Whether you want to maintain your current weight, build muscle mass, or lose weight, obtaining assistance from a personal trainer is a great step towards achieving all of your fitness goals. Personal trainers have the unique ability to help you reach your fitness goals in an effective and efficient manner while also providing you with some much needed accountability that can be lacking without the help of a trainer. Despite all of the benefits provided by a personal trainer, you can find yourself disappointed with your experience if you happen to choose a personal trainer that you just don’t match well with. Since there are so many personal trainers for you to choose from, there are some top considerations for you to keep in mind that will help you make the right decision.

A personal trainer provides hands-on guidance to a client doing push-ups in a gym.What to Look for in a Personal Trainer

For a personal trainer to be effective, they need to be able to motivate and encourage you throughout the entire process to the point where you eventually reach your fitness goals. The only way for a personal trainer to continue motivating you week in and week out is by being the perfect match for you. There are a wide array of different factors for you to consider when searching for a personal training who will be a match for you, all of which you should keep in mind throughout the selection process. 

Credentials and Experience  

The first thing to look for with any prospective personal trainer is their credentials. There are a variety of certifications that a personal trainer may have, the best of which include certifications from The National Academy of Sports Medicine and The American Council on Exercise. If a personal trainer that you’re looking at has obtained a certification from one of these institutions, you’ll know that they are qualified. Personal trainers will need to pass a comprehensive exam before receiving accreditation with these organizations, which is why a certification is so important. Many of these personal trainers will also have college degrees in such areas of focus as physical fitness, nutrition, or kinesiology, which they will advertise as education that sets them apart from other trainers. 

If a personal trainer that you’re considering states that they specialize in injury rehabilitation or improving cardio, it’s essential that their credentials back up these claims. The personal trainer that you choose should also have an extensive amount of experience with the training that they provide. While it’s possible that new trainers without experience will provide you with fantastic lessons, you can be much more confident about getting the most out of your training sessions with a personal trainer who has spent time honing their technique and process. 

Hourly Rates  

The cost of sessions with a personal trainer can be a top consideration depending on your budget. You need to set a budget before searching for the right trainer. The hourly rates of personal trainers tend to vary depending on their location, the types of credentials and certifications they have, and what area of fitness they specialize in. It’s also possible that you won’t be able to afford private sessions on an hourly basis. If this is the case, many personal trainers offer semi-private sessions that are typically much more affordable.

Personal Trainer Personality and Overall Philosophy  

The personality of a personal trainer can be the difference between enjoying a session and dreading going to your next one. If you feel as though you’re motivated by positive reinforcement that focuses on what you’re doing right and encourages you when you make a mistake, it’s important that you choose a personal trainer who teaches with these qualities. You might prefer being yelled at as a form of motivation for you to finish your exercise routine. The only way to truly identify whether or not your personality meshes with the teaching style of the personal trainer is to talk with them before scheduling sessions. 

The overall philosophy that the trainer has is also essential towards whether or not they are the right fit. The workout philosophy that the trainer has needs to match with your fitness goals. Some personal trainers focus on gym-based workouts, while other trainers typically perform their exercises and workout routines outside. Maybe the trainer likes to use free weights or prefers to focus on cardio in a workout. By asking potential trainers about the workout philosophy that they have, you will be able to determine if that philosophy fits with your exercise goals.

How Progress Is Measured  

Different trainers employ different methods for measuring success. However, the methods that they use need to accommodate your fitness goals and objectives if you want to get the most out of your sessions. You need to be able to see that you’re making progress before you reach your final goals, which is essential if you want to stay motivated. Metrics for strength gain, weight loss, calories burnt, and body mass index should be incorporated into the tracking methods used by your personal trainer. 

Online and Offline Reputation  

The reputation of a personal trainer is the largest asset to you when you’re searching for the right one. Make sure that the personal trainer you’re considering provides you with a list of past customers that you can contact for a referral. Along with these referrals, a highly reputable personal trainer should be able to provide you with some testimonials and success stories. An experienced and talented personal trainer will likely be happy to provide you with this information. 

You also shouldn’t hesitate to tap into some online resources that can give you a better idea of the reputation that the personal trainer has. Most personal trainers who have been in the business for more than a year or two will have at least some online reviews on Google or Yelp that highlight how previous customers feel about them. While these reviews shouldn’t be the only thing you consider when judging the reputation of a personal trainer, they will help you throughout your decision making process. These reviews can also provide you with some much needed information about the teaching style and personality of the trainer in question, which can be useful if you have yet to have a conversation with the trainer. 

