Qualities to Look for in a Personal Trainer

7 Ways to tell if Your Personal Trainer is Any Good 

As the focus of our society moves towards healthy lifestyles and controlling obesity rates, the fitness industry continues to grow accordingly. With this growth, the industry has seen a large increase in fitness centers, private training studios and Personal Trainers, all offering services to help you achieve your fitness and body goals.

However, anyone who has ever had multiple trainers will know that not all are created equal and that it can be somewhat of a lucky dip when it comes to getting a great trainer, or one who will not be able to help you achieve your goals, and may even be detrimental to your body with improper training techniques.

So how do you choose the right trainer??

Here are some qualities and characteristics to look for when choosing your personal trainer:

• Education – This is the most important quality for a personal trainer who can help you achieve your goals in a safe manner. Your Personal Trainer should have either a bachelors or masters degree in sports science, exercise physiology, anatomy or at least physical education. Scarily, it is possible for someone who has never stepped foot inside a gym or
  have any knowledge of the human body to participate in one of the 12 week personal training courses and then be responsible for your health and wellbeing. Compare this with 3 or 4 years of university study and you will see the difference in depth of knowledge that will keep you safe and achieving great results.

• Experience – This is the second most important quality in a great trainer, and is the only thing that can make up for lesser education. A lot of great trainers will tell you that most of what they know about training, they either learnt from their own time spent in the gym or they picked up good ideas from other trainers they have worked with, that had more experience than them. There are many things for a trainer to consider and monitor during a training session, such as exercise selection, exercise order, sets and reps, rest times and technique. For an experienced trainer these will be second
  nature, where an inexperienced trainer cannot concentrate on all areas.

• They care about you and your goals – a great personal trainer will be with you for the entire journey on your path to your training goals, and will care as much as you do that you achieve your goals. You are a reflection of your trainers work. Your successes are their successes and your failures will be their failures. Your trainer should help you create achievable goals and they should help you strive to achieve them.

• Excellent Communication Skills – Trainers must be able to communicate their knowledge in a manner that the client understands. There is no purpose in a trainer spouting textbook or medical phrases that you have no idea what they are talking about. Efficiency and clarity in communication is vital between trainer and client. Communication needs to work both ways and you must feel comfortable and confident in speaking with your trainer about your goals and also what you are feeling before, during and after your sessions.

• Knowing their own limitations in knowledge – A great trainer will be honest when it comes to knowing their limitations in expertise. Trainers can have backgrounds in any of the following; nutrition, strength and conditioning, yoga, pilates, group training, rehabilitation and many more. It is dangerous and illegal for a trainer to give advice and recommendations on a subject they are not qualified to speak on. A good trainer will have an alliance with medical and other allied health professionals in order to provide you with the correct information.

• Appearances and Practicing What They Preach – You want to know that your personal trainer is putting in the same amount of effort to their fitness and diet as they are demanding from you. For you to have complete faith in your personal trainer, you must know that they have put in the work and that they personally know what it’s like to train hard and be disciplined. This isn’t to say that your trainer needs to look like a professional bodybuilder or figure competitor, as not everyone aspires to that, but you do want someone who cares about the way they look and feel. Would you go to a financial advisor who was broke?

• Motivation, Encouragement and Enjoyment – Your training sessions should be fun!!! They should be a part of your day that you look forward to and not something that you dread. A great trainer will provide you with the motivation to turn up ready to train hard and achieve your goals. They will encourage you throughout your sessions and make you train beyond your normal capabilities, and most of all they will make you gain a sense of enjoyment from your training (not necessarily during some difficult exercises, but overall).

Personal Trainers…

can help you train at a level that you could not train on your own. They are a valuable tool in achieving your fitness goals and beyond. There are many good ones out there, and also some not so good ones. So, ask a lot of questions and make sure you have the right trainer for you.

If you have any questions or comments regarding qualities to look for in a personal trainer, please don’t hesitate to share them with us in the comments below: