Personal training is an efficient alternative for anyone who wants to rely on qualified support for their sports program and, at the same time, wants to take advantage of a workout that has been specially tailored for them. Appropriate individual training projects have many advantages from which you as a customer only benefit if you find a personal trainer who promotes your sporting ambitions. A project that is not always easy and for which you first need to know what tasks a reputable individual coach performs.
Here’s how you can find a good personal trainer:
Personal Trainer Qualification
There is no legally required minimum qualification for personal trainers. However, most professional personal fitness trainers have a relevant degree (e.g., sports science) or a physiotherapist or sports teacher training. But some successful trainers have obtained their basic qualifications through distance learning.
Many distance learning personal trainer courses last 6-12 months. But some institutes give a candidate a personal trainer license in just three days. Of course, a 3-day seminar cannot be called a well-founded training.
A common prejudice is that a qualified sports scientist or physiotherapist automatically makes a good trainer. The training of a physiotherapist mainly revolves around the therapy of illnesses and not around increasing fitness through exercise measures in healthy people.
How long has the person been working as a personal trainer?
Experts believe it is mandatory for an aspiring personal trainer to have a few years of prior work experience in the industry. Ideally, this would be a staff fitness trainer at a gym rather than a course trainer. Because in fitness training in the studio area, individual support is the priority, which is also the priority in personal training. So feel free to ask how long your counterpart has been working as a personal trainer and what he may have done before that.
Does he continue to concentrate 100% on his business and works full-time as a personal trainer, or does personal training only work as a part-time job? This is normal, especially for young professionals, since you don’t have a large customer base overnight from which you can finance yourself. However, being a personal trainer is very time-consuming and expensive if you want to stay in this profession permanently.
How many clients does the personal trainer actively support?
If a personal trainer is good, then it is to be expected that they will not be available every day and will have limited capacities. Because of the preparation and possible travel times, a personal fitness trainer can often only allocate 4 – 6 appointments a day.
The follow-up question is, of course, whether he still has the capacity and time to train you. That’s why you should clarify right at the beginning whether he still has free appointments at your desired times. Also, ask whether the trainer also has certain flexibility for alternative dates. In the case of personal trainers as a part-time job, it should also be noted that they may not be available every day of the week since the coaching has to be coordinated with other activities.
What successes/references can the personal trainer show?
Can the trainer show any successes, e.g., before/after photos? Personal trainers sometimes post the results in the form of before and after pictures on their website or social media. However, please make yourself aware that the lack of pictures does not necessarily have to be attributed to a lack of success.
Depending on which clientele the personal trainer specializes in, such photos are not always appropriate. There are also personal fitness trainers who simply do not specialize in losing weight but have other priorities. It is also not possible to tell from a photo whether the trainee feels better as a result of the training, has a higher energy level, and has gotten rid of his back pain.
Bonus: Benefits of regular exercise
Personality/ Authenticity
The personality of the personal trainer is as important as the qualification. It just has to fit on the interpersonal level. Ask yourself the conscious question of whether you like the other person and whether you feel comfortable with him. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to overcome your weaker self if you don’t feel comfortable with the trainer as a person.
How does he create his training plans?
Does he use professional software for this, which only pays off in a full-time job in many cases? Or does he possibly work without planning and documentation because he holds a spontaneously thought-out creative training session in every unit?
At this point, you should just be clear about what you want and what is important to you. Many of my customers appreciate a clear and understandable training plan with exercise pictures and videos. For example, because they don’t do all the training with me. Therefore, they need good visual and easy-to-understand instructions for training at home or in the gym.
Conclusion – find the best personal trainer for you
What a personal trainer can do for you is all about the chemistry between you and the trainer. Furthermore, there are many factors in this article by which you can distinguish a very good personal trainer from a less good one.
12 questions for your future personal trainer
- What basic training does the personal trainer have?
- Does he attend regular training courses?
- Does he work part-time or full-time?
- Does he have all the necessary insurance?
- How many customers does he actively serve?
- Does he still have time for you at your desired times and certain flexibility?
- Is it a mutual sympathy right?
- Can you tell that the trainer lives a healthy lifestyle?
- If there is a trial session, how does it work?
- Does he have positive references/customer testimonials?
- Does he have professional equipment that he can bring to your home or that is used for training in his studio?
- Do you receive a clear and understandable training plan?
We hope you find a good personal trainer soon.
Author Bio:
Hi, I am Mike Morleye. As a professional writer, I put together my writing skills to share knowledge on diverse topics in a readable, understandable and appealing format. Follow me back on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Featured Photo by GRAHAM MANSFIELD on Unsplash
