How to Choose a Personal Trainer

Choosing a personal trainer who can effectively help you accomplish your health and fitness goals requires a lot of consideration. You will want to work with a person who makes you feel safe and secure and who communicates openly with you without making you feel misunderstood or uncomfortable. There are lots of factors to evaluate, like education, experience, and feedback from other clients. Read on for more on choosing the best personal trainer for you.

Consider Your Personal Training Goals

The best place to start when it comes to finding a good personal trainer is by thoroughly evaluating your own goals. Why do you want to work with a personal trainer? If you are an athlete, the answer to this may be to improve sports performance or work on a specific muscle group or area of improvement. If you have a more casual relationship with athletics or play a sport as a hobby, you may be looking for something less targeted. Whatever your goals may be, there is a personal trainer who can help you achieve them. Make sure you have a clear idea of what you are looking for before starting your search for a trainer. That way, you can communicate this to those you are considering, thereby making it easier to determine whether they are a good fit.

Evaluate Experience

Some of the most important factors to consider in choosing a personal trainer include:

• Education
• Experience
• Professionalism
• Feedback from past/existing clients
• Liability insurance
• CPR/first aid certification

This is certainly not to devalue the importance of one-on-one interaction, but it is always important to get things in writing and see some material proof when investing in training. You need to make sure you are entering into a professional relationship with a trustworthy individual with whom you can feel safe and secure at all times, especially when it comes to an interaction like physical training.

Read Reviews & Ask Around

Once you have decided to work with a personal trainer, you will want to start doing some research. You can use the internet to find options in your area. Make sure to carefully read through reviews and other online feedback that can be found on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other places. A lot of negative reviews is a sign to stay away and keep looking. Try to find someone with good reviews who has worked with people with similar goals to your own. If it is important to you, you can try to find a trainer who has worked with your specific demographic. For example, you might want to work with someone who has experience training older adults. Compare all of your options as best as you can, and ask around for recommendations.

Ask Plenty of Questions

Once you have narrowed your search down to some good options, you will want to meet your potential trainer in-person and conduct an interview of sorts. It certainly does not need to be anything official, but take the time to speak with a few options and ask some questions, such as:

• How do you prioritize health and safety?
• With which ages have you most often worked?
• How much experience do you have?
• How do you work around injury?
• How do you motivate and encourage clients?
• Do you have experience with my specific needs/situation?
• What is your cancellation policy?
• What type of equipment do you use?

Trust Your Instincts

Overall, one of the most important factors in choosing the right trainer is trusting your gut. If you do not feel comfortable with a person, no matter how great their reviews or credentials may be, they are probably not a good fit. If you cannot feel safe and able to communicate easily with your trainer, it is very unlikely that you will be able to work together to reach your goals. Don’t feel discouraged; there are lots of qualified, experienced personal trainers out there who specialize in a wide array of different areas of strength and fitness. Keep looking until you find the person who makes you feel safe, heard, and inspired to keep training and accomplishing your goals.