How to Choose a Trainer

What should I look for?

What can I expect from a trainer?

What about credentials?

What should I look for?
Clients should look for a few key factors when deciding whether or not to work with a trainer. These factors are both tangible and intangible.

The tangible aspects include

1. the credentials and type of training a trainer has received
2. the number of years of experience a trainer has
3. feedback from other clients
4. a track record for getting results

The intangible aspects include:

1. a trainer’s adaptability (example: to a situation with a lack of equipment or bad weather)
2. the level of customer service provided by a trainer
3. the type of advice the trainer gives regarding physical health issues including when a situation calls for a referral that is beyond their scope of knowledge
4. an ability to listen to the client’s verbal and non-verbal needs.

What can I expect from a trainer?
You should expect that a trainer will always keep a scheduled appointment. Most trainers have a cancellation policy; find out what your trainer’s policy is. The cancellation policy is to give the trainer enough time to schedule another client in that now vacant time slot.

By working out at home, you will be saving time from commuting back and forth from the gym. This will help you maximize your time. You should understand that a home workout is completely different from a workout at a gym or fitness facility though. At home, there can be distractions that take away from the workout experience you would otherwise have at the gym.  Likewise, you’re getting one-on-one attention from a personal trainer without having to wait for machines or other equipment that is being used by other gym members.

Your trainer should be able to adapt to the type of equipment you have within your home. A creative trainer will keep your body going through different types of adaptations (which is what you want!) and keep you interested while working out. No one wants to do the same workout for 6 weeks straight! With the equipment available in your home, and with equipment your trainer may bring to your home, you can have a new workout as often as you and your trainer decide. Having a variety of exercises to chose from and perform helps the body continually adapt to new stresses, ensuring that optimal results occur more effectively. This ensures that you won’t hit plateaus and stop seeing changes within your body.

What about credentials?
A good trainer will be educated with a degree or diploma in health and fitness, kinesiology, physical education, physiotherapy or athletic therapy from an accredited university or college. A trainer should also possess a recognized personal training certification, preferably from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the Canadian Fitness Professionals, Fitness and Rehabilitation Professionals or the National Federation of Professional Trainers.

A trainer who also has a rehabilitation-based certification to complement the personal training certification can bridge the gap for clients recovering from an injury.

This can add a new dimension for the client - a trainer with a rehabilitation-based certificate will be able to speak with other rehabilitation specialists in their language and facilitate the healing process in a more structured way.

A superior trainer is one who can motivate clients to strive for exceptional things inside the home, so they will want to do exceptional things outside of the home.


 
The motivation to be exceptional is contagious.