Working with a personal trainer can be a great way to stay motivated and achieve your fitness goals. However, not all trainers are equally qualified at helping your reach those goals. Determining who is worth your time and money and who isn’t can be difficult, especially if you’re largely unfamiliar with the world of working out. If you’re currently in the market for a new personal trainer, use these five signs to avoid working with someone who is underskilled or unprofessional.
They don’t have any success stories.
Granted, a client’s failure is not always the personal trainer’s fault, but a good trainer should at least have a few success stories. If you find yourself dealing with a trainer who can’t provide you with testimonials or other information about people they’ve worked with who saw positive results, chances are they’re probably not that great. That might not always be the case, but considering that a year’s worth of training can cost upwards of $10,000, it’s an expensive risk to take.
They don’t have the right certifications.
Personal trainer certification can be a tricky thing, because there’s no official governing body to regulate the process. However, there are still some ways to determine if your potential trainer has the qualifications that he or she needs. Obtaining certifications actually isn’t that difficult, but most programs simply offer something like a three-day training crash course. While that may be a good start, a long weekend is nowhere near enough time to develop the skills and knowledge a person needs to be an effective trainer. Instead, look for people who have multiple certifications, preferably in both fitness and nutrition. This is a good indicator that the person you’re dealing with truly has a passion for what they do and are committed to learning about training as much as possible.
They’re not taking notes.
The purpose of a personal trainer is to tailor a fitness program that addresses your specific needs and goals. However, if they’re never writing anything down during your workouts, how are they ever going to learn what works for you and what doesn’t? Trainers should be compiling information about you on a regular basis—including your weight, body fat percentage, and the number of reps and sets you complete for each workout.
They take the “drill sergeant” persona way too far.
Boot camps, drill sergeants, and other military tropes have been popular with personal trainers for quite some time. However, dealing with trainers who take this shtick too far can be annoying and counterproductive to your fitness goals. This approach is likely to give you a negative perception of working out. Instead of thinking of the gym as the place where you come to improve your body, it becomes the place where a crazy person yells at you for an hour and makes you routinely puke. It’s true that getting fit isn’t easy and you want someone who will push you to be your best, but that’s still no reason to turn your workouts into a scene from "Full Metal Jacket."
They’re more "salesman" than "trainer."
While there’s no denying that personal trainers need to make a living, there’s still no reason for them to market to you like they’re trying to sell a used car. Trainers who constantly have a promotion or new product for you to try (i.e. buy) are probably more concerned with increasing the size of their wallet than your biceps. Getting fit may cost a little money, but don’t bother with people who are just trying to bleed you dry.