Two people jogging outdoors at sunset, with long shadows cast on the pavement.Things to Avoid When Making Your Decision

Now that you’re aware of what factors you should consider during your search for the right personal trainer, you should focus on some of the things that you need to avoid when making your decision. As long as you avoid the common pitfalls that people tend to make when choosing a personal trainer, you’ll likely make a great decision. 

Focusing Solely on Price  

If you have a strict budget that you need to follow, it can be easy to make the mistake of focusing solely on how much the personal trainer costs. Low prices can be tantalizing. However, there are times when low prices will be quoted to you by personal trainers who don’t actually have proper certifications and are instead attempting to scam you. They might also offer very low prices because the quality of their service isn’t up to par. While personal trainers do have to take exams and obtain some education, it’s possible for someone to become a personal trainer after merely six weeks worth of study. 

If the trainer is inexperienced and only has this small amount of education to support their services, they may offer low prices in order to be competitive against much more qualified trainers. If it’s essential for you to keep costs down, consider purchasing sessions in packages of 20 or 50 to get some discounts. Another reason that you should avoid personal trainers who come with very low costs is because they will likely need to work many hours just to get by at these low prices, which means that you won’t get the kind of personal attention that you require. 

Not Asking for Customer Referrals  

Many people who choose to obtain the services of a personal trainer want to get to the training as quickly as possible, which means that they don’t take enough time to make the right decision. While the costs of a personal trainer as well as their teaching style may by your top considerations when choosing a trainer, it’s essential that you ask them for customer referrals. As mentioned previously, customer referrals are basically people who you can call to get a better idea of how qualified or otherwise the trainer is. 

These customers can provide you with in-depth information about every aspect of their experience with the personal trainer in question, which can be invaluable during the selection process. Keep in mind that the best trainers will insist that you call these customers, which should go a long ways towards making you confident about the quality of the trainer. People who forego asking for these referrals can easily make a costly mistake with the trainer they select. 

Purchasing Small Personal Trainer Session Packages  

While large packages are a great way to get a discount on your private sessions and can sometimes be offered in groups of 20 or 50, it’s very important that you don’t purchase small packages. Small session packages aren’t offered as much as they once were, which should help you avoid making the mistake of purchasing one. 

It’s important to understand that a personal trainer is a substantial commitment. This trainer will work alongside you until you fulfill all of your fitness goals, which can take upwards of 100 sessions. As such, packages of 5 or 10 sessions aren’t worth much. The main reason that you should avoid purchasing such a package is because trainers that offer them likely aren’t dedicated towards providing you with personalized training. By offering small session packages, this is a sign that the trainer doesn’t really care about whether or not you’re able to reach your goals. 

Choosing a Trainer Who Advertises as Doing It All  

In most cases, you want to choose a personal trainer who advertises themselves as a specialist, which means that they could specialize in anything from nutrition and health planning to cardiovascular exercises. While it may sound appealing to select the services of a personal trainer who claims that they can do it all, it’s likely that they don’t know as much about different exercises and workout routines as a personal trainer who actually specializes in something. 

Personalized exercise programs are very difficult for personal trainers to create, which is why the best ones will focus on a specific niche in personal training that they have been educated in and are experienced with. Trainers who claim that they can do anything and are well versed in every facet of fitness likely don’t have what it takes to provide you with training that has lasting and effective results. 

Selecting a Trainer Who Doesn’t Have an Online Presence  

While there are certainly some reputable personal trainers who have yet to build an online presence for themselves, this typically isn’t the case and may indicate that the personal trainer that you’re considering isn’t legitimate. Personal trainers who believe in the services that they provide will have a website that gives you details about the types of services they offer, the price of each training session, and possibly videos that show you how they work. If it’s practically impossible to find online information about the personal trainer, you should definitely consider another option. 

When you purchase a car, you would never do so without first learning about the specifications, features, and other aspects of the vehicle. The same should be true when purchasing the services of a personal trainer. If you have long-term fitness goals that you need to achieve, your commitment to the personal trainer that you choose will also be long-term, which means that you need to be wholly confident about your decision when you eventually make it.