What do you look for in a Personal Trainer?

1) Organized for sure. They should come to your 1st session ( the one after your initial assessment) with a plan in hand.
2) They should have a large repertoire so you can mix it up and not get bored.
3) They should be attentive and ask you your goals, and about any health issues you may have.
4) I personally like them to be encouraging but not overbearing (I am in weight-loss mode not get-ripped mode though so that may change eventually).
5) Professional - look, dress and act like a trainer
6) Leave the nutritional info to the experts - trainers are not nutritionists and shouldn't act like them unless they have the certification. Otherwise they're just another person with an opinion on what you should/should not be doing.

I think they're a waste of money, unless you really NEED someone to tell you what to do.

I've lost 37.5 lbs. in 15 weeks through healthy eating and exercise (my own made-up routine).

If I WERE to look for one, someone who looks like they are healthy & seem knowledgable right off the bat.

I'm probably one of the largest people here to post and I guess as a big girl, arranging to see a PT drums up all kinds of anxieties, despite having had a PT until recently.

One of several gyms I know of, unofficially divides it's clients sort of along the lines of: PT1 - Female eye candy PT2 - Athletes, extreme fitness and PT3 - Challenges (that includes, extreme weight loss, medical conditions etc.

From a larger girl's prespective and someone who has Neurological problems and is on long term Steroid treatment I would obviously need a trainer who fits in with PT3, I would want someone who sees me as a challenge, who's willing to get around the obstacles instead of wishing to be PT1 or PT2, I would and have put in the work my end, I would want a PT put in the work too.

Becs

my personal trainer is a woman. i specifically chose her because of her body. it's amazing! she has the best butt i have ever seen!!

we met for an hour and she took lots of notes, was very professional and seemed to be knowledgable in things that concern me.

she told me to come in several times ( at no cost) so that i could try working out with her and she could see where i was. it was an amazing work out!!! she definitely pushed me WAY past my comfort zone!!!


i don't know if i could have a male trainer........ the gym certainly does have a lot of them though!!!! :-)

May i ask what you would expect from a trainer?

-Appearance? Someone who walks the walk, not just talks the talk. Otherwise please just take care of your personal hygiene. Meaning don't do your own personal workout and then work out with clients. Okay to go from client- to-client sessions
-Experience? Whatever is required in your profession for licensing. I hope something is required.
-Manners? Basic stuff
-Organised? and prepared
-Timekeeping? Not sure what you mean here. Be on time of course. But there are always times when emergencies happen. Call ahead as much as you can. Trainers I have had in the past always had my personal mobile number and called as soon as they knew and called and we worked out details later.

I am female and I have preferred female trainers. I have had both male and female trainers. I have good and bad experiences with all trainers but all the trainers both male and female have been good. The biggest issue that I have experienced I have encountered is that I am not a big talker normally and when exercising it is a bit difficult to talk. So off the trainers go to talk while I am exercising. Not watching what I am doing to see if I am still exercising correctly not realizing that I have gotten tired and started taking shortcuts. Sometimes I don't even realize it. But then coming back at the last couple of reps and correcting me finally. Gee I wish you were here 5 minutes ago when I started doing this wrong. That happened with all the trainers. The male trainers also were "watching" the female clients and making comments. Kinda creepy. I left the gym shortly after for other reasons.

One of the reasons I prefer a female trainer is that I thought a male trainer would be tougher on me than a female trainer. I don't respond well to that kind of kick me in the seat of the pants and I will do better kind of motivation. Well I found a female trainer that had exactly that kind of motivation technique and things did not go well between her and I. So please do yourself and your client a favor and ask them how they prefer to be motivated. Everyone of us is individuals and have our own preferences. I will tell you honestly you can't let me get away with anything but that motivational technique also doesn't work with me.

Finally, the only other reason that as a woman that leads me to prefer a female trainer is that there are things of a female nature I would prefer to discuss with a woman versus a man. It's a plumbing issue.

As for using a trainer at all. It has been over 10 years since I was last in a gym and I have had a number of medical issues come up since. I want someone to assist me in learning the exercises and machines again, to be there to assist me if I need help so I don't overdo it and call for help if I need it and to help with me motivation for a limited period of time. This is well worth the price to me.

Sorry got a little long-winded there

I'm in the progress of become a Certified Personal Trainer atm and would like to see what others responses are.

Bump

There is no way I would want a female trainer, just like I would never want a female gynae! I relate better to men telling me what to do. In a personal trainer I look for a few things
a) He has to be a little bit good looking, but not so much so that I think he is hot. I am more likely to not want to disappoint him as I would want his approval of what I am doing.
b) I would want him to be physically fit
c) Have an understanding of health, nutrition, science and the appropriate qualifications and insurances etc
d) To have an interest in who I am as to try and understand what I need from him
e) To plan my training sessions around my level of ability – part of the reason I see a trainer is because I want to be able to complete the tasks (I struggle in group sessions because I feel like I can’t keep up and that kills my confidence)
f) To be supportive and encouraging but also to kick my butt when necessary
g) To push me harder than I could push myself
h) To help me set goals that are a challenge but achievable
i) To remind me that I can do this
j) to be polite and punctual
k) to be flexible with times (I am a shift worker so my availability changes every week)
l) to see the results he has achieved with others - word of mouth is the best advertising


My trainer charges me $60 per hour but I do get a slight discount because I do two PT and 1 group training session per week. I think his standard rate is $65. It's a lot of money but it is worth every cent to feel fitter and stronger and happier and healthier.

Totaly agree and snap i have male PT and he is a body builder i deffo get on better with men as they do the less emotional side of it lol !!

i like to know that they are customising my workout for me. if they remember my injuries, or my things that i can't / won't do, and work with me, instead of giving me a "standard" workout.

i have bad knees, therefore, jumping lunges etc. are no good for me, they need to remember that, and not give it to me, find alternatives, and keep trying me on new things that i might not have tried.

it's hard to say unless you've tried them for a few sessions to see if they are just doing a standard workout, or if they actually listen to you.