What makes a great Personal Trainer?

kms_fit1
kms_fit1 Posts: 19 Member
edited February 2021 in Fitness and Exercise
Curious to hear about positive experiences with your PT. What do you expect from the trainer side, other than the workout/exercise plan? Particularly with online coaching. Should they be checking in with you (how frequent)? Or, is it really just up to the client to ask questions? How can you determine realistic goals? Thanks!

Replies

  • dsc84
    dsc84 Posts: 208 Member
    From my personal experience the best trainer I ever had covered everything from Nutrition, goal setting, comfort level with exercise and always explained the why and how. They paid attention to me during training and did more than count reps for me. Online will obviously have some barriers but they should be meeting with you regularly, checking in, covering the information you need and providing regular form checks.
  • kms_fit1
    kms_fit1 Posts: 19 Member
    Thank you Chieflrg; appreciate you taking the time and sharing your feedback. I’ve worked with a trainer within a group fitness class at a big gym during their various 60-day challenges for personal goals during that period, but have not really had the 1:1 process long term. Struggling with thinking that I should already know what to do (after reading so much about it), but yet still want to ask specific questions for personal goals.
  • kms_fit1
    kms_fit1 Posts: 19 Member
    Thanks for your response springlering62; I agree that it should be 50/50. I think in my experience thus far, my comfort level has not been optimal. Kudos to your success! Sounds like you have a fantastic trainer!
  • kms_fit1
    kms_fit1 Posts: 19 Member
    Thanks, dsc84; all that you mentioned is what I would expect as well. Wondering also if a health + wellness coach would be the same?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    As a PT in the industry for over 35+ years, it's always going to be subjective. But for all my clients, I email all the workouts we did, explain why we do them, focus on areas where they are weak/lacking and hopefully get them to adhere to a nutrition program that supports what we're trying to achieve. My online clients have a choice of checking in with me daily or weekly (I leave it up to them) and we assess what they did. Overall, RESULTS are what matter and there isn't any one program that works all the time. Each individual I not only have to program for their goals, but also their type of personality. Some are laid back, others are really apprehensive and then of course my gung ho ones who'll do anything.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • gigius72
    gigius72 Posts: 183 Member
    edited February 2021
    One who yells loud... Lol sorry just kidding.
    My first PT would give a card with exercises. Explained them to me and that was it. Once in a while when he saw me struggling he would come behind me to yell encouragement. Not knowing better I thought it was good.
    I changed gym and got one closer to my house. This one had a dietician and PT inside. This guy would give me the list of exercises. He would walk around and would correct is he saw you were doing it wrong. When he saw you walking, he would ask you how you were doing asking what you had left to do and he was always full of encouragement. He never failed to make me feel good about the weight I lost.
    In the first gym it was a pain to go. I would even skip sime exercises just to leave sooner.
    In the second gym I felt like part of a family. I was there 7 days out of 7 and I never shortcut anything.
    A PT makes a big difference between a good experience or a poor one where you might just quit.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,664 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    ...Each individual I not only have to program for their goals, but also their type of personality. Some are laid back, others are really apprehensive and then of course my gung ho ones who'll do anything.

    Speaking simply as a “consumer”, I’ve been all three- occasionally even in the same session. A really good trainer is atuned to that.

    I really love that you follow up via email with your clients. My first two trainers never did. I had my half hour or whatever and that was it til next week.

    My current trainer sends videos and photos, checks in almost daily, and yes, she is a yeller. Because she owns the gym and knows every single member’s life (and lift) history, she’ll stop in the middle of a session to yell encouragement to someone who’s pulling a particularly heavy weight, and then return to counting my reps without missing a beat, all while giving me a complete rundown of the other persons personal bests and why she’s so proud of them.

    It really helps cement the gym’s family atmosphere because everyone gets the same treatment, from low level me to the guys who need five spotters.

    And more importantly, we are expected to behave likewise.

