How to Choose the Best Personal Trainer

Hiring a personal trainer to help you achieve your physical fitness goals is not complicated once you know what to look for. 

Below is a list of qualities and attributes that you should seek out when considering hiring a personal trainer.

Determine Your Goals

You need to determine your current level of physical fitness before thinking about which kind of approach to take when figuring out what your fitness goals are going to be. An easy way for a person to begin ascertaining their physical fitness levels is by evaluating the results of fitness tests conducted before officially beginning a new physical fitness routine. These types of tests measure a person’s muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and overall body composition. They include but are not limited to, the number of push ups that are done in a single try, the amount of time it takes to walk one mile and the difference in the pulse rate before and after, body mass index, and how far down a person is able to get to touching their toes before bending their legs.   

It is always a safe idea to consult a physician before starting any new kind of physical fitness routine, especially if there are any pre-existing chronic health conditions such as heart disease, asthma, or diabetes. 

It becomes much easier to select a proper personal trainer and determine your fitness goals once you have undergone a proper physical fitness evaluation. There are different types of personal trainers that help people reach specific fitness goals. All of them are qualified in helping people generally feel better by helping them get in better shape. Others, however, are more qualified to help people reach a certain weight-loss goal or get in shape for specific sports or activities such as running a marathon or training for a mixed martial arts fight. 

Assess Qualifications and Certifications

Choosing a personal trainer with the necessary qualifications and certifications largely depends on what your fitness goals are. Someone who holds a degree in nutrition along with a certification from one of several accredited institutions is going to be a better choice for reaching your weight-loss goals than someone who does not have a nutritional degree or holds one in kinesiology.

Every personal trainer is required to have a high school or general education development (GED) degree to become properly certified by an accredited institution. Most fitness gyms require their personal trainers to be certified in at least one of several accredited institutions around the country. Some of these institutions are the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the International Sports Science Association (ISSA), and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

The purpose of acquiring the requisite certifications is to ensure the client that their money is going to a professional trainer instead of someone who simply likes to work out and regurgitate fitness information that they read on weightlifting internet forums or heard on YouTube videos. 

While there are personal trainers who only hold one of these certifications, many of them also hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees in subjects like kinesiology, nutrition, and sports science. Gyms that do not conspicuously display the qualifications and certifications of their trainers will provide you with them if asked, and so will the trainers themselves. The best way to do this is usually by email, phone call, or asking directly in person. Many accredited academies allow people to access their public database of personal trainers who completed their courses.

Research Experience and Specialization

There are many personal trainers who specialize in specific fitness areas such as gaining muscle mass or training for endurance events. The more seasoned trainers will come with a higher price tag, but it does not mean that those who are relatively inexperienced are unqualified. It is good to give greener personal trainers a chance because new and updated information is fresh in their minds. 

It is a wise idea to select a personal trainer with sport-specific experience if you are training for your respective sport. A fitness trainer who is fresh out of school and has recently completed all of their certifications is certainly qualified to help the average person reach their fitness goals, but they will not be as effective in preparing someone for a martial arts competition as would be a trainer who has an extensive background in martial arts. 

More than one personal trainer may be necessary for sport-specific training regimens. Sticking with martial arts, a fighter or competitor will likely need to cut weight for an upcoming competition. While the martial artist received a stellar training regimen from a qualified and certified personal trainer, they may also need to consult a licensed nutritionist about making sure they are able to make the required weight safely.  

Seek Compatibility and Communication

Personal trainers are people with different interests just like their clients, and those interests may not always properly align with each other’s. It is important to choose a personal trainer whose personality type comports with yours to increase the odds of compatibility. Having a personal trainer with whom you get along makes the workouts a lot more enjoyable.

Communication is another important quality for a personal trainer to have. It is comforting to know that your personal trainer will receive your message or answer your call if an emergency arises and you are unable to attend the session. Conversely, it is comforting to know that a personal trainer will also alert you if they need to cancel the session.

Ask for References or Testimonials

There is nothing wrong or intrusive about asking a prospective personal trainer to show you their credentials before making any kind of commitment. Testimonials are just as important, so search around for those as well. Conducting research ahead of time gives you an understanding of the types of personal trainers with whom you will be interacting and choose the one who you think would be the most compatible and effective.  

Check the gym’s website ahead of time to see if they have updated profiles of its personal trainers and their credentials. Call the gym instead if you are unable to locate the information on the website. Ask other members of the gym their thoughts on certain trainers if you are already a member there. 

Discull Availability and Schedule

One of the most challenging aspects of choosing a personal trainer is finding one whose schedule consistently lines up with yours. An inconsistent training schedule is one of the biggest reasons why people do not experience any positive results because they are more prone to maintaining their previous unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Having remote work or the ability to make your own schedule is a plus and allows for more flexibility when booking training sessions. Working normal working hours may affect your ability to book a training session during the prime hours of weekday evenings and afternoons. 

Trust Your Instincts

One of the many great things about living in a free and open society is having the ability to choose whether or not you want to make a commitment with a personal trainer. You may have a good feeling about a personal trainer despite them not having a lot of previous experience and decide to sign up for a few sessions. Perhaps a well-qualified personal trainer ends up being pushy for a commitment or you feel that their rates are too high.  

Choose a Favorable Personality and Motivational Style

Personal trainers need to be good motivators for their clients. They need to focus heavily on celebrating slow and steady progressions in order to keep people motivated. Doing so oftentimes helps their clients easily reach their bigger fitness goals. Generating training plans that keep the interests of the client in mind helps make the training sessions and chasing fitness goals fun and enjoyable. 

