How to Choose the Best Personal Trainer: Beginners Guide

Personal training is defined as the quickest growing health-related occupation in the world!

But what return can you expect to get when investing in a personal trainer? Are they really worth the cost? And how do you choose the best personal trainer?

Today, I’ll take a deep dive into the world of personal training – and I will, among much more, pinpoint some of the challenges related to today’s way of doing personal training.

Let’s dig in!

Contents

1 Why Use a Personal Trainer?
2 Exercise is Science!
3 The Prices Vary
4 Will We Need Personal Trainers Going Into The Future?
5 Here’s What to Expect From a Personal Trainer
6 The Con Artist Will Need to be Faught!
7 5 Tips on How to Choose the Best Personal Trainer
8 Final Words: Should YOU Hire a Personal Trainer?
9 Other Helpful Resources

Why Use a Personal Trainer?

We all know that exercise and physical activity brings tons of health benefits, right?

Sadly, lots of people in today’s society do not find space to prioritize working out and eating healthy.

Stress
Lack of time
Ignorance

These are all factors affecting our capacity, motivation, and ability to prioritize physical activity.

Now:

Committing yourself to another person as well as yourself usually gives an extra boost of motivation.

You don’t like to come unprepared for a lecture? Or presenting a budget at work without doing some work in advance?

I thought so.

Also, you will gain loads of benefits just by listening and learning from your trainer. Remember – personal trainers are like the fitness world’s answer to teachers at schools!

Not convinced a personal trainer is what you need? Here are 8 reasons why you should hire a personal trainer!

Exercise is Science!

But when it comes to exercise, most people do not think of personal trainers in that way…

People tend to think that all it takes to reach your fitness goals is to work out and eat right. “Everyone can do it!”

Wrong! The fact is:

EXERCISE IS SCIENCE!

Scientists and physiologists constantly research to figure out how to gain the best results – in the least amount of time. And a personal trainer will know about the “latest and greatest”.

It is his or her’s job to hold the needed knowledge to help YOU reach YOUR goals – just as with all other kinds of advisers out there.

Nobody is surprised when they receive a bill from an advisor or consultant. Finally, people are beginning to understand that paying a professional to help with their fitness could be a good idea as well…

Personal training is NOT only intended for the untrained and lazy.

You might think you are a fitness oracle and that paying for a personal trainer will be like throwing cash out the window?

Well:

You might not have a real need – but what if I told you that even personal trainers use personal trainers?

Sounds crazy?

Well, it isn’t:

Everybody needs professional input and alternative approaches to be on top of their game!

And even personal trainers benefit from the boost you get from a PT session.

Some studies even show that the effect of your workout automatically increases by 50% by having a training partner!

How high do you think this percentage would be if your training partner is a skilled personal trainer that ensures continuity, perfect technique, targeted exercises, and on top of that – motivates you like no one else???

“Personal training in men and women has been shown to exercise behavior patterns, improve perceptual benefit-to-concern ratio for exercise (decisional balance), and increase confidence to choose exercise in the face of other time demands (scheduling self-efficacy).”

Source: wikipedia.com – Personal Trainer

The Prices Vary

The prices vary everywhere from thirty to several hundred dollars an hour.

It might sound expensive – but let’s say you buy 20 hours paying a total of 800 dollars. Your total weight loss during the time is 35lbs. Do you think losing 35lbs is worth 800 dollars?

For a lot of people, the answer is YES!

You cannot put a price on your health, and the fact is; weight loss is not the only positive effect:

Losing a lot of weight and shaping a more healthy body will also do wonders for your self-esteem. The mental effects gained from working out can be enormous!

Let’s think about it for a second:

We use loads of cash on pure garbage. If you summarize your nights out (remember to add that burger on your way home to the equation), the junk food you eat the next day – and not to mention the cash you use on stuff you do not need, we can agree that using a couple of hundred bucks on something that is actually good for you is well worth it.

At least that’s my opinion.

There are tons of happy stories; loads of people have achieved crazy results by using a personal trainer.

Will We Need Personal Trainers Going Into The Future?

Let’s take a quick look at today’s situation:

World wide there is more than 1.000.000.000 overweight people(!!!). Crazy.
There are 300.000.000 obese people (BMI more than 30)
The increasing trend of overweight is seen all around the globe. Both in the rich and poor parts of the world.
All segments have gained weight; The skinny has become less skinny, and the obese have become even more obese.
Pregnant women usually gain too much weight, negatively impacting the unborn child.
More and more children in primary school are overweight. When overweight early in life, chances are big you will remain overweight when grown up.
More and more people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Overweight is socioeconomically a big challenge. Overweight people produce less, their performance decrease; they handle less and are more on sick leave.
Believe it or not, even the global use of fuel increases due to a heavier population to transport!