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    gigius72 wrote: »
    One who yells loud... Lol sorry just kidding.
    My first PT would give a card with exercises. Explained them to me and that was it. Once in a while when he saw me struggling he would come behind me to yell encouragement. Not knowing better I thought it was good.
    I changed gym and got one closer to my house. This one had a dietician and PT inside. This guy would give me the list of exercises. He would walk around and would correct is he saw you were doing it wrong. When he saw you walking, he would ask you how you were doing asking what you had left to do and he was always full of encouragement. He never failed to make me feel good about the weight I lost.
    In the first gym it was a pain to go. I would even skip sime exercises just to leave sooner.
    In the second gym I felt like part of a family. I was there 7 days out of 7 and I never shortcut anything.
    A PT makes a big difference between a good experience or a poor one where you might just quit.
    i say hi to everyone in the gym I make eye contact with. And I always try to get on a first name basis with everyone in the gym client or not. It's one of the things I'm good at because I'm very good with relating a name and face together even if I'm talking to 50-100 people in a day. Even if I hadn't seen them in 6 months, I can likely still remember them by first name. And I get asked all the time for advice on exercises or to check form from someone. And I do it because it's great to build good relationships in your gym. It makes your work as a PT so much easier too. Sometimes PT's get stereotyped by how they look, as the type of trainer they might be and get overlooked by a newer member looking for a trainer because might seem more intimidating. I try to show that I treat all people the same regardless of their fitness level and that I'm willing to work with them in anyway possible to improve themselves.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • gigius72
    gigius72 Posts: 183 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    gigius72 wrote: »
    One who yells loud... Lol sorry just kidding.
    My first PT would give a card with exercises. Explained them to me and that was it. Once in a while when he saw me struggling he would come behind me to yell encouragement. Not knowing better I thought it was good.
    I changed gym and got one closer to my house. This one had a dietician and PT inside. This guy would give me the list of exercises. He would walk around and would correct is he saw you were doing it wrong. When he saw you walking, he would ask you how you were doing asking what you had left to do and he was always full of encouragement. He never failed to make me feel good about the weight I lost.
    In the first gym it was a pain to go. I would even skip sime exercises just to leave sooner.
    In the second gym I felt like part of a family. I was there 7 days out of 7 and I never shortcut anything.
    A PT makes a big difference between a good experience or a poor one where you might just quit.
    i say hi to everyone in the gym I make eye contact with. And I always try to get on a first name basis with everyone in the gym client or not. It's one of the things I'm good at because I'm very good with relating a name and face together even if I'm talking to 50-100 people in a day. Even if I hadn't seen them in 6 months, I can likely still remember them by first name. And I get asked all the time for advice on exercises or to check form from someone. And I do it because it's great to build good relationships in your gym. It makes your work as a PT so much easier too. Sometimes PT's get stereotyped by how they look, as the type of trainer they might be and get overlooked by a newer member looking for a trainer because might seem more intimidating. I try to show that I treat all people the same regardless of their fitness level and that I'm willing to work with them in anyway possible to improve themselves.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    I don't think here in the USA works the same way as in Italy. I just go to the Y since my wife works there and I get discount, I've never seen any PT from the gym. PT in Italy are paid by the gym, they are employees. I am not sure if they can have private clients in the same gym or not (I would think there would be a conflict of interest), I never even thought about it. The PT never talked about nutrition to me and I don't think he can. Maybe with his private client they do, but they are not licensed nutritionists or dieticians, legally I don't think they can give members a meal plan or adjust one a they already have.
    Dietician on the other hand are not paid by the gym. It's a separate bill.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    gigius72 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    gigius72 wrote: »
    One who yells loud... Lol sorry just kidding.
    My first PT would give a card with exercises. Explained them to me and that was it. Once in a while when he saw me struggling he would come behind me to yell encouragement. Not knowing better I thought it was good.
    I changed gym and got one closer to my house. This one had a dietician and PT inside. This guy would give me the list of exercises. He would walk around and would correct is he saw you were doing it wrong. When he saw you walking, he would ask you how you were doing asking what you had left to do and he was always full of encouragement. He never failed to make me feel good about the weight I lost.
    In the first gym it was a pain to go. I would even skip sime exercises just to leave sooner.
    In the second gym I felt like part of a family. I was there 7 days out of 7 and I never shortcut anything.
    A PT makes a big difference between a good experience or a poor one where you might just quit.
    i say hi to everyone in the gym I make eye contact with. And I always try to get on a first name basis with everyone in the gym client or not. It's one of the things I'm good at because I'm very good with relating a name and face together even if I'm talking to 50-100 people in a day. Even if I hadn't seen them in 6 months, I can likely still remember them by first name. And I get asked all the time for advice on exercises or to check form from someone. And I do it because it's great to build good relationships in your gym. It makes your work as a PT so much easier too. Sometimes PT's get stereotyped by how they look, as the type of trainer they might be and get overlooked by a newer member looking for a trainer because might seem more intimidating. I try to show that I treat all people the same regardless of their fitness level and that I'm willing to work with them in anyway possible to improve themselves.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    I don't think here in the USA works the same way as in Italy. I just go to the Y since my wife works there and I get discount, I've never seen any PT from the gym. PT in Italy are paid by the gym, they are employees. I am not sure if they can have private clients in the same gym or not (I would think there would be a conflict of interest), I never even thought about it. The PT never talked about nutrition to me and I don't think he can. Maybe with his private client they do, but they are not licensed nutritionists or dieticians, legally I don't think they can give members a meal plan or adjust one a they already have.
    Dietician on the other hand are not paid by the gym. It's a separate bill.