Having a trainer with an affable personality is important because it often plays a vital role in retaining a steady clientele base. Meeting with a gym’s personal training staff and getting to know them on a more personal level before getting started is a great way of determining whether or not your personalities would be compatible with each other. Another good way of getting to know the personal trainers is by calling the gym’s phone number and asking if you are able to speak to them about availability and personal training packages.

Inquire About Trial Sessions or Consultations

It is common for personal trainers to offer free sessions, half sessions, and consultations. Free trials and consultations are great ways of getting to know your potential personal trainer to see if they are the right one for you. 

Free trials are great because they allow you the chance to experience firsthand what types of routines you will be undergoing if you decide to sign with them. Many times, personal trainers offer half sessions as selling points that do not take up too much of their time as well. 

Consultations, on the other hand, usually consist of a series of tests done in order to determine your current physical fitness levels. Tests may include measuring your heart rate before and after engaging in exercise, the number of push ups you are capable of doing at one time, as well as body mass index. Many personal trainers offer both a free consultation and training session while many offer one or the other. The easiest way to find out if any free trials or consultations are offered is to check online or call the gym. Ask the people working the front desk if you are already a member there.

Weigh the Cost and Value

It is prudent to make sure that you understand the pricing packages before signing up for any personal training sessions. Check around to see what the average price is for personal trainers with similar experience and credentials to easier help determine if you are being offered a fair rate. After all, you want your body to get lighter instead of your wallet. 

What is a Personal Trainer?

A personal trainer is someone who is an expert in health and physical fitness. They combine their knowledge with an affable personality to help keep clients motivated long enough for them to reach their physical fitness goals. They lead group exercises as well as hold private single lessons and are passionate about helping people become better versions of themselves.

Many personal trainers choose to specialize in training athletes in specific sports while others choose to focus on general fitness improvement and weight loss. They enjoy specializing in workout routines based on their client’s personalities, needs, and goals.

How to Hire a Personal trainer?

Figuring out where to begin searching for a personal trainer to hire can seem like a daunting process for both clients and gym owners. Those who are in search of a personal trainer in order to reach their own fitness goals can search the gym’s database of personal training staff if the information is posted on its website. Calling the gym and asking to schedule an appointment is probably the best way to get to know a few of the personal trainers on staff. 

It is important for your personal trainer to share similar values and have a personality that is pleasant for you to be around. Sharing these qualities makes the arduous process of reaching your fitness goals a little more enjoyable.

Gym owners in search of expanding their personal training staff are able to search various websites and databases for freelancing personal trainers and others looking for work. Reaching out via email or phone call is the next step, and then an interview is scheduled. 

What are the Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer?

There are a lot of reasons why someone may feel the need to seek out a personal trainer. Many people are simply unaware or unsure about how to properly conduct a solid workout routine and need help from an expert. There is a lot of false information about health and fitness and getting started can become daunting and confusing to those with little to no exercise experience.  

But even those who possess enough knowledge and are able to give themselves productive workouts sometimes hit a growth plateau and they start experiencing diminishing results. People who hire personal trainers after hitting a plateau often start seeing positive results again fairly soon.  

An easy fitness trap to fall into is that the workouts start becoming monotonous which makes it easy to become bored and lose motivation. Hiring a personal trainer is a great way to break out of a boring routine and get back on the pathway of personal growth.  

There are many other people who are already in great physical shape but are involved in a sport or activity that requires a more specialized approach for improvement. Sport-specific personal trainers work with athletes of all kinds in helping them prepare for an upcoming competition.    

Another reason why someone may choose to hire a personal trainer is if they are recovering from a recent operation and need a specialized rehabilitation routine to help get their bodies back to normal. 

How to Be a Personal trainer?

Becoming a personal trainer requires some work, but it is achievable with discipline and dedication. The basic requirement for someone to become a personal trainer is for them to possess either a high school or GED diploma before seeking out one of several accredited institutions that are mostly conducted online. After a thorough amount of studying and preparation, they must then travel to a physical location so they can take the test in order to become officially certified. 

What are the Skills Needed in a Personal Trainer?

A person needs to possess a certain amount of skills if they want to be successful as a personal trainer. First, they need to be motivated with the need of improving people’s lives on a daily basis. 

Second, they need to have an affable personality and an open mind. There are people from all different kinds of backgrounds and ethnicities, so being able to get along with them is an important attribute to have. 

Third, personal trainers need to have years, if not an entire lifetime, of personal experience with sports, exercise, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Not only does it lend credibility by helping them look the part, but it also provides them with nuanced firsthand knowledge and unique personal experiences that cannot be taught in schools.

Fourth, an educational background in nutrition, kinesiology, or sport science along with an additional bachelor of science degree in a related field improves a personal trainer’s chances of making a lucrative career out of something they inherently enjoy doing in the first place.

What is the Average Price of Hiring a Personal Trainer?

On average, a typical personal trainer is reported to make anywhere between $40 and $70 per hour.

The average price to hire a personal trainer depends on the type and location of the gym. Personal trainers who work at traditional fitness gyms and generally help people reach basic fitness goals are likely going to charge significantly less than a seasoned strength and conditioning coach who prepares fighters for upcoming competitions. 

Geographic location plays a huge factor as well. A personal trainer working in Seattle, Washington makes more money than one working in Hays, Kansas because there is such a disparity in the cost of living.

Is hiring a Personal Trainer expensive?

Based on an average wage of $40 – $70 per hour, hiring a personal trainer is no more expensive than a meal for a family of four at a standard restaurant. Whether or not the rate is too expensive is contingent on the income of the individual or their family. More and more people find themselves unable to afford a personal trainer due to rising inflation and stagnant wage growth.