Finding the right personal trainer can be difficult

Hiring a personal trainer can be expensive and you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Regardless of your fitness level or your ultimate goal, there are several factors you should consider before making the final decision. This handy guide will help ensure that you’re asking the right questions and getting the right answers. Read on to learn more!

A good listener

This may seem simple, but a good fitness trainer is going to listen to what YOU want out of your relationship and where you ultimately want to go. Your goals and expectations should be the benchmark with which your training program is set up.

Your trainer should be willing to work with you to develop a plan to help you reach your goals, not project their goals on you. Your trainer will likely make some suggestions and help you tweak your objectives, but a good personal trainer will work to develop a true partnership with you. Make sure you are being heard before moving forward with any trainer.

Asks about your health/injury/personal history

Personal trainers should be asking you a lot of questions before your training regimen starts. To develop the right program for you, your trainer should be asking you about your health history, any injuries or limitations you might have, the amount of sleep you get each night, your diet, and other pertinent information. Your trainer may even ask for a doctor’s note to begin your program.

All this information will steer your fitness trainer in the right direction when developing your program. He or she will make the necessary accommodations for any limitations you may have and will create a sensible plan to push you toward your fitness goals.

Makes sure you use proper form

Any personal trainer worth his or her salt will be a stickler for good form on each exercise they present you. The most important reason for proper form in the gym is to prevent injury. Performing strength training exercises incorrectly, even with lighter weight loads, can lead to serious debilitating injury. Personal trainers go through extensive training themselves to make sure that they can help you get fit safely.

Proper strength training form has another benefit, too — bigger gains! That’s right, proper form in the gym will maximize the breakdown of the tissue in the muscles you’re working on, which in turn leads to bigger gains. Your personal trainer should be taking care to make sure you understand how to do each exercise properly. Doing so will help you reach your goals more quickly!

Sets reasonable expectations

The personal trainer you’re considering hiring should be able to set a reasonable timetable for you to reach your goals. He or she will consider all the factors that you have discussed to that point and, based on the program you develop together, tell you what to reasonably expect during your work together. Your fitness trainer will help you set milestones and work with you to reach them.

No reputable personal trainer will tell you that you’ll reach your goals in a few weeks or promise gains that simply can’t be attained in a short time. If your trainer is telling you things that seem too good to be true, they probably are!

Has clients of all fitness levels

When you see the trainer you’re considering hiring around the gym, take notice of the clients he’s already working with. Good trainers will work with clients who are in all stages of life and fitness levels. Working with clients in all fitness levels shows that this personal trainer can be flexible and adaptable, both of which are key to being a successful trainer. If your trainer’s clients all seem to be in the same age group and fitness level, he may not be the right fit for you.

BONUS TRAIT: Encourages rest

A good fitness trainer should push you to work hard. However, she should also be encouraging you to work a rest day into your routine. Rest days give your body time to recover and repair itself. Those gains you’re looking for come through ensuring your body gets enough rest. Your trainer should put rest into your workout regimen and encourage you to stick to it!

Advance Fitness, one of the Springfield, Missouri, area’s premier gyms, has excellent personal trainers that can help you reach your goals. Each one of our facilities has trainers on staff who would be happy to discuss your goals with you and develop a plan to help you reach them. Check out all of our training options by clicking here!

We’re looking forward to working with you soon!