    I live in Rome, Italy and PT's are definitely paid by the hour, starting at around $50 and up from there. When working in the gym as employees there they will help you with the machines and answer a few questions so you won't kill yourself. However, if you want more than that you need to make an appointment. I've seen them working with clients while I'm there.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    I've been through several trainers and I would say the answer is very variable depending on what you want and what stage you are at. I forbade my first ever PT to mention weight - I knew I needed to lose a lot of poundage but that was not why I hired him. Weight was a sensitive subject for me and attention to it would have ruined my sessions. He was quite young and inexperienced but was enthusiastic and helpful and was the right fit. He also made it fun. Although I haven't ever had a really fierce "drill sergeant" type PT I could now cope with that aspect if the PT had other attributes I wanted but at the start I would have given up. Other trainers I have seen have been progressively less interested in making it fun but I've been in way less need of it being fun. I currently work with a guy who is very strict and works me hard. My current block of workouts is a slog and a grind - I am getting results and am more than happy with it - but when I started with this lark this would have scared me off big time. One thing I really value in a PT is someone who can give me alternatives and work-arounds. I'm the wrong side of 50 and get the odd niggle here and there, but I don't want that to stop me. Equally I don't want someone to think I'm malingering and just tell me to get on with it. I also like a PT who gets a bit nerdy about things so we can discuss the relative merits of exercise variations or approaches. And a PT who takes an interest in me as a client. I have had (and seen) trainers who are obviously just going through the motions.
  • pfeiferlindsey
    pfeiferlindsey Posts: 163 Member
    I have hit gold with my personal trainer. She has over 20 years experience and has a studio out of her house.
    Here is what I love about her:

    1. My workout is tailored for me and my goals. Just like every other client of hers. No cookie cutter workouts or
    workouts from a magazine.
    2. Form is 100% for her (as it should be with every PT). She would rather drop my weight down and have me do
    it right instead of pulling something heavy and injuring myself.
    3. She’s invested in my goals and my success is her success. I actually just tested with her last night and she
    was visibly excited that I exceeded my January goals.
    4. Outside of sessions, if I have a question or concern, she is available for a quick chat/phone call.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I teach at university, and for many years, there was a personal trainer class. For the last six weeks of the class, the instructor would recruit faculty and staff to be the test subjects for the students, so over the course of about 4 years I had 8 different trainers. :-)

    The BEST were the ones who listened to me, and then really tried to design a workout routine based on MY issues (hips, knees, shoulder), had a positive communication style (but not fakey kindergarden teacher voice), made eye contact (you'd be amazed hw many DIDN'T), and mixed things up from session to session.

    The WORST were the ones who didn't make eye contact, mumbled or spoke in a monotone, and couldn't adapt their workout recommendations to my body. I had to quit after two weeks with one kid because he kept wanting me to do squats-- less than 6 months out from knee surgery. I simply couldn't do it, and he couldn't adjust his expectations to my needs.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Curious to hear about positive experiences with your PT. What do you expect from the trainer side, other than the workout/exercise plan? Particularly with online coaching. Should they be checking in with you (how frequent)? Or, is it really just up to the client to ask questions? How can you determine realistic goals? Thanks!

