We are getting to a time of year when people realize they may need a little bit of help with their goals. What is the right way to go? Is it group fitness classes? Is it online coaching like Peloton and NordicTrack? Maybe personal trainers are a good way to go?
It should be no surprise that there are really great personal trainers out there. At the same time, there are some questionable trainers as well.
The following is a list of what to look for, in my opinion, in a great personal trainer and what red flags you might want to steer clear of.
1 – Bad Trainers: It’s About You
If the trainer you are meeting with does not ask any questions about you and says, “you should do this package, this probably someone to avoid. Another similar red flag is if your trainer talks more than 50% of the time in your initial consultation.
1 – Good Trainers
As these sessions are designed to fit your needs and your goals, your trainer should do very little talking at the start. If they are asking you lots of questions about you, this is a really great sign!
Questions like (in no particular order):
- “What do you want to get out of our time together?”
- “What are your goals?”
- “What is important to you?”
- “What is your injury history?”
- “Tell me about your exercise and nutrition history.”
2 – Bad Trainers: “Do I Sound Smart?”
If you are meeting with a prospective trainer and they consistently use technical terms [they may or may not define them to you], this is a particular pet peeve of mine. It also happens to be a big red flag.
This is a sign they are simply trying to impress you and “show” you they know what they are talking about.
2 – Good Trainers
A big element of being a really great trainer [or teacher] is the ability to speak at the level of your audience. This is not to say you are dumb, mind you. This just means nobody cares what big words you know.
What people care about is getting to their goals.
That being said, as the trainee, you should be learning things along the way as a great trainer will “teach you to fish” rather than just doing it for you.
3 – Bad Trainers: Talking Sh*t
If your prospective trainer is bad mouthing other trainers and programs, this is a bad sign. It’s the same idea in any relationship…
If the person you’re hanging out with is bad mouthing somebody else in your friend group, what do you think they’re saying about you behind your back?
3 – Good Trainers
Most programs, and trainers, have their merits. With this in mind, why would you bad mouth somebody [or something] for trying to make a positive difference in people’s lives? This seems silly and counterproductive.
If the goal is to improve the level of health in our city, our state, and our country then a rising tide raises all ships!
4 – Bad Trainers: Sessions Are Transactional
You are working with this person to build rapport, trust, and support. If there is no relationship building, you would be hard pressed to achieve the other three.
4 – Good Trainers
When you learn about each other, and build a solid foundation, you can have rapport, trust, and support. Without these things, how could you ever have a genuine conversation about what is working, what isn’t, and what to do about it?
5 – Bad Trainers: What’s Not Measured…
Weight, body fat, muscle, strength, cardio, and so on.
There are many ways to measure progress so long as something is measured. If it is measured, it can be remeasured and progress can be seen in a tangible way. You are there to achieve goals so you need to know if you are progressing or not, right?
5 – Good Trainers
Having a quarterly, or monthly, measurement for your weight, muscle, and body fat is great! It is also really great to measure strength and cardio metrics as well. After all, all of these things get better with consistent training!
6 – Bad Trainers: Let’s Change It All
It’s ok to get results fast. Sometimes the situation dictates it and so you need to change everything all at once to get there. But if your trainer says the only way to get there is to unsustainably change everything in your life, buyer beware.
6 – Good Trainers
You need to build habits before they can become lifestyle habits. Surprise, right?
While it can be nice to get results fast, what you really want is for them to stick around once they are achieved. Think about it, what if you had a trainer who could help you get [and stay] beach ready all year round?
Say goodbye to “beach season.”
7 – Bad Trainers: “That’s A Negative, Ghost Rider”
This one is simply my preference.
If your trainer is constantly complaining about everything under the sun without proposing solutions, this gives you a look into how they view their world. You want to work with someone who can see the solutions and not just the problems.
7 – Good Trainers
While there is such thing as too much positivity, the benefits of being positive far outweigh the negatives. It’s not even a close race.
Find yourself a trainer who will help you find solutions and not just say, “don’t do that.”
While there are many means of getting where you want to go, few things are better than great personal trainers. My hope is that this list gives you things to watch out for when ‘interviewing’ your future trainer. If you have more questions or want to interview one of our trainers, head to THIS LINK and we will be happy to sit down and have a chat with you. We are here to help you, after all!