As you see, there is currently a significant need for personal trainers, and the demand will be present in many years to come!

As a matter of fact, the need for qualified health personnel to guide people towards better general health has never been bigger!

And it seems a lot of people have woke up and smelled the coffee:

Being a personal trainer is becoming a global trend – something that has both its upsides and downsides…

Here’s What to Expect From a Personal Trainer

Some people become a PT because they think it’s cool; some do their classes combined with alcohol, beaches, and parties – while others become a personal trainer because of their burning passion for fitness!

There are a lot of different reasons – but the work they are set to do is the same. A personal trainer should help and guide you towards a defined goal. Some of the trainers are better at this than others; how can you identify the best ones?

Due to the high demand for personal trainers, some of the suppliers will offer short and cheap solutions. So, is this a good or a bad thing?

Well, let me ask you a question:

You are going from A to B. One of the roads is quick and easy, while the other one is way harder. Which do you choose?

The one which requires less use of energy, right?

And that is part of the problem!

The trainers providing the “quick fix” forget that their job is all about “playing” with their client’s health and fitness. Making sure you get results while at the same time being safe – requires a broad understanding of the many aspects of the human body.

If personal trainers do not take this seriously, we are in a lot of trouble!

The fact is that far too many PTs lack a lot of knowledge about the human body – but instead look at their job as an easy way to earn money by setting up random training routines for their clients.

It’s a sad fact because these people might end up doing severe damage to both the reputation and seriousness of the industry as a whole!

But on the other side:

As there are BIG differences between the quality of the trainers, it’s becoming increasingly easy to spot the good ones from the bad…

The Con Artist Will Need to be Faught!

As some personal trainers find their way to slip into the market way too easy – and because the variety related to both the education and the people attending the schools are so diverse – the “con artists” also find their way to clients.

Listen:

In the world of fitness, there is continuously new hype around the next corner.

Zumba
Bosu Balls
Water Bag Exercises
Suspension Training
The list goes on…

Some of these are excellent ways of training, but do they cover everything you need?

New technology is great and helps to add variety and new ways to target your body – but we need to take into account that a lot of the fitness trends are needs created by the industry itself.

Do we really need a new kind of equipment to target the core in a “new and fantastic” way?

I’ll let you answer that question…

There is room for new thinking but remember – It’s just another tool for your fitness toolbox. Nothing works as a complete answer to everything!

No, you will not grow monster muscles by balancing on a Bosu ball while pulling rubber bands. Better balance, of course – but we need to be aware and use the different tools to where they are most effective.

The con artist sadly has not understood this part of the picture. They do their same routine with all their clients – and hide behind fancy words like “functional training”.

Hey, tell me this:

How often do you balance on a Bosu ball? Only at the gym, right? And how do you transfer this kind of exercise to your daily life?

I thought so, hardly ever…

The solution is; “back to basics”:

Use the best parts from all corners of the fitness universe, the stuff we know actually works. When the fundament is set – it’s time to sprinkle on the sugar on top!

So:

BEFORE YOU CHOOSE A PERSONAL TRAINER, BE SURE TO DO PROPER RESEARCH.

Where did the trainer go to school to get his or her diploma? And which methods are used?

How about past clients? Are they happy?

5 Tips on How to Choose the Best Personal Trainer

Make sure the Personal Trainer has Attended a Course to Become a Certified Personal Trainer

A person being a physiotherapist does not mean he or she will do a good job as your trainer. There is a reason why you have to attend classes and study hard to become a certified personal trainer!

Check out how the Personal Trainer you are Considering Works With his or her Clients.

Does the trainer eat his lunch and talk on his phone while being with clients? Move on! If the person looks and acts as a professional, chances are he might just be.

Check References From Past Clients.

Do a google search. Find out what past clients think of the trainer. What are his or her strengths? And how have the results with other clients been?

Do Passion!

This might be the most important of them all.

Talk to the trainer – does he or she seem like a person that really burns for the job? The best personal trainers breathe fitness. It’s not just their job, but their passion and hobby! They are genuinely interested in being the best they can – and they will constantly do their utmost to know the newest within fitness science and technology.

Take the Personal Trainer for a “Test Drive”.

A lot of trainers will offer a free or price reduced first session. If you decide to stick with the trainer, buy as many sessions as you can afford according to your budget. Think realistically about it… How much do you really think it is possible to achieve in 5 or 10 hours with a trainer? If you are serious about reaching your goals, REAL results start showing after a couple of months of training.