    In my experience, trainers who are employed by large corporate gyms are usually pretty green and just getting into the industry...not always, but that's largely been my experience. Nothing wrong with that...everyone has to start somewhere regardless of what industry they work in, but they typically just don't have the background and experience to deliver what I'm looking for.

    My best experiences have been with either a PT who has established themselves and are self employed and either renting space in a gym to train their clients or have their own facilities.

    One of my expectations is a workout tailored to ME...not a cookie cutter workout or program that the trainer basically runs with all of his/her clients...I can do that myself. Both of my most recent trainers (husband and wife team) also can recognize where I have some imbalances or specific areas where I'm a little weak and could use some extra work. As a middle ager, I also have some limitations that I didn't have when I was younger and they are easily able to prescribe an "in lieu of" exercise for things that cause me problems. They both have also been great in helping me work to rehab certain injuries...so they are very specific to ME and my own personal needs and limitations, strengths, and weaknesses.

    Don't know much about online coaching...the lady my wife and I are training with doesn't do it, but her husband (my old trainer) does...but it's typically with his more high level athletes who already know what they need to be doing and he's more making sure they are following through with their stuff as most of them are high level competition athletes...not sure how well online coaching would work for someone new or newer to fitness.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    gigius72 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    gigius72 wrote: »
    One who yells loud... Lol sorry just kidding.
    My first PT would give a card with exercises. Explained them to me and that was it. Once in a while when he saw me struggling he would come behind me to yell encouragement. Not knowing better I thought it was good.
    I changed gym and got one closer to my house. This one had a dietician and PT inside. This guy would give me the list of exercises. He would walk around and would correct is he saw you were doing it wrong. When he saw you walking, he would ask you how you were doing asking what you had left to do and he was always full of encouragement. He never failed to make me feel good about the weight I lost.
    In the first gym it was a pain to go. I would even skip sime exercises just to leave sooner.
    In the second gym I felt like part of a family. I was there 7 days out of 7 and I never shortcut anything.
    A PT makes a big difference between a good experience or a poor one where you might just quit.
    i say hi to everyone in the gym I make eye contact with. And I always try to get on a first name basis with everyone in the gym client or not. It's one of the things I'm good at because I'm very good with relating a name and face together even if I'm talking to 50-100 people in a day. Even if I hadn't seen them in 6 months, I can likely still remember them by first name. And I get asked all the time for advice on exercises or to check form from someone. And I do it because it's great to build good relationships in your gym. It makes your work as a PT so much easier too. Sometimes PT's get stereotyped by how they look, as the type of trainer they might be and get overlooked by a newer member looking for a trainer because might seem more intimidating. I try to show that I treat all people the same regardless of their fitness level and that I'm willing to work with them in anyway possible to improve themselves.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    I don't think here in the USA works the same way as in Italy. I just go to the Y since my wife works there and I get discount, I've never seen any PT from the gym. PT in Italy are paid by the gym, they are employees. I am not sure if they can have private clients in the same gym or not (I would think there would be a conflict of interest), I never even thought about it. The PT never talked about nutrition to me and I don't think he can. Maybe with his private client they do, but they are not licensed nutritionists or dieticians, legally I don't think they can give members a meal plan or adjust one a they already have.
    Dietician on the other hand are not paid by the gym. It's a separate bill.
    Most PT's here have employment within the gym for liability reasons. We do have to follow certain protocols, especially when giving advice on something we're not familiar with. For example, I have a background in rehab and recovery for injury or surgery. Many of my peers do not. So if they are asked a question on a rehab or post surgery exercise, they are usually referred to me. And I don't make programs for any nutritional guidance. I make "suggestions" on what they may do and to count calories (I refer a lot to MFP), but if they need further help, I tell them to consult an RD.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • gigius72
    gigius72 Posts: 183 Member
    @ninerbuff even by being a nutritionist you can't give out meal plans? It's it your choice for liability or a gym rule?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    gigius72 wrote: »
    @ninerbuff even by being a nutritionist you can't give out meal plans? It's it your choice for liability or a gym rule?
    I'm NOT a certified nutritionist. Lol, I didn't want to spend the money to get the certification by my current organization. :D I've STUDIED nutrition for years and may likely KNOW as much, but I don't give out meal plans, etc. because not being certified I don't believe it's proper. I do what I preach.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png