What do you want in a trainer?

Sheseeksstrength wrote: »

Hi there,
I am really considering getting my personal training certification. However, I am not a size zero, and I'm not perfect. I am a size four, and have some stomach fat. However, I am muscular in my legs and I look healthy and fit. I essentially want to help women feel more confident in themselves at the gym. I don't want to be incredibly thin or ripped. Is it bad to pursue this dream or will people expect a ripped trainer?

But are you going to train because it's what you really want to do, and be passionate about? You focus a lot on how you look in your post - and while beginners or those who don't know what it takes may say hey, she looks fit I'll go to her because she looks like I want to look and she can make me look like that, if you don't know how to get your clients from where they are to where they want to be then you won't have clients for very long. People don't necessarily want trainers who are "jacked" but they definitely don't want someone who just looks good in her lulus and kind of looks like she's fit, they are going to want someone who knows her stuff, who knows how to work people to the best of their ability, to prevent injury, to design programs that fit their lifestyle, etc.

My trainer runs her own (small) gym with personal training and boot camp like classes. She doesn't look like a fitness model, at all, but what she can offer me has nothing to do with how she looks. She knows a lot about human kinetics and how the body moves - she knows how to train me for what I want. She is realistic and honest about results and she pushes you beyond your limits every single time. I don't go to her because she looks good in some lulus or because she "looks" fit - she's over 6'0 tall and is like an amazonian woman (actually, same way I'm built lol) and she's just plain awesome. I trust her - she isn't going to make me do something that will seriously hurt me - although it hurts at the time lol - and she is going to push me to where I won't push myself.

I wouldn't spend my money on someone who looks good - I would want to see their qualifications and what they can offer me. And if what they're trying to offer me is something I read somewhere in a magazine article once, word for word or it changes every week with the latest trend then it's not for me. There will be newbies who don't know a lot about it, and may take what someone is saying just because how they say it sounds good - and this can lead to a lot of misinformation and misplaced trust. My trainer does offer new advice or opinions sometimes but she's pretty awesome about saying hey, I just read about it not sure of the benefits/impacts but might be something to consider. She isn't saying things like if you really want those results, drink this shake twice a day blah blah.

You need to prove what you can offer to people, how you will help them because like someone said people will be desperate or may not even know anything about working out. Just having a PT "Certificate" wouldn't mean anything to me, and I probably wouldn't train with you.

Qualifications first. The first trainer I interviewed handed me a Xerox sheet and said he starts everyone off with those exercises. The second one spent the whole time telling me how he'd revamp my diet (via expensive supplements that he would sell me).

The third one (who is 20 pounds overweight and working on it) got history from me, understood my physical limitations and was awesome. He also picked up that I had a serious physical issue and basically fired me until I got my doctor's okay to return (which will be after surgery). I am really happy I went with the trainer who had the most experience and education.

Don't lie to me about how many reps/laps I have left.