7 Tips on How to Find a Good Personal Trainer

Is this going to be the year you crush your fitness goals? In order to do that crushing, you may want to invest in a personal trainer. If you’ve ever wondered, “Should I get a personal trainer,” research shows that personal trainers can help their clients get better fitness results (in the form of improving lean body mass and increasing strength) compared with exercisers who work out on their own. The right personal trainer can also hold you accountable, keep you motivated, and help you enjoy the journey to a fitter, healthier you.

Finding a personal trainer isn’t difficult but finding the right trainer can make all the difference between hitting your goals or falling into a fitness rut. As you begin your search for a personal trainer, it’s critical to take your time and seek someone with the knowledge, experience, and personality to get you to your goals and keep you inspired along the way.

Wondering what to look for in a personal trainer? Take a look at the tips below on how to find a personal trainer who is the right fit for you.

Tip #1. Determine Your Fitness Goals

Before considering what makes a good fitness instructor, take a moment to consider what you want the trainer to help you achieve. What are your fitness goals? Be as specific as you can.

You may even want to create SMART goals (or goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based). Knowing your fitness goals will help you refine your search for a personal trainer with the experience and expertise to help you reach that specific goal. It will also give your personal trainer the information they need to craft a tailored fitness plan for you.

Struggling to create SMART goals? You may first need to consider your “Why,” or the reason you want to improve your fitness in the first place. Do you want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without stopping to catch your breath? This may lead you to the goal of improving your cardio endurance. Or, maybe you want to enter your first bodybuilding competition. That could mean your goal is to add a certain amount of muscle to your frame.

Tip #2. Check Your Local Gym for a Personal Trainer

Wondering where to find a personal trainer? If you are already a member of a gym, you probably won’t have to look far. Chances are good your gym offers personal training services. This can be a simple and effective way to find a trainer who already works in a place you are familiar and comfortable with.

Larger gyms will also give you access to a bigger pool of potential personal trainers. The next time you visit your gym, ask to speak to someone on the personal training staff. After hearing about your goals, this person can help pair you with the right personal trainer for you.

Not a member of a gym? Start looking at personal training gyms near you. Keep in mind that larger gyms, like EōS Fitness, typically provide a greater range of equipment as well as more trainers to choose from.

Tip #3. Choose a Trainer who Specializes in Your Goal

Not every personal trainer is the right choice for you. Most trainers specialize in training certain types of clients. For example, some trainers work mostly with clients seeking to lose weight, while others might focus on clients who want to build muscle. You can find trainers who work exclusively with high-level athletes and others who work mostly with seniors who want to maintain a high quality of life.

This is why it’s so valuable to know your fitness goals. When you begin looking for a personal trainer, search for someone who specializes in helping clients achieve goals similar to yours. These trainers will know what type of fitness programming is best for clients like you and how to address common challenges.

EōS Fitness makes it easy to match with the right personal trainer by offering six unique personal training styles:

• Anti-Aging/Prehab
• Bodybuilding
• High Intensity/Weight Loss/Fat-Burning
• Post-Injury Rehab
• Sports Specific
• Strength-Based

Tip #4. Health is an Investment

Personal trainers are passionate about improving the health of their clients and spend a lot of their own time on continued education to make sure they can provide the best results. Like any highly-trained professional, you are investing to access their expertise.

How much does a personal trainer cost? That will depend on the going rates for your area, the training package you choose, and your trainer’s level of experience and expertise.

Wondering what your personal training includes? It typically includes the time your personal trainer spent studying and working to develop their expertise, the development of a training program, and their physical time spent training with you at the gym. At EōS Fitness, for example, all personal trainers develop customized monthly workout calendars for each client. Even when you aren’t working directly with your personal trainer, they may still be spending time planning upcoming workouts and analyzing your results!

If you purchase a training package with more sessions, you’ll typically receive a discount on the cost of each lesson. The more time you commit to your trainer, the better results you can yield.

Tip #5. Request a Consultation

Most personal trainers and many gyms offer a free consultation. After speaking with someone on the personal training staff about your goals, request a consultation with their recommended personal trainer. The consultation is your opportunity to learn about your potential trainer and to help them understand your goals and the “why” behind your goals.

During a consultation, a personal trainer will ask you a series of questions. Besides learning about your goals, they’ll likely also want to know about your fitness background and health history. Don’t be shy about asking your own questions. Ask about their fitness philosophy and what inspires them to be a personal trainer.

This is also a great opportunity to ask if they specialize in any type of training and the types of clients they prefer to work with. Finally, ask them about their certifications and credentials. Professional personal trainers will have certifications, typically from a certifying body such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA)or from other various accreditation organizations.

Most consultations also include a short workout or movement screening. This is a good chance for you to get a feel for the personal trainer’s style, how they program workouts, and what you can expect if you decide to train with them. This workout will also help your trainer better understand how you move and give them insight into developing a customized training program for you.

Tip #6. Ask for Client References

Any personal trainer who wants to work with you should be happy to provide references from their current clients. Yes, they’ll choose clients they know are happy, but this is still your chance to get the inside scoop on a potential trainer. Reach out to the referrals and ask how long they’ve been with the trainer and what fitness results they’ve seen. Don’t be shy about asking about the trainer’s personality, workout style, and communication level.

By speaking with clients from several personal trainers you may be considering, you’ll get a feel for which trainers really win the admiration and loyalty of their clients.

Tip #7. Make Sure You and Your Personal Trainer Have the Right Personality Fit

What makes a good fitness instructor will be different for every person. Even if you find a highly experienced personal trainer who specializes in helping people with fitness goals like yours, that still doesn’t mean you’ve found the perfect match. Personal trainers are, after all, human, which means they each have a unique personality and training style. As you begin working with a new personal trainer, make sure you click with your trainer.

For instance, maybe your personal trainer is a strong and silent type and you do better with a trainer who provides more feedback and conversation. Or perhaps your personal trainer loves programming long, grinding cardio workouts and you prefer high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts.

It’s okay if you don’t jive with the first personal trainer you meet. It simply means you’ve got to keep searching for the right trainer. After all, you are the client. If you don’t enjoy working with your personal trainer, it’s likely you won’t stick with the program and see the results you want. Let the personal trainer know that you aren’t feeling the connection and ask for a referral to a different trainer. A good personal trainer will understand your decision and even appreciate your honesty. They should also be happy to refer you to someone who may fit your style better.

What to Look for in a Personal Trainer

On the surface, how to find a personal trainer may seem simple, but it’s not always easy to find someone who is the right trainer, coach, and fitness mentor for you. Aside from finding someone with the right experience, specialty, and credentials, you also have to make sure the personality fit is right.

The right personal trainer will inspire and motivate you. If you’re willing to invest in a personal trainer, you owe it to yourself to give yourself the best chance of success. While it can be difficult to say what to look for in a personal trainer, following the tips above will put you on the right track. And, once you find the right personal trainer, you’ll soon start to see big improvements in your fitness.

Still wondering where to find a personal trainer? How about at EōS Fitness? Sign up today and enjoy a Complimentary Welcome Workout from an experienced and knowledgeable personal trainer.