Want to learn how to pick out a good personal trainer and NOT waste your money?
Many beginners in the gym find themselves wanting to hire a personal trainer of some sort to help guide them in starting their fitness journeys.
For many people, fitness and working out can be extremely daunting and overwhelming, and having a personal trainer by your side can really help to remove some of the stress and intimidation that might come with the gym.
However, it can be tough to pick out a good personal trainer.
There are so many things to look out for, and so many wrong decisions that you can make.
That's why in this post I'll be going over the best tips and advice for picking out a good personal trainer that's going to yield you the best results.
Let's get into it!
How Do You Choose a Good Personal Trainer?
Before we get into that, let's take a minute to look at some statistics.
According to IBISWorld, the personal trainer industry grew at an average rate of 4.3% per year from 2017-2022. And it's projected to keep on growing further.
With the industry growing so quickly, loads and loads of new people are joining as trainers each and every month.
And as the pool of personal trainers grows, so do the chances of you landing a bad personal trainer that either doesn't know what they're doing, or doesn't care.
Because in all honesty, it's not that difficult to become a personal trainer.
We'll get into more of that later.
But seriously, with so many new personal trainers pouring into the market each year, there are bound to be those that don't really care about their clients' success, and are in it for other reasons.
This is a problem, because it's important that personal trainers are able to connect with their clients in order to understand their pains, problems and motivations.
That's why it's so vital that you spend some real time sitting down and deciding on a good personal trainer for you.
With that said, let's get into how to do that!
Search Around Your Local Gyms
One of the most common places for people to find their personal trainers would obviously be in their local gyms.
These gyms usually do have their own personal trainers working with clients all the time, and it's a great option if you're not willing to invest that much into a personal trainer at the start.
A personal trainer from your local gym is likely going to be significantly cheaper than a personal trainer that works independently would be.
However you do have to be careful then, because it is also much easier to land a job with decent pay as a personal trainer in a commercial gym, compared to succeeding as a private personal trainer in your own space or elsewhere.
There's a higher chance of you finding a personal trainer that doesn't really know what they're doing or care about your results, like we mentioned earlier.
Ask Any Friends That Have Made Real Transformations
Another great way you can get yourself introduced to some good personal trainers would be to talk to any friends or peers that you might have, provided they've made a real transformation with the aid of a personal trainer.
Getting your friends to introduce you to their personal trainers is a great way to find a good one for yourself.
For starters, if your friends have made good progress with a personal trainer and they know a thing or two about fitness, there's a good chance they'd be able to point you in the right direction.
Plus, your friends (should) have nothing but your best interests at heart, and they wouldn't try to scam you or direct you to a personal trainer if they didn't truly think they would help you get some real results.
Look For Good Forms of Communication
One of the most important things when it comes to picking a good personal trainer is their ability to communicate with you, and get their point across.
Everybody speaks differently, and everybody takes in information differently as well.
If your prospective personal trainer is shy, quiet and unable to express what they're thinking clearly, then you two are going to have a hard time working together and lots of misunderstandings and unnecessary mistakes are going to take place.
However if you personal trainer is someone that's confident, can speak slowly and clearly, and is able to communicate their thoughts to you clearly, then it's going to be a much smoother road for the both of you.
Engagement and Professionalism
Another important thing you have to keep in mind is the fact that not everyone is going to be giving you their full attention when you're working out.
There are bound to be some personal trainers who are constantly on their phones, trying to land their next session with another client instead of watching you work out and looking for tips and advice to give you.
This can be hidden at the start, but watch out for personal trainers who are constantly on their phones, or constantly walking around engaging with long conversations with others during your workout session.
Time in the Industry
According to Fitproincome, 90% of newly qualified personal trainers quit their jobs in the first year.
Whether this is due to the stress of managing your own clients, or the challenges of having to find business and not have a base salary, there are many reasons why someone might give up on their career as a personal trainer.
However, this doesn't just affect themselves.
Many people have complained about personal trainers simply ditching them after a couple of months, deciding that they'd had enough and wanted to go and do something new.
So when you're picking a trainer, make sure you can be sure they've been in it for a while, or at least seem trustworthy and truly committed.
Look for Adaptability and Flexibility
When it's peak hours at the gym, or there are days during your week where you have to shake things up an go work out in the morning or a different time of day, you're going to want a personal trainer that can work around changes and adapt to make things work regardless.
You definitely don't a personal trainer that's stubborn, or unwilling to make changes as this would have impacts on your ability to work out and stay consistent.
Learn more: The best workout schedule for your 9-5 job.
Make Sure Your Personal Trainer Practices What They Preach
Often times, you'll find there are personal trainers out there who don't really look like they work out, or even know a thing or two about fitness at all.
If you're chatting to your personal trainer and you start to find that they don't really seem to practice what they preach and follow the healthy lifestyle that they're encouraging you to adopt, then you may want to consider looking elsewhere.
Look for Reasonable Goals, Not Overly-Ambitious Goals
You need to be able to confidently say that the goals your personal trainer is setting for you are reasonable and smart, not just overly-ambitious and too good to be true.
If what your personal trainer is telling you sounds like it's too good to be true, there's a pretty good chance that it actually is.
Oftentimes personal trainers will try to promise you unattainable results or outcomes, just to get you to stick with them so that they can get your money into their own bank accounts.
You need to be able to make your own judgements, and be sure that what your personal trainer is telling you is actually attainable and not too far-fetched.
It's good to be ambitious, but straight up lying to yourself is going to lead to disappointment and a loss of motivation and discipline.
They Need to be Able to Provide Client Transformations
Your personal trainer needs to have photographic proof of client transformations.
You need to be sure that your personal trainer has worked with clients before, and that he or she has actually been able to help them achieve real results in their fitness journeys instead of simply taking their money.
It's not rude for you to ask, you can simply ask to see some of their work and ask whether they've got any photos or proof of past client transformations and successes to help boost your own confidence in knowing that you're making the right decision.
Prices, Prices, Prices.
Last but not least, you have to check in with their prices and rates.
If your personal trainer is going to be charging you ridiculous amounts of money, it's simply not worth it.
A personal trainer definitely does deserve to be paid for their work.
But you should not be putting yourself under financial strain, or committing too much out of your own pockets for something that you could actually figure out yourself. It would be tougher, but it could be done.
Learn the standard and average rates for personal trainers in your area, and if your prospective trainer charges significantly higher prices, then it might pay to look elsewhere for more sensible and affordable options.
To Conclude...
Picking the right personal trainer is extremely important if you're serious about seeing results from the gym and you don't want to end up wasting all of your money.
However if you follow the tips and steps outlined in this video, you should hopefully be able to find a great personal trainer that's going to help uplift you to that next level in your training!
I hope you've enjoyed reading through this post, and have gained something out of it!
If you did, remember to share it with your friends so that we can reach more people and help more reach their goals in fitness!
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