How do I chose a trainer?

In the highly unregulated world of the fitness industry, selecting the correct services for your needs can seem impossible.  This person over here says that I can’t eat carbs, this person says to have a good workout I have to throw up every time, while this article says that light walking is the cure all that ends all, my watch says I need to do this, Youtube says I need to do that, Instagram is doing whatever Instagram does, five of my friends are doing 18 different things and I have no clue what is going on. That’s ok.  Take a deep breath, and let’s think this out together. Everyone needs a trainer unless they studied exercise science.  Period.  As much as I love group exercise it’s really hard to focus on form and function of 28 people, and if you’ve never really worked on that 1:1 I can promise it’s not great. Also, group exercise is designed for generic fitness for the masses so you’ll only ever get so far.  Watch your friends who LOVE BODY PUMP or who swear by crossfit as they make a lot of gains early on, and then never go anywhere again. Our bodies respond to the stimulus we put them under, and eventually those things will stop challenging the body to be enough on their own.  They are still great supplemental fitness, but if we want direct results we need direct stimulus that is designed specially for our personal goals and bodies.  Personal training.

I am writing this because a friend of mine asked me “what should I ask or what should I look for in a new trainer?”  I enjoy challenging questions such as this because it gives me a moment to become reflective about what it is I do daily, and why I would want someone to chose me. So why would I want someone to chose me?  Because I’m amazing, clearly. Just kidding.  I mean, I am great at what I do but what is it that makes me great?  What sets me apart and gives me a standard in a world with seemingly no standards?  All of my practices are based on long term science.  Not hot word clickbait “NEW STUDY SUGGESTS THAT…” crap but years of research and results.  I would not give any of my clients advice that I couldn’t back with clinical research, peer reviewed papers, and publications that are trusted and respected within the scientific community.  That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, however, when it comes to your health I am personally not going to gamble. Aside from having a basis in reality, what else would set a good trainer apart from everyone else?

1. Certifications/education- This has been argued with me relentlessly but I do not care.  Education and certifications mean that you at least cared enough about what you’re doing to learn something behind it. Of course real world application is also helpful, but I wouldn’t go to a hair dresser because they have nice hair, stop going to people for fitness just because they have a nice body.  And be cautious of certifications.  Maybe are just purchased online and are honestly laughable. What qualifies you to be telling anyone else what to do?  Ask your potential new trainer what is their background, education, certifications, and why they chose the specific ones they did and then even google their certs and programs to see if they are accredited.
2. Look at their social media.  Is it just a bunch of pictures of their ass?  Is it a ton of trite phrases about spreading your wings and has no actual workout or health information on it?  Look at their followers- not the number, you can buy that, but if they are following more people than are following them that means they are paying attention to more people than people are paying attention to them, and there’s likely a reason for that. Make sure their posts are things you are interested in, and that have direct connections to what you want to achieve- if you’re not interested in their ass or their supplements but that’s all you see then they’re likely not a good fit.
3. Ask them about the body and different exercises.  What muscles does this work?  What type of muscle tissues are these working?  How is this directly related to my goal?  What energy system are we working with this set up?  If all they can say are things like “chest”, “explosive”, “gains”, “burning calories”… I’m sorry, they don’t know enough to be telling you what to do. Make sure they can give you a direct reason behind your plan, movements, sets/reps/rest, and how and why you are going to progress this plan- if they don’t know more than you do it doesn’t matter what their body looks like because it’s not yours.
4. Ask them their story.  Any fitness instructor worth their weight or the weight they’ve lost has a story.  What motivated them in fitness? Why did they want to extend fitness to others? Why you’re doing what you’re doing has a direct relation to how good at it you are. And not just an emotional connection, but how they are achieving their goals their self.  How is someone to expect you to work on your goals if they aren’t even motivated to do it their self?  If their story is “I liked to work out in high school so now I work in a gym” I would be wary.  Does your new trainer have a connection to what they are doing, and are they currently working like they would be asking of you- you don’t want someone unmotivated to lead you.
5. Lastly, ask them their process.  Do they have a clearly established screening methodology? What would be the long term and short term goals established from there, how do they do that, what science do they follow with these goals, and how are they going to re-evaluate to make sure you’re on track? How often do we reassess? How am I going to get from my personal starting point to somewhere near my end goal, how long will it take, what steps will we go through on this journey, and what happens if we aren’t achieving things properly?  Your trainer should have a clear starting process for everyone, and be able to individualized moving forward-if there is no plan or road map then how are you any better off than you were on your own with no clear plan or road map?

Other basic advice would be if everything they say sounds trendy, if they just say the same things over and over again with no explanation, and 100% IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE THEN IT ALWAYS IS. And be honest with yourself and what you’re doing- do you trust that this person will get you to your goals?  If not, they won’t.  I always say that when I’m doing a new client interview that it is as much for me as it is for the potential client because I also need to make sure that I trust someone is ready for change, that we will have meshing personalities, and that this is a good decision for both of us.  If any of those are wrong, it is not a good professional relationship and will not work. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for references, or to even shadow a session.

These are my best point of advice on how to judge if a new fitness professional is right for you.  And these can be used for all areas of fitness- coaching, group exercise, nutrition, etc- anyone calling their self a professional should be able to check off these boxes.  IF not, be wary.  And don’t make me say I told you so.