Debora  A. Wendte, Ph.D.

What to consider before hiring a personal trainer

Not all trainers are the same. It's your body, your health, your well-being. Ask the right questions before hiring a fitness professional!

The purpose of this section is to make selecting a Certified and Qualified Personal Trainer easier.

"There are so many different personal trainers. How can I be sure I choose the right one for me?"

Good question.

Ask your trainer about his/her education, experience, and certifications.

My advice is to choose a fitness professional who is certified by one of the most recognized and reputable organizations, which I've listed below. Here are the largest organizations and the certifying bodies that have been around the longest:  American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the American Council on Exercise (ACE), Cooper Clinic, and the C.H.E.K. Institute. Those are the major national players in the fields of personal training, corrective exercise, fitness therapy, and hands-on exercise advice.

Corrective Exercise Specialists are a new breed of personal trainers with advanced education and/or certifications. The advanced education can be in the form of continuing education classes, degrees, internships, etc. Corrective exercise specialists look more closely at injury prevention and rehabilitation than your average personal trainer. They usually have more experience and demand a higher wage. Corrective exercise specialists get certifications from the C.H.E.K. Institute, National Academy of Sports Medicine, the RTS Program and a few other organizations that offer specific programs.

"Why/when do I need a trainer?"

Before you over do it, before you hurt yourself, before you read some book or some "Muscle & Fiction" magazine article, get yourself some professional advice. It is well worth it. If you have never worked out before, get a trainer. If you were injured before and you want to start a regular exercise program, get yourself a trainer. If you are looking to enter a competition or a sporting event, hire a trainer. When your physical therapy is over and you want to get back to 100%, get a trainer. If you want to lose weight and you have not met your goals yet, get a trainer. Do not assume your doctor is an expert in nutrition and exercise! Find someone who studies nutrition and exercise for a living!

"What should happen during my first visit with my trainer?"

If you hire a trainer, s/he will ask you to fill out a health history form, and put you through several assessments before the training even begins. Blood pressure, resting heart rate, body circumference measurements, BMI, lung capacity are all standard assessments these days. What are more important are the postural assessments, biomechanical movement pattern assessments, and range of movement tests. If you are not being tested to this degree then the personal trainer is literally guessing and using a one size fits all program. The more testing that takes place the more specific for YOU the program will be.

"May I ask for references?"

This is the best way to get honest information. A prospective trainer should be more than happy to give you a list of at least three clients whom you can contact.

If the trainer refuses to give references or acts as though it is a major inconvenience, look elsewhere.

"What is the trainer's philosophy?"

A credible trainer should be able to explain a philosophy of exercise training. You don't need a doctoral dissertation here, only a description of how the trainer helps clients reach their goals. How does s/he train clients? How does s/he motivate them? Is there an assessment process? Find out as much as you can about how the trainer works with clients to achieve goals.

What you are looking for here is a reflection of the trainer's credibility. If the trainer says something like "I kick my clients' butts…They get ripped and jacked...No pain, no gain, dude," thank him/her for his/her time and move on. Be an intelligent consumer. Ask for specifics and clarification if you don't understand something. This person is going to tell you how to exercise, give you lifestyle information. It's your body and your health. Be smart and safe!

"How should my trainer look?"

You should never base your selection solely on physical appearance. A person with a flawless-looking body may not know the first thing about safely teaching you how to achieve your own goals. This is especially true if they have achieved their own results through drugs, eating disorders or exercise obsession. Don't forget, genetics also play a role in an individual's appearance.

The person you hire will be teaching you skills and lifestyle habits and doesn't need to look like a model in a fitness magazine. However, trainers do need to practice what they preach. It is not wise to hire a trainer who is not fit and is not able to peform the exercises properly. If your trainer does not workout regularly, how will s/he motivate you to do so? If your trainer can't do a push-up; how will s/he be able to teach you?

Your trainer should always appear professional and in uniform.

"What about my trainer's personality?"

Above all, make sure you choose a trainer with whom you feel comfortable and whose personality is a good match with yours. You need to trust, respect and feel at ease with your trainer. Your trainer should make exercise fun, be encouraging, always act as a professional and make you feel great!

Set up an interview, ask the right questions, and follow your instincts for the perfect fit.