from this information.

Prior to selecting a personal trainer, try to observe a bunch of them in action. This is not too difficult to do if you're planning to exercise in a gym. I will address red flag indicators as to why you should not choose a particular trainer.

Red Flags
- You see a trainer talking on the phone while training a client. Frankly, I see no reason as to why a trainer should even have their phone with them while training you unless they are expecting a problem with their child or other family member. I can only assume that if they do have their phone, this means some of your valuable time will be spend listening to him or her talk on it. Not good.

- Improper Form is another huge no, no. Any trainer worth their salt should be insistent upon your completing exercises with proper and safe technique. He or she should be correcting and adjusting your form all the time. This requires attention paid to your exercises. If you see a trainer with someone and that person is hunched over or they are crooked in their stance or are looking ridiculously uncomfortable with the exercise.....do not hire that trainer.

- Talk is cheap, training is expensive. A trainer who talks about themselves, their personal troubles or love life is not someone that you should be paying. Conversely, you don't want someone who is a bump on a log or who only speaks in highly technical terms. Personality is everything, I mean you have to spend an hour with this person at least a couple of times per week. They should be teaching you constantly, but using consumer-friendly terms and keep conversation light and infrequent. If you can talk very easily during a workout with your trainer, then what are you paying for?

- Rest periods between sets are generally not necessary for average and healthy people. In fact, a good trainer will keep you moving in so far as you have no health conditions to prevent this. If a trainer is giving clients too much rest time, then the goals will not be met. This is dependent a bit upon what style of training is being used, but total body workouts cannot effectively be completed with too much recovery time in an hour. I also see that usually when the rest is occuring, the trainer is talking too much or not at all. Either way, not good.

So, these are some red flags to keep in mind. Now, let's say you have an interest in a trainer and need to examine whether he or she is right for you. By all means conduct an interview the same way you would a contractor for your house. It's all about building, after all. Here are some questions to ask a prospective trainer.

1. What is your level of education? Any trainer should be certified at bare minimum. Look for the American College of Sports Medicine, National Academy of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, National Strength and Conditioning Association. Also, a Master's degree in the field shows high interest and continued education. All trainers should also stay up to date by attending conferences. The above associations generally have need for continued education credits to stay certified and you might question whether a trainer attends annual conferences and whether they take courses on line through associations such as Personal Trainer on the Net.

2. What is your training philosophy toward your clients? This should be a long answer as all clients are different in their abilities, goals and current habits. Question the trainer on current cases and find out what sorts of activities they do.

3. Do you have references? All trainers should be able to supply you with written references or be able to direct you to verbal references. Any trainer who cannot do this should not be hired.

4. Will you put me through a sample workout? Well, why shouldn't a trainer do this? A half hour to show you what he or she can do and to see whether you'll be compatible. Make sure they use the half hour to include a warm-up, some alignment, some core and a couple of strength activities. Do not permit them to talk at you.....they should talk with you and you should feel free to ask questions.

Choosing a trainer can be difficult and there are a lot of people out there who have had bad experiences. Give it another try, because your health is worth it. Don't let the trainer do things like talk on the phone, be constantly late or always have to reschedule. Read through their contract carefully and remember that it's your hard-earned money being spent. Good trainers will want to help YOU, not treat you like a cookie cutter. We are out there and we'd love to help you to achieve your goals.

In good health,

Carrie