GOOD TRAINERS SHOULD:
1. Ask For Feedback
A good trainer will check in with you about how you are enjoying the sessions. Training is a two-way street, and we want you to get as much out of the sessions as possible. There have been times that I have been training people for weeks only to find out they really wanted a male trainer. I wasn't offended, I recommended a male trainer that I thought they would mesh well with. Your trainer should check in with you to make sure you're getting exactly what you want (within reason - I can't make you taller or look like Beyonce). And if you aren't getting what you want, speak up. Of course, we don't want you to like us too much - it takes all the fun out of kicking your ass.
2. Ask About Any Injuries or Health Risks You Have Before Beginning Training
Any personal trainer worth their salt will know what questions to ask before they plan a workout. Without asking if you have high blood pressure, for example, a trainer cannot properly prepare a program or a workout for a client. Not only that, but if we don't know what risk factors you have we run the risk of making them worse or causing serious injury. Not every trainer is comfortable with every population. Some trainers refuse to train pregnant women. This doesn't make them bad trainers, it just means that based on their experience or education they do not feel comfortable taking that liability on themselves. If you do have a risk factor that a trainer refuses to work with but you like the style and personality of the trainer, you can ask them to refer you to another trainer. If your trainer doesn't at least ask you if you have high blood pressure RUN ... run fast and far.
3. Be Certified
There are many different certifications out there. Before you sign up with a personal trainer, you may want to research what each certification means and how difficult the certification is to obtain. I'm not saying that one specific cert. is better than another (even though there are definitely better and worse ones). My point is that if you have specific goals, you should find a trainer that has certifications that align with your goal. Of course, a certification can't guarantee a good trainer, but at least they have been educated. If you already have a specific trainer in mind, don't worry if you look at their certifications and they aren't the exact ones you want. As long as they have proven results and they are knowledgeable, you're good. Certs are important, but so is experience.
4. Teach While They Train
This is huge. Your trainer should teach you the exercises you are doing. Not only how to do the exercises, but also why you are doing them. What muscles are you using? How do you know if you're doing it wrong? If your personal trainer is lacking a basic knowledge of anatomy it might be a red flag, just saying.
5. Help With Program Development
Not all trainers will write out a whole program for you. Just because you don't get every single day's workout written out, doesn't make that trainer a bad trainer. Writing full programs for every single client is extremely time consuming, and a lot of trainers will charge extra for this. However, if you have questions about why your trainer structures your program a certain way or you have questions about how to develop your own program, your trainer should be able to answer these questions so that you can grow and learn.
6. Encourage You
Often, progress is slow. In fact, most of the time progress is slow. Weight will go down, then back up. The process to getting healthy can rarely be graphed in a straight line. It's part of your trainers job to keep you motivated and encouraged so you don't give up. There are a million ways to do this, and different things work for different trainers.
7. Do Your Measurements
Body fat percentage, body mass index, weight, girth measurements (girth is a weird word), your one rep max, your mile time. There are so many things to measure, and what a trainer will measure will depend on both your goals and what type of equipment a trainer has available. The important thing is that the trainer should do some type of measurement, and they should explain why they are using that one specifically. If there are no measurements, how will you know if you are improving or not. Make them prove they aren't just making shit up.
8. NOT Bullshit You
Please remember personal trainers are people too. We're not perfect and we don't know everything. If you ask us a question there is a chance we may not know the answer and that's OK. But your trainer shouldn't avoid answering you, or worse lie to you if they don't know the answer. A good trainer will point you toward resources, or will know someone who will know the answer. And hey, now you've both learned something (and, again, you're making sure they aren't making shit up).
9. Push You (Within Your Physical Boundaries)
A good trainer will push you. How hard we push is often up to the client, and accounts for how much can they handle both mentally and physically. A good trainer will be able to read your body language and emotional state, and know when to push further and when to back off. I'm not gonna lie though, we like it when you start swearing. Your hatred is music to our ears.
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| this is one of my favorite pictures ever |
Again, not all trainers will give you a full meal plan. Meal planning is a lot of work and many trainers will charge extra for this type of work (there's math involved and that's annoying). However, if you have basic nutrition questions your trainer should be able to answer them. For instance, veggies are carbs. If they can't get that, they shouldn't be training.
I've got a great trainer, super blessed! :D
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