What To Look For In A Personal Trainer

When choosing a personal trainer, you should look for certain signs that show you that they have your best interest in mind.

1. Safety. Your trainer should evaluate you with some kind of checklist that shows them that you are capable of exercising without injuring yourself. It also will tell them about past injuries and/or mobility issues that need to be addressed. They should also perform a physical evaluation of you prior to beginning any kind of exercise programming to see where your imbalances are, where your mobility issues (if any) are, and where you are in terms of your level of exercise ability is.

2. Goals. Your trainer should basically conduct an interview with you on your evaluation day. This is a good time for you both to make sure you're a good fit for each other. They should ask you about your goals (weight loss, muscle gain, run that first 10k, etc.) This allows the trainer to personalize your exercise programming to suit your individual needs to reach your goals. You don't want an off the shelf exercise routine if you're paying for a trainer to help you reach specific goals.

3. Consistency. There are different options here. You can opt for 2 days a week, full body routines, 3 days a week full body routines or 4 days a week with body part splits. There are other options, but these generally are sufficient to see results. Sticking with your schedule and not skipping sessions or having the trainer cancel regularly is key to seeing results.

4. Nutrition. Arguably the most important of any of these to see results. Unless your trainer is a registered dietitian, they can't make specific meal plans for you. However, as a trainer, we can recommend a breakdown of macro nutrients and caloric intake based on your height, weight, age and activity level (which will all be measured on your evaluation day.) These numbers will be used to say how much protein, carbohydrates, fats and calories you should consume daily to reach your goal.

This is not a complete list, but it should help you if you're unsure where to begin.