Thoughts on choosing a PT?

Hi kids,

I've been a regular at the gym for years, but been considering for a while hiring a PT to "trim the fat" from my workouts and just to make sure that I'm making effective use of my time and have good form (My gitness goals are to increase strength and stay injury-free while training for longer runs).

Since all trainers are quite clearly not created equal, what should I be looking for and what questions should I be asking?

Leigh Peele wrote a pretty good guide to choosing a trainer a while ago, I'd start with that.

A really helpful article, thank you.

I had a personal trainer once, and I didn't really like it.  I felt like I was being tested for a practical exam, which was uncomfortable for me.  Plus I don't like it when people watch and judge me.

Really it just breaks down to your personality, as to whether or not a personal trainer is right for you.

A good personal trainer will get you to fill out an information form before their appointment with you

A personal trainer should be VERY good at listening.

They need to listen to all your goals, and understand exactly what you hope to achieve.

The trainer should then suggest anything else you may like to improve on, as well as weather your goals are realistic and advisable ( for instance, if you are already quiet strong with good muscle definition but lack cardio fitness, the trainer should advise that you would achieve more if you focused more on cardio and less on strength)

They should do a few quick tests to asses what level they need to start you at

A personal trainer is there to go through EVERY STEP of your work out with you! You are paying us to make you work HARDER to achieve MORE then you would without us - other wise WHY PAY US?

A good trainer will make sure you use your time as efficiently as possible - which means knowing what will enable you to reach your goals, and developing a plan that will enable you to reach them as fast as possible.

A good trainer will ALWAYS do a warm up with you before cardio or weights, and then depending on what type of exercise you are doing, the trainer should motivate you to keep going even when you think you cannot do any further -a good trainer knows how to get as much out of you as possible, and they know when to back off when an extra repetition is beyond your ability.

Basically, a good trainer can distinguish the times when you wouldn’t NORMALLY do an extra repetition, or an extra 10 minutes of running; a good trainer will pick these times when you wouldn’t do this ON YOUR OWN, and make you do it! ‘

So essentially, what makes a good trainer, in my opinion, is being able to push you harder then you would push yourself on your own - they make you do extra repetitions or extra minutes of cardio at higher intensities because they are there TELLING YOU TO DO IT; you would not DO it by yourself.

Most of all, it should never fell like a test, it should feel like they are on your team and that they genuinely want to push you past your perceived ability.

You are paying good money, so don’t accept anything less. People should not be in this business half assed, they need to be 100% interested and committed to getting the best results for every client.

Oh, and a good trainer is affable and able to get along with all personalities, even people who are stubborn and unreasonable!

Good trainers read personalities and act accordingly.

Once the trainer has educated you on how to make the most out of your time, you should be able to do the sessions on your own, and only use the trainer for “ sessions” 1 - 4 times a week depending on your financial capacity. These sessions will be the trainer pushing you to your limits, where they may do things like boxing (depending on their specific qualification, boxing is an extra course they need to do) and running drills in between push ups and etc… boot camp style things.

So initially you should pay for them to show you a clear direction you need to go in to achieve your goals, and once you know what to do, you need use the trainer for intense sessions where they give you a variety of different exercises ( different to your regular routine) and they push you much harder then you push yourself

Oh, and to the OP - the trainer should give you plenty of strengthening exercises for your knees and other injury prone areas, as well as an extensive stretching routine that they should get you to do EVERY DAY if possible, even when you DO NOT exercise.

Everything said above is all true! I will just add that before any of that, read their qualifications, schooling, etc and a HUGE help will be 'word of mouth'.  Find out from past and present clients what their opinions of the trainer were and what their results were.  Before you get hired, your potential employer will check references.  I am a personal trainer and I urge potential clients to contact clients [and past clients] and/or ask around. 

http://www.ehow.com/how_4679240_physical-ther apist.html

Hope this helps.