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Finding the Best Personal Trainer for Your Workout

February 28, 2008 Send this Article to a FriendPrint This Article

In the past few years, there has been an increased demand for personal trainers. Personal trainers teach you how to maximize your workout as well as serve as a motivator for you. They are also able to keep you accountable for your workout—you now have someone to check in with on a regular basis. Finding the perfect personal trainer for you can be challenging, but once you find the right one, your body will benefit. There are several things to look for to ensure you are getting the best personal trainer for both your money and your body.

Certification
Certification is not a must for a good personal trainer, and the reverse is true as well. Just because a personal trainer has certification does not necessarily mean they will be good. The one certification that a good personal trainer must have is CPR and first aid certification. If something goes wrong during one of your workouts, you want someone who will know how to help you. As far as school certifications go, there are several reputable associations that give certification and those are: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), American college of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and American Council on Exercise (ACE). Certification from these organizations does not guarantee a good personal trainer; it simply means that he fulfilled all requirements necessary.

Exercise Plans
A good personal trainer will tailor a workout specific to your needs. Everyone has a different body type, and workouts are designed as such. One sign of a poor personal trainer is one who uses the same workout for all of his clients. This is not effective for you and you will not benefit from this kind of personal training. The whole point of it being “personal” is that workouts are tailored to meet your specific needs. There is no cookie cutter workout that satisfies every single body type.

Health and Fitness Assessments
These are absolutely necessary in order to see your progress. Some personal trainers will offer a written assessment at the initial session, and some will prefer to challenge your body (strength, endurance, etc.) to see what needs work. A good personal trainer will track your progress for you so you can see how far you have come since that first session. Personal trainers should be taking measurements at each session so they can tailor your workout to suit your needs.

Diet and Nutrition
Your personal trainer does not double as a nutritionist, but they should be able to offer you advice on your diet to compliment your workout. They know that exercise alone will not work unless you are eating right. More than likely, they will not come up with an entire meal plan for you, but they can suggest what foods you should be eating to refuel your body after a workout. You can get more information from HyperStrike on rounding out your fitness plan.

In order to find the perfect personal trainer, these issues above will need to be addressed. It may be necessary to “try out” a personal trainer, or even several personal trainers before you find the right one. Talk to people at your gym to see who they recommend, and ask your trainer for references. If he is good, he should have no problem giving you a few names. Information gathering can be tedious, but I can assure you that your body will appreciate all the work once you’ve found a good personal trainer!
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