I’ve been noticing lately that trainers are taking a beating on the internet. And it’s getting me riled up. Why is this happening? The answer is probably complex, but it has to do with a confluence of a few important realities.
As a society, we are facing a health and wellness problem of epidemic proportions. On a large scale, it is affecting our economies, our productivity and is placing an enormous burden on our healthcare systems. On a personal scale, countless people are feeling depressed and helpless over their physical state. In his book, The New Wellness Revolution, Paul Pilzer reports that 65 percent of Americans are overweight. And of those, 30 percent of the population is obese. And not only that, but those figures increased by upwards of 10% over a 5 year period!
I think we can call that a crisis. And times of crisis are times of opportunity. There is a desperate need for people who can help. We need education, coaching and instruction in the ways of wellness. The average person doesn’t know where to start and feels helpless in the face of their health and body composition woes. Enter the personal trainer.
Personal training has become a very popular service in this environment. Unfortunately, it is not a profession that is well regulated, if at all. This has led to wave upon wave of people breaking into the field with nothing more than a weekend certification course (or worse, a certification earned through an online exam).
This is an unfortunate situation for one very important reason. Mingled in with these waves of dubiously qualified personal trainers is a vast number of very effective trainers who have the potential to help people reach their health and wellness goals. And that is what this post is about. What is a great trainer and where can you find one?
What can a great trainer do for you that you can't do for yourself?
Motivation:
Not everyone is a self-starter. Sometimes you need a bit of external motivation to build the momentum you need to sustain healthy habits. I often start clients off with more frequent sessions and then move them to weekly or even monthly sessions once they have built inertia.
Accountability:
Some people need that “appointment” to make their training work. For those people, a trainer may just be the answer. Another alternative is a reliable training partner who will give you heck if you don’t show up!
Eliminate the guesswork:
I’m thinking of incorporating my company. I could figure out how to do it myself, but the time it would take me would not be worth it. Instead, I could be doing what I’m good at; training people. I’d rather hire a lawyer to do the work of incorporation. Hiring a great trainer follows the same logic. Do what you’re good at and hire someone to make sure your training is going in the right direction.
Safety:
A great trainer will make sure you are training for maximum effect with minimal breakdown. That means more progress because you are avoiding injury and illness which can result from poor training practices.
Keep things interesting:
A great trainer will know how to keep you interested in your training while staying focused on your goals. This is an important distinction, as some average trainers will just use lots of fancy trick exercises to keep you entertained without continually moving you towards your goals.
These are just some of the benefits of working with a great trainer. And I haven't even gone into the broader benefits of health and wellness which are immeasurable.
But the problem is, how do you sort the wheat from the chaff? It can be a demanding process, but it is worth the time.
Start With The Paper Trail
Certifications & Degrees:
Although a piece of paper is not necessarily proof of competence, it is a place to start. It represents a certain level of commitment on the part of the trainer to become educated. It also requires a certain amount of financial investment to pursue reputable certifications and college degrees, which may attest to a level of seriousness with regards to their profession. The following bodies represent a fairly decent degree of quality control as a first line of verification: NSCA, NASM, ACE, CHEK institute, Poliquin Performance, NCCP (Canada) and Can-Fit (Canada). There are certainly more, but all of these are reputable certifications and serve as a broad base.
Professional Development:
Like a doctor who earns his or her degree and never cracks open another book, a trainer who passes a certification and never follows up with more advanced information isn’t going to be as effective. Look for follow-up courses and specialty certifications that your potential trainer has taken. In my opinion, a great