Personal Trainer

jbee27
jbee27 Posts: 356 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am considering hiring a personal trainer. My primary purpose in doing so would be to (1) create a workout program and (2) to teach/ensure proper form. I am concerned about injuring myself (naturally clumsy/injury prone), so that is the reason I don't want to rely on just youtube videos, books, etc.

I would like to do a brief interview of a trainer before committing significant amount of money to them, and would like some suggestions of the types of questions to ask?

Additionally, any opinions on degrees/certifications/licensing? I've done some poking around online, and it's unclear to me which certifications are actually meaningful.

Replies

  • jasminecoco
    jasminecoco Posts: 50 Member
    First of all, it's a smart decision to hire a PT as you've stated in your question already, to ensure safety and to use equipment properly.

    I think there are some qualifications you might look for in a PT:

    1. certification. PTs in fitness clubs are all certified, I don't think there is any concern with that.

    2. personality. Talk to the trainer and see if you like the person because you are not only working out with the PT, but also building a long term, financial, professional relationship with him/her.

    3. Experience. More experienced PTs are more expensive, but it's definitely worth the money, because more experienced trainer will customize workouts based on your personal levels and your needs. Say, if you want to work more on shoulders because of pain due to sitting all day, or if you have a lot of belly fat that you want to get rid of, etc. More experienced trainers are more creative and have more ideas with the variety of exercises, rather than boring, normal movements.

    4. Professionalism. I've been observing other PTs when I work out with my trainer. Some trainers are not so engaged with training the clients. They sit there, looking bored, and counting numbers, not so motivating. If that happened to you, I think the club will accept the request of switching trainers.

    5. Degree. Not necessary but it's a big big asset. I constantly have questions about every movement, the target muscles, any uncomfortable feelings about my body, my trainer's physiology degree effectively helped her answer my questions from an academic point of view.

    I personally felt that getting a trainer helped me get on the right track as I didn't have any experience in exercising.
    Also, I might learn stuff from videos, books, articles, but if I talk to my trainer about the things I learned, I was surprised to see that some of them are wrong.
    Getting a trainer also helped me build confidence in using most of the equipment.

    here is a great video on advising how to find a great PT.
    It's from Brenda Leigh Turner and she's also a PT herself.
    Hope this helps.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVimQdGHgNw
  • spicegeek
    spicegeek Posts: 325 Member
    tell the trainer you goals - then ask

    1 - do you think these are reasonable - why / why not
    2 - what type of program would you suggest - days per week, progressions, home work
    3 - how long have you been training
    4 - what certifications do you have ( they`ll have some basic training cert - do they have kettle bell training, any lifting coaching certs, nutrition )
    5 - what type of client do you work with usually
    6 - ( AND MOST IMPORTANT ) do you think you want to train me - and why - not all trainers fit all clients and vice versa - they may be great but want to train power lifting and you want do something else - or they may be a yoga pilates lovers and you want to power lift

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