Learn from a 20 year veteran of the personal trainer business.
The new year approaches as does making New Years Resolutions. Improving ones fitness is a common goal. The only problem is most people don’t know where to start or how to make a plan so they go to the local gym and hire a trainer believing the are qualified.
Well maybe not or not right for you. There’s always been a lot of turnover in the fitness industry. Some gyms don’t even require a trainer to be certified. Some have no idea about anatomy or exercise science. Yet they will act like they do. I’m here to give you some tips so you don’t waste your time or money.
The initial meeting is a mutual interview.
Remember you are hiring the trainer, they work for you. You should ask them questions, lots of them. Typically a trainer or a sales person will ask all the questions which needs to happen to design a program for you but they will be answering to you.
If you don’t know much about exercise science or nutrition, how can you determine who’s a good trainer? Usually people get a referral but what if they don’t know much about exercise science either. Maybe they are having success just because they started being active again. Now if you have been inactive and eating poorly, you can have success with just eating better and moving more. That’s not a a sign of a good or bad trainer. That’s you making a change in your life. You will be putting in all the hard work and making changes to your life, you will deserve the bulk of the credit. A good trainer is like a good teacher, they show you the way but you do the work.
First thing you need to establish is what you want to accomplish. If you want to lose weight or body fat, ask the trainer for before and after photos of their clients or if you can talk to their clients. Any refusal to do this is a warning sign. Some people will not want their pic taken or number giving out. If they call themselves a weight loss expert with no proof be very leery. If the trainer has lost weight after being obese or pregnant that does not make them an expert. I would even reply to ask for the number of the person who helped them instead.
This goes for any self promotion of being an expert. There are people considered experts in this field, they don’t have to tell you they are one, they demonstrate it.
Be careful of pics on their website or social media. I know trainers who have used people weight loss pics that were not their clients. It can be a good motivation to see others having success but they need to state that these pics are not their clients. You can use google and copy the image to see where it came from. Sometime the water mark or boarder with the trainer who helped accomplish the person’s transformation has been removed.
Question their knowledge
If you are trying to help an injury or working on post rehab, google the anatomy and question the trainer on this. Print or write down what the anatomy is and ask them. An example would be the rotator cuff, it’s 4 muscles and it’s function is external and internal rotation along and more importantly to stabilize the gleno humoral joint. If they don’t know the answers it’s like going to mechanic who doesn’t know how an engine works.
If you do have an injury another thing that should happen is the trainer asking what your doctor or therapist said to do or if they can talk to them.
When you tell them of an injury they should do an assessment for you as well. I’ll cover what a good and bad assessment looks like in another article since it’s will be too much for this article.
If you go through an assessment or a trial workout, the goal should not be to just push as hard as possible. This is where the foundation is built, if you can’t squat or do a hip hinge movement well then that needs to be addressed. Each exercise should be explained on what it is, what it works, why it’s good for you and how to do it correctly. Verbal and visual guidance should be give. If they say pull or push it than this is not good coaching.
A good trainer can explain what you are going to do and why with a simple and or in great detail.
You don’t just want a cheerleader to tell you to keep going and similar statements. They should tell you how to avoid cheating like arching your back too much, pushing your head forward excessively, holding your breathe when not needed, where you should be feeling it and so on.
Often trainer will give diet advice and generally speaking that’s fine. If you say you have a medical condition like diabetes and they start telling you about supplements to take or how certain foods can help with that, stop them there and ask if they are a dietician or what quantification they have to give medical advice. If they are a nutritionist ask them who certified them and check to see if it’s a reputable program. Some are “certified” in a day by paying some money online and taking a quick quiz versus a dietician who goes to a four year college. So many of the fitness, health and nutrition certifications are garbage.
Medical Concerns
Typically trainers that work at a hospital or physical therapy facility will have a four year degree in the exercise related field. Certain countries make it a requirement to have a four year degree to be a trainer.
If you just had a baby within the last year and look for a trainer, they should discuss your pelvic floor or any complications form the pregnancy. It can be an awkward conversation for some but it’s going to be important information. Again they should ask for permission to talk to your doctor if more information is needed.
If you have a condition that is more rare and they say that don’t know that’s a good sign they are honest. If it’s an issue that is potentially very dangerous than you will have to decide if you would rather have someone who has more experience with that issue.
If you suffer from back pain and they guarantee they can fix it especially after you have seen doctors/therapists be wary. I’ve seen a lot of clients with spine issues ranging from collapsing disc, faucet narrowing, nerve impingement and a variety of other spinal problems. Sometimes certain exercises will have to be modified and you might never achieve picture perfect form. There can be improvements to your issue but it can’t be guaranteed.
Watch how they behave
If you can try to observe the potential trainer without them knowing you are thinking of hiring them. Do they watch their client the whole time? Are they sitting in just one spot when on certain exercises they should be looking at the from different points of view (usually free weight or body weight exercises, some machines as well but machines can limit view points). If they touch the client do they do so in a professional manner. Sometimes to get a client to know where they should feel it, a finger can touch that area but they should always ask when first training a client or if it’s an area of the body that would be awkward to touch (inner thigh, butt or any area that you are not comfortable with being touched in). If I have a client do a glute/butt exercises like a glute ham bridge I’ll ask them to use their own hand to place in their glute so they can feel if they are working that muscle. It gives the client more body awareness and the difference between fully contracting the muscle and not.
If a client is doing a timed exercise they should not be looking at the clock or their watch the entire time. If you do 2 seconds more or less it will not impact you greatly. You do the exercise poorly will affect you more negativity in the long run.
To be fair some trainers have had clients for a long time. They can take their eyes away a bit more but it’s still not a good sign.
You want to see engagement not the look of someone being bored.
Judging a trainer based on their appearance is natural but it won’t give you the full story. That goes both ways with a trainer who is in great physical shape and one that is not. If their posture is poor that’s a bad sign to me but not knowing their medical history limits how much I can or should judge them without finding out more. There could of being a trauma that occurred and they ave improved since then.
You shouldn’t be punished in a workout out. You will make mistake in what you are suppose to do outside the gym depending on your goals. Making you workout till you vomit for it doesn’t produce any positive effect, just a wasted a workout.
If you are in any real discomfort and you tell the trainer, they should have you stop. It should be discussed and then decided on what course of action will be taken next. Safety first and if you get hurt then you won’t be able to work towards your goals.
A good trainer is going to put you in a position to succeed.
If you can’t do something like a squat well yet but they have you do a single leg exercise like a lunge, it’s probably not going to work well. If they do they should explain the reasoning behind it.
Jumping is a big one I see often. If you are past 30 years old and you probably don’t just nearly as much as you use to. Jumping is a great exercise in all its different forms but if you have poor ankle and hip mobility with knees that are achy going into a 36 inch box jump isn’t the wisest course of action without going over the different types of jumps, quick reaction or going for height/length. How you land in jumping is vital for safely. Each little movement in your body is complex. Depending on how you learn it should be broken down into stages of progression.
Home and online training
Since the start of the virus many gyms and personal training studios are hurting for business. At home training and online training have skyrocketed. So many trainer who never did online before jumped right into it and their system isn’t the best. If you want an online trainer look for one who has been doing it for years. If you hire a trainer to to come to your house ask to see their liability insurance. Big gym will have it but many trainers forget about this. The waivers you sign typically aren’t that strong in the eyes of the courts. If your goal is to bulk up and neither yourself or the trainer has heavy weights or something that can be used as resistance, your likelihood of success won’t be great. Make sure they have the tools you need for your goals.
It’s your body and money, make sure you question and do some research into a trainer before you hand both over.