What to Know Before You Hire a Personal Trainer
By Sara Butler
Getting in shape is important to your overall health and wellness. If you’re looking into hiring a personal trainer to help you improve your health and get stronger, then kudos to you! But there are a few things you should be aware of before you just sign up for a random personal trainer at your gym. Here’s the information you need to gather about your potential personal trainer before signing on the dotted line!
The Benefits of Personal Trainers
Personal trainers can help you in several ways. They’re great motivators to keep you going even when workouts get really hard; they also teach you to the right way to do various exercises for full benefit. You'll never feel like a fish out of water again while lifting weights or squatting at the gym.
Use Your Spy Skills
The first thing you should do is observe your potential trainer at the gym in action. Not in a creepy way, just in an observational kind of way! See how they interact with their clients. Do they talk a lot or not enough? Are they friendly? Are they pushy? Your goal is to find a couple of trainers to have an intro session with and see how you like them.
Know Their Experience
You should be able to easily discover what certifications and experience the trainers at your gym have. Look for people certified by the American Council on Exercise, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and American College of Sports Medicine; all are reputable institutions for certifications. Just make sure your potential trainer has the proper credentials.
See if You Get Along
When you sample what a trainer has to offer, then you have to discern for yourself if you feel like the two of you can work well together. Also, ask yourself what you want to get out of your sessions together. Do you want to learn how to lift? Are you training for a specific event? Do you want to reach a healthy weight? Discuss your goals with a trainer out of the gate to see if you are a good fit or not. Plus, you want to get along with them so you don’t dread going to your sessions!
Now go forward and find the best personal trainer you can -- they'll help whip you into shape so you can reach your personal fitness goals!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Durham, N.C.