How To Choose The Best Personal Trainer For You
When you decide to start your fitness journey, the best thing you can do is to hire a personal trainer. You can watch as many YouTube clips as you want and still be faced with a serious risk of injury because you do not have the knowledge you need to be safe. Also, reaching your goals is just so much more difficult when you do not have someone to help you. You might end up making huge gym mistakes and not even know it.
Fortunately, there is definitely no shortage of qualified personal trainers you can hire. However, this does not mean you should hire the very first one you find online or who is recommended by a friend. You need to choose the very best one for YOU.
Do this by taking into account the following.
Check Credentials
Do not assume that the personal trainer recommended by the gym or by anyone is actually trained. Fitness certification is very important when you make your choice and you want to be sure that the trainer has the highest possible expertise in the area that you need help with.
Personal trainers can only become certified when they pass exams. This is done through nationally-recognized and accredited organizations. In the US, you have accreditation organizations like The National Academy of Sports Medicine or the American Council on Exercise.
When the trainer is certified, it guarantees standards of competence and professionalism were met.
Experience
Just as every single job out there, practice does improve skills and knowledge. The trainer who helped clients for a long time is tested. They perfected the process and offers the best possible advice. This is so much more important than many would believe.
One thing that you always need to understand is that the best way to train one person is not the best way to train every single client. The best trainers know this and the only real way in which you can learn how to adapt and offer exactly what the client needs is to keep training people.
Personality
Never underestimate how important the personality of the trainer is.
Different people are motivated by different things. Some really enjoy positive reinforcements and cheerleading. Others simply get much better results when they are being screamed at so they do extra reps.
No matter what you like when it comes to motivation, it is important to talk with the trainer. Get a strong feeling of the style used and ask questions about how motivation is given. If at any point in time you feel that your personalities do not match, simply look for someone else.
Training Philosophy
This is a critical and quite subtle point that few people even think about as they choose their personal trainer. However, it is important and it can easily lead to a horrible training experience when the training philosophy of the personal trainer is not suitable for you.
Ask questions about how the personal trainer is building its program. Talk about the beliefs that are used for this. Will you go through outside workouts or mostly gym-based routines? Are you going to mostly use free weights or will you use several gym machines?
The reason why you need to learn about the training philosophy of the trainer is you want to see if it matches your personal preferences and goals. If you have problems working out outdoors, a gym workout might be better for you. If you do not like people watching you train in the gym, a routine based on 1 on 1 sessions is preferred.
Specialties
There is no personal trainer out there that simply knows everything and can use any routine to help you. And many modern clients these days look for something specific.
Do you want to start doing yoga routines? Do you want to put on as much muscle mass as possible through a bodybuilding-type routine? Maybe you want to improve your endurance so you can run a marathon. Regardless of what your goals is, the personal trainer should match it when it comes to what they are specialized in.
If you want to run a marathon, you need the trainer specialized in running. The one specialized in Olympic weightlifting is not suitable.
Besides the extra expertise that you gain access to, the trainer will also most likely be much more passionate. They will know sport nuances and will be able to create much better routines for you to reach your goals.
Costs
As you surely already figured out, costs can vary a lot in the personal training world. Some trainers will be paid by hour while others will want a long-term deal based on another payment schedule.
Personal trainers charge different hourly rates based on specialty, location, and certifications. You should start your search by being aware how much you can pay. Your budget will always dictate how much you can pay and who you can afford.
In the event that you cannot pay for hourly solo sessions, which are usually preferred by many, talk about this with the trainer. There are many trainers that offer semi-private sessions. Others offer bulk buying discounts. Some options might exist to accommodate your budget.
Location
This is all about personal preference, of course. So, you need to consider your tendencies and habits.
Is it a problem for you to drive for 30 minutes to reach a gym where the trainer offers their sessions? Do you have to hire someone that is withing walking distance as it is the only way to remain motivated? Where do you prefer to train?
There are people who are inspired by the regular gym session but others prefer the fitness studio and a much more personal one-on-one session. Others simply want to work out at home. No matter what your location preferences are, you will find several personal trainers to accommodate them.
Reputation
This goes without saying but we should quickly highlight it. The trainer’s very best compliment is the referral. However, another great way to figure out who the best trainers are is to read reviews. You can also check testimonials and success stories. Basically, the most reputable trainers tend to be a lot better than others.
