So you’ve decided its time to get serious about your Health & Fitness goals and hire a professional to help you along in your journey to get back in shape. The question is, How do you find the right Certified Personal Trainer?
After working with clients of all different backgrounds, ages, physical fitness levels and medical conditions, I can be confident in telling you that finding the right qualified trainer is VITAL to your success. I know I am not the right fit for everyone.
I work primarily with men and women who face the challenge of losing weight, creating a daily healthy lifestyle, improving their health due to ailments caused by their physical condition and challenging their bodies to excelling to a new fitness level. I do limited work with sports specifics, injury rehab and chronic illnesses that need to be addressed by a Doctor.
With all that said let me make this point very clear, any trainer who claims to be the right fit for everyone and every situation is truly stretching themselves out to thin and you may be the client who gets left behind!
Follow these guidelines to interview and choose the right Personal Trainer and I guarantee your experience will be very rewarding, encouraging and beneficial to your RESULTS!
STEP 1 - Look for the Certified Personal Trainer who specializes in the results you want! If your goal is weight loss, look for a trainer who has the knowledge and experience of dealing with the many different variables that can affect an individuals body to gain weight. If your goal is to compete in a sport, find the sport specific trainer who can help you excel to the next level. If you need rehab for an injury, find the trainer or even physical therapist who has the dynamic background to prescribe the right exercises to strengthen the injured muscle, tendon or ligament.
Its not always the case but a lot of times Personal Trainers find their passion for the expertise they choose to work with because of their own struggles they overcame in their personal lives. During your interview with a candidate your thinking of hiring, ask how they became involved in helping others with the goals you want to achieve. You should be able to get a good feel of whether or not they have your true interest at heart with this one question. The more detail and compassion they offer you, the better.
STEP 2 - Ask for PROOF! This can come in a variety of different forms but you should be absolutely confident in your trainers ability to deliver on their promises of helping you achieve results. Do they have before and after photos of past clients? Do they have written or even video testimonials from satisfied customers? Do they keep track of clients progress over time by recording body fat percentages and inches lost? Do they have clients that are willing to share their experiences with you directly? Ask to see these examples. Obviously, if you have a friend that has worked with a particular trainer with all great things to say, you have your proof right there!
STEP 3 - Ask for a FREE Workout! Nowadays most trainers are open to this but it truly depends on the facility they work at or if they own their own company. By receiving a complimentary workout you can get a taste of the trainers expertise, see if your personalities click or clash and also see how attentive they are to you as an individual. During the workouts see if they are just rep counters or if they are professionals who explain thoroughly why they are taking you through a certain exercise in detail? Are their eyes focused on you or are they distracted with things going on around the gym? Are they boring or exciting? Trust me. All of these things will be very important in deciding who to work with. If you dread going to the gym because your trainer is just not what you expected, you will be the one who ends up frustrated. You WILL be establishing a relationship with your trainer so make sure its a good fit!
STEP 4 - Finalize the Strategy! Once you have found the right trainer, make the commitment to your goals and to yourself to follow through with a specific plan of action. A solid fitness program should include a committed schedule of your workouts, a nutrition plan, regular checkups with Fitness Assessments and a Journal to track your progress. In my experience, you will want to commit to a minimum of 3 days per week to work with your trainer, especially if you’re new to working out and are not disciplined to do it on your own. This of course may be different for you and your goals.
Make sure your trainer is committed to you! Get it in writing if necessary that they will not cancel appointments with you, help you along with nutrition and any extra help you may need. If they don’t have the expertise in areas of nutrition, maybe they have a nutritionist they work hand in hand with that they can refer you to. Make sure you have your next appointment scheduled and all your questions and concerns answered before ending your first appointment.
Keep this in mind, a trainer is there to motivate you, direct you, encourage you, address problems you are having and design and implement your workouts that are catered to your goals. If you want REAL RESULTS, YOU MUST BRING YOUR HEART INTO IT! Do not allow negativity to interrupt your progress or distract you from doing what it takes to get the job done. You HAVE to bring the intensity and desire yourself each and every day! Stay focused, stay driven and use your Certified trainer as a means to GET RESULTS! Thats what we are here for and trust me on this, we LOVE and THRIVE off of the hard workers! So BRING US YOUR BEST EACH AND EVERY DAY! God Bless you and Best Wishes in 2010! DRIVE ON CHAMPION!
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