How to Choose a Personal Trainer: 7 Things You Cannot Ignore

A personal trainer is a registered and certified professional who helps you achieve your target goal.

The trainer uses a personalized training routine tailored to your goals, body type, and physical condition.

Having a personal trainer decreases the chance of performing wrong exercises and techniques. Personal trainers also reduce the risk of injuries occurring while performing exercises.

They help you boost your confidence and stay motivated to achieve your target goal by being consistent with your routine.

So the foremost question is, why do you need a personal trainer?

Pick up your goal, and then find the trainer who has experience in that niche. This will help you choose the perfect personal trainer for you!

• Are you trying to lose over 100 pounds?
• Do you want to increase your strength and become stronger?
• Are you planning to become an athlete or powerlifter?
• Do you want to get a firm, toned-up body, get in shape and maintain healthy body weight?
• Do you want to run a marathon?

Benefits and importance of a Personal Trainer?

Doing exercise is not just about running on a treadmill or lifting heavyweights.

It’s more than that; every human being is different and has a different body type, physique, and musculature.

The exercise demands are different for each individual; you can’t follow one routine that fits all solutions here.

It’s always a smart idea to choose a trained and certified personal trainer for your exercise routine.

Every exercise requires a specific technique to perform. If done wrongly, it will lead to injuries to bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. 

Your trainer will guide you and closely monitor you while performing an exercise to reduce the risk of injuries.

• Tailor exercise plan for clients
• Adjust and modify the exercise program according to your progress
• Interact with clients and help them decide what is best for them
• Offer nutritional and lifestyle advice
• Manage and track progress
• Increase time at the gym
• Help develop motivation and endurance

Factors to consider when choosing a Personal Trainer? 

Choosing a personal trainer means investing in your body; you’ve finally decided to get fit and healthy.

You must have searched numerous YouTube tutorials and courses on how to get a fit body in a short period. 

However, you don’t know the proper way and technique of exercises. A personal trainer can only teach this. The activities led online are general exercises. 

Your body needs a personalized program to achieve your target goal. Choose a personal trainer wisely; whether it’s about losing weight or getting a toned and tightened body, choose a personal trainer wisely!

Are you still puzzled? Let’s take a dig and know what we should look at when choosing a personal trainer.

1. Look for testimonials and reputation

While searching for a personal trainer, look for their education, certification, and work experience.

Most personal trainers these days have Instagram profiles; check it. Look for client reviews and testimonials.

• Verify their name, phone number, and certifications
• Ask previous clients about the behavior, punctuality, and progress of the personal trainer
• Look at the profiles of previous clients and see if they have got their desired results
• See what type of clients they have dealt before
• Note that if they have a good reputation and recognition in people and workspace around

2. Check certifications, credentials, and education

All the registered personal trainers in America will have certifications from The American Council of Exercise (ACE), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), certification IV in fitness, or a diploma in fitness. 

Ideally, They must have a background in exercise physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics or studies equivalent to these. You can following questions from your trainer;

• What are their professional qualifications?
• Do the have any proof of their certifications?
• What results have they achieved with a client similar to you?
• Do they have ethics and professional practice in their field of study?

3. Ask for work experience

It is universally accepted that a person in the field for quite a long time has more experience than a recent graduate.

He is an expert in this field, and different individuals with different body types have gone by his sight.

An experienced personal trainer will exactly know what to guide you and how to plan your exercise regime.

If you are suffering from a particular medical condition, he’ll surely know how to plan accordingly. 

4. Assess the personality

Humans have different natures and different behavioral personalities. Always have a little chit-chat or discussion with your trainer. Look if their character suits you.

Exercise training should be motivational, enthusiastic, and goal-oriented.

For this, you need to partner up with your trainer, have a good conversation, and develop a friendly relationship with them. This will help you feel content and happy while achieving your goal.

Related: Achieving Your Fitness Goals Requires a Growth Mindset. Here’s Why.

A good personal trainer must have: 

• Honesty to you and their profession
• Patience to deal with clients demands
• Dedication to achieving your desired goal
• Remarkable communication skills
• Dedicated commitment to you

5. Get paperwork

Most personal trainers work independently. Before hiring a personal trainer, discuss and get everything in a written agreement, Include;

• Cost per hour or session
• Insurance policy
• Liability and validity
• Rules and policies
• Cancellation date
• The consequence of abrupt cancellation

6. Find the trainer’s cost per hour 

The more experienced trainer, the higher the pay rate would be. The pay rate also depends on certifications, specializations, location/region, and type of target goal.

A good piece of advice is not to go with cheaper trainers as they might ruin your condition. 

• Ask how much it would cost you to hire a personal trainer.
• What is the pay rate per session?
• How many sessions do you require in a month?
• Would they offer a discount to you? 

7. Look for time availability

In this buzzing environment, we are all busy. There is a specific time that would suit you best.

Some people like to train in the morning; others want to train at night. However, when finding a personal trainer, check for their availability of time.

• Does it match your routine?
• Do you have to schedule yourself accordingly? 
• How much time can they dedicate to you per week?
• How much time is required by you to achieve your goal?

Takeaway

It is not very clear when it comes to choosing a personal trainer. You want a trainer who gives you good results while you are looking for cost-efficient training service.

Finding an excellent personal trainer depends on multiple factors. 

You never know if a person is speaking the truth or lying to you about their expertise.

That’s why it is highly recommended to assess their certifications, verify them, look for credentials and testimonials.

This is the least you could do. Of course, you don’t want to spend hundreds of bucks down the drain; you need visible results on time.