Do You Know What to Look for in a Personal Trainer?
When you have decided it is time to get in better shape, work past an old injury or imbalance, or train for a specific sporting event, you might consider hiring a qualified personal trainer. Gyms all over the world are filled with personal trainers, but like anything else, they’re far from being created equal. As an Austin personal trainer for almost 22 years now, I believe I can answer the question of what to look for in a personal trainer from a bit of a different and experienced perspective.
What to look for in a personal trainer is not just what appears at the surface. A big come on for a lot of personal trainers, is to show off their physiques. The logic behind this approach is that the prospective client will see their physical prowess and assume they know what they’re doing. This logic, however, is flawed for several reasons. The first being that someone’s ability to ascertain your imbalances and their ability to impart their knowledge onto you, so you succeed at your goals without getting injured has absolutely nothing in the world to do with how they look. Granted, an overweight trainer or a meek looking undersized trainer may not inspire much initial confidence, but to be sold on appearances is a complete diversion from qualifications.
If I was being asked what to look for in a personal trainer, I would say experience is most likely one of the biggest considerations. Learning nutrition, physiology, in depth anatomy, etc, etc, takes time for even the smartest of people. It furthermore, requires years of experience to be able to apply that knowledge onto different clients with their different needs. That is not something one can learn in a textbook or through any course. That requires hands on experience in the field.
Another major consideration in the what to look for in a personal trainer dilemma, would be personality. You obviously want to seek out an intelligent personal trainer who has a genuine interest in what he or she does for a living. If the prospective trainer is an introverted bumbling idiot, you aren’t likely to get much more than injured and/or frustrated. Any personal trainer who does the job, or tries to do the job, for the money, is one to avoid. Yes, you can make an attractive wage as a personal trainer in Austin, provided you can get, as well as keep clients, but that can’t be the motivation for pursuing the career. Money is fine, but the love of working with people and truly helping them improve the quality of their lives is far more rewarding than the ability to drive a fancy car and/or live in a big house.
What to look for in a personal trainer isn’t as simple a quandary as one might think. Experience, intelligence, personality, and an affordable price tag, all factor into the decision making process, but there’s one other thing that a lot of people overlook. Where will you be training with your trainer? Does your trainer have access to a well equipped and clean gym? How do you feel about the atmosphere of this gym? Do you feel comfortable with the other clientele? Will the music drive you crazy? Is it clean and well equipped? I personally worked independently at a few gyms and felt I had no choice other than to found my own gym so as to offer my clients a positive environment to workout in. Sadly, some environments can be mentally toxic with inner politics and negativity, so you may want ascertain this before you sign up. Lastly, If you will be working out in a hot garage that smells of cats and stale beer, you may want to look elsewhere as well. Next week, I’ll write about what it takes to become a personal trainer and how to do it, so stay tuned!
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Andy
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