The 7 Worst Ways To Find A Personal Trainer

So you have finally decided to take the plunge and look for a personal trainer.

These can be murky waters, my friend.

Being a personal trainer, I thought it might be a good idea to give you my two cents.

Instead of what to do, I am going to give you advice on what not to do.

This is important since personal training is not cheap and nobody wants to waste money and time and not get results.

1. Find the Personal Trainer with the cheapest rates.

Yikes! If you wanted plastic surgery would you look for the cheapest surgeon? Not to compare myself with a doctor but with any service there ought to be a correlation between experience and cost. The average cost per hour should be $45 to $65 per hour session. I tend to be in the middle only because I give a discount for buying 12 sessions at a time.

Anything lower than that is usually someone just starting out or someone who is desperate to get a client. This brings me to my next point.

2. Don’t ask about certifications.

Yikes part two. The only people that say certifications don’t matter are A) trainers who don’t have any certifications and B) Trainers who attend a cheesy weekend certification class.

The sad thing in Colorado is that you don’t have to be certified to be a trainer. This means anyone can do this. If you don’t see certifications, look out. There are number of associations that offer certifications that one actually has to study for. For my Master Trainer certification through the NFPT, ( National Federation of Professional Trainers)  I had hours of proctored exams.

Does having an armload of certifications mean you are a better trainer? No but it does mean that I am serious about my profession and that I commit time and money every year to learn.

3. Don’t ask about liability insurance.

If you are talking to a trainer and they don’t carry professional liability insurance, run away. End of topic.

4. Age doesn’t matter.

As a rule, most personal training horror stories start ” So this young kid comes out and the next thing you know I am….”
The rule of thumb here is get a trainer close to your age. Remember how indestructible you felt in your teens and twenties? Well the problem is that you probably are past that stage and if your trainer isn’t, you may find yourself pushing cars out in the parking lot. One story I heard involved a young trainer making a 70 year old grandmother doing sprints her first session.
Let’s face it, people at a similar age have more in common and a better feel for what is appropriate. But have it your way. Look at it this way, you may have a horrific experience but you will have great stories to tell.

5. Don’t meet your trainer before you start.

Quality trainers will sit down with you to discuss your goals and they should not charge for it. Period. I offer a free 30 minute consultation to answer 2 questions.

• Am I a good fit for this potential client?
• Is this potential client a good fit for me?

Good trainers will walk out of situations where there is a mismatch. Hungry ones won’t.

6. Don’t worry if your trainer is more out of shape than you.

Not a big deal. They must know what to do even if they don’t practice themselves. Yikes #3!

7. Find the biggest, strongest trainer possible.

They must know what they are doing if they got that big!

Well, if you want to be a bodybuilder, by all means find a big bodybuilder to train you. If you want to learn how to run a marathon, find a trainer who runs. Trainers are all different in what kind of style they practice and how they train clients. My style is based on the fact that I train clients in their homes. In home training lends itself more towards core training and bodyweight exercises. This is not ideal for bodybuilding but it is the best for overall fitness and fat loss.

Hopefully this helps. Best of luck to you.

Questions, Thoughts Concerns? I will be happy to get back to You.

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Additional Personal Trainer Resources

Hey, you still here? Great.

Check out these podcasts. If you like them, please subscribe to my channel.

Episode 96: Fake Personal Trainers…Am I Being Too Harsh Here?

Episode 93: A Peek Behind the Curtain of Personal Training

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