6 Tips To Help You Find The Right Personal Trainer

Exercising with a personal trainer can help ensure you stay focused, committed, and are performing the right exercises at the right intervals to reach your fitness goals. However, the world is full of personal trainers; all boasting different programs and offering different opinions on exercise and dietary requirements.  If you’ve decided to hire a personal trainer to help you reach your health and fitness goals, you need to find someone whose outlook and program is the right fit for you.

Do I just choose the personal trainer with the highest social media following? Do I just choose the cheapest option? Should I train one-on-one or in a group?

These are some of people’s most frequently asked questions when searching for a personal trainer. However, they don’t necessarily give you the right information or answers. To remove the confusion, we’ve developed a list of seven pro-tips to help you choose a personal trainer that best suits your individual needs.

1. Check for a personal trainers’ professional qualifications

Any fitness enthusiast can label themselves as a “personal trainer”, so when looking it’s important to check that any potential trainers have the relevant qualifications and credentials, as this ensures they have the knowledge and expertise to help you reach your goals.

2. Ask about their experience

The longer a personal trainer has been putting their methodologies into practice, the more successful they’re likely to be at helping clients to reach their goals. The fitness industry can be quite transitional and many trainers have not been able to sustain an adequate income for themselves to continue on a long term basis.  So ask your personal trainer how long they have been working in their role and what are the type of clients they’ve had the most experience working with. This information should help guide your choice. For example, if a trainers focus has been predominantly on helping strong athletes enhance their performance, they may not be the best option for a new mum trying to lose her baby weight.

3. Can the personal trainer meet your schedule requirements?

Ideally you’ll probably need to schedule a couple of training sessions per week with your personal trainer, so you need to ensure they’re available on your most preferred days and times. Also, discuss what options or solutions they offer when hiccups happen down the line, such as if you’re out of town one week or if they get sick.

4. What is their training style?

When many people think of personal trainers, many think of ex-army servicemen screaming and shouting at them to perform exhausting amounts of exercise reps. It’s true that certain personal trainers will adopt a military style of training, however others will focus solely on positive reinforcement. Know what style of training works for you, and choose a personal trainer with a personality and training style to match.

5. How do they track progess?

After working with a personal trainer, you should be visibly able to notice results, as well as feel healthier and fitter. If this isn’t the case, something is wrong. Ask a personal trainer how they will track your progress, and if or how they set goals. The more specific a trainer is about monitoring your progress, the more invested they are in you as a client.

6. How will their program be catered to your individual needs?

All too often, personal trainers enrol clients in a fitness program that they have proven successful. However, a “one size fits all” fitness program is not catered to suit your individual requirements, and it is not catered to help you meet your specific goals. Ask potential personal trainers how they will develop an exercise program which best meets your current state of health and fitness levels, and will help you to reach your long term goals.

If a personal trainer is not willing to perform a pre-exercise screening or strongly encourages using a particular brand of supplements, this is a red flag that indicates a program will not be developed to meet your individual needs.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of finding the right personal trainer, the above criteria should help to narrow your search. As always, trust your gut – the trainer who you feel most comfortable around and who is also inspiring will likely be the most natural fit for you!

Read here about Todd van Namen; a reputable and sought after Personal Trainer Gold Coast.