A Personal trainer is someone who is degreed or certified from a reputable personal training organization. Personal trainers assist individuals with the design of their exercise program and motivation. They also act as coaches to clients who are looking to achieve health and wellness goals. Personal trainers help their clients to understand the positive effects that proper nutrition, cardiovascular training, resistance training, and rest will have on their results as well as how these components will help to improve overall health and wellness levels.
There are many benefits that come with hiring a personal trainer. One of the most important benefits is their knowledge and expertise. Personal trainers understand the role that resistance training, cardiovascular training, and rest have in the achievement of wellness goals. They know when the time is right to progress a client’s training program. They also understand the role that proper nutrition has in improving performance during training and everyday life, both with overall energy as well as metabolism. Other benefits would include motivation, coaching (having someone there with you), and having someone who understands the challenges you face while progressing toward a wellness goal, even if one of those challenges is reaching a plateau and having a hard time moving forward. It is proven that 98 percent of the people who work with a trainer achieve their health and wellness goals. Personal Trainers hold their clients accountable – this helps the clients tremendously because most people say “if I’m not held accountable – I won’t exercise.” Accountability is very important as it gives clients scheduled appointments to meet with their trainer.
There are several things to look for when hiring a trainer:
- Education/expertise – be sure that your trainer is certified through a reputable organization (ACSM; NASM; CSCS; ACE; ISSA). There are a lot of certifications out there, some of which require zero practical training and have a mediocre curriculum; beware of the personal trainer who does not have a certification from a reputable, nationally recognized personal training organization. Be sure that the trainer you choose is current with all of his/her certifications.
- Promptness – be sure that your trainer responds to you in a timely manner – 24 hours is a good time frame for a response. Be sure that your trainer does not make a habit of canceling your session – he/she should give you at least 24 hours notice in the event of an emergency.
- Timeliness – your trainer should always start your session and end your session on time, and should never be late. Whenever a trainer is late to an appointment he/she is non-verbally saying that “his/her time is more important than yours.” Of course, things do happen, but if you see a pattern look for another trainer who doesn’t take advantage of your time and money.
Also important to look for when hiring a trainer: A good listener, a good motivator, and a good teacher. A personal trainer should always have his/her client’s safety and well-being as the number one goal. Your needs should come first, always.
The number of sessions you choose should be based on what your goals and objectives are and account for the recommendations of your trainer after your initial assessment. I try to base my recommendations on my clients’ needs. If they have general fitness goals I typically recommend between one to four sessions in a month. If the client is experiencing some sort of regression from therapy or rehab, I recommend two to six sessions a month. Once you have a trainer’s recommendation, you can evaluate whether you believe the frequency will support your goals. You need to also determine whether the recommendations are economically feasible for you. Ultimately your trainer should prescribe a proper exercise program that will enable you to achieve your goals, given any specific restraints or limitations you may have.
The goal of your first session is to get acquainted with your trainer. It is a time where you and your trainer go over your health and exercise history. It is a time where you talk about any restraints or limitations as well as any medications that you may be taking. During your first meeting you will go over your goals and objectives and the time that it will take you to achieve these goals. At this time you may speak about your nutrition, rest, and water intake. Your trainer should also go through an assessment with you. The assessment may include a postural analysis, gait analysis, as well as tests that will test your upper body, your lower body, and your core for any deficiencies or muscular imbalances that you may have. I call this “observation, testing, and needs analysis.”
If your first training session with your trainer does not cover these elements, do not continue as you will not have the foundation to succeed in your goals. Consulting with a trainer is important, even if you don’t ultimately decide to work with him/her in that capacity. The consultation itself will give you some perspective on the direction you should take with your wellness program. I always like to use this analogy - if you couldn’t swim and you wanted to learn how to swim, would you go buy a book on swimming and after reading it go jump in the deep end of the pool? Probably not! While reading the book will teach you some things about swimming, it won’t teach you how to swim. You would need to hire a swim instructor to learn how to swim. The analogy is the same with fitness – reading about fitness is a great way to get good information, however it does not take the place of a fitness professional. We have spent years studying and training to get us to the level to be able to assist our clients and give them the proper guidance to help them achieve their goals.
