When you have decided that you are ready to start utilizing a personal trainer it is important that you pick the right one for you. Personal training is expensive, and you want to make sure you get the most benefit out of your investment. Make sure to ask if the trainer has any free trials or sessions and utilize those to see how you like the session. In this blog we are going to go past the basic advice of price point, availability, and location. After you have figured out some of the basics take these 5 keys into consideration when you are searching.
1. What are your main goals?
a. Your main goals will really play a role in a trainer you choose. If you are trying to lose weight and want help with nutrition most trainers know the basics on nutrition and can guide you based on facts/numbers. If you want written nutritional plans, make sure you find a certified nutritionist separately or a trainer who also has a nutrition certification. If you are looking to join powerlifting find a trainer that specializes in powerlifting.
2. Remember the main goal of a trainer should be to teach you how to train on your own, not to keep you paying for a long time.
a. Find a trainer that loves to help their clients and wants them to be able to train themselves. You may want to keep your trainer to keep you motivated, to keep you safe, and to keep giving you new exercises and techniques, which is great! Even though you may keep your trainer for years you still want to learn from your trainer.
3. Can you build a relationship with the trainer?
a. This is a huge part in selecting a trainer. You could be spending a couple hours a week with this trainer so it is important to see if you can build a strong connection. Trainers can be great therapists as well, so if you build a strong relationship with your trainer you can get the added benefit of relieving stress through exercise and talking through what’s going on.
4. See what their main training philosophies are.
a. Some trainers are always serious, and regiment based. Some trainers are laid back and fun. Are you looking for a drill sergeant, a friend, or something in between? You can typically tell what the trainer is like on the first meeting, for me you will always see me with a smile on my face. Does the trainer like to focus on specific ideals and training practices? There are so many forms or training and they all work, but again what are you looking for? An example philosophy can be based on creating core strength, working on proper technique, and a circuit-based method. Training methods are endless, see what the trainers uses.
5. How well can they adjust and go beyond the routine?
a. Before you start your exercises, does your trainer ask how you are feeling? Nothing wrong with being given a specific routine that is pre-made before you even see your trainer. But, be wary of the preset numbers for you and the preset exercises. Ask yourself this, do you feel the exact same every single day? The answer to that is no, so having a pre-made workout for you can be trouble. You want to train based on how you feel not based on what numbers are there for the day. If you feel tired or sore or just not into it, your trainer needs to adjust based on that, so you don’t train towards failure. There have been so many days where I had something in mind for a specific client and they come in and tell me they have back tightness, or they are tired. The routine I had in my head before we started changed in an instant, your trainer should be able to adjust in the fly. Remember, “how do you feel today?’
Stay safe, stay healthy and exercise on!
Philip Tomeo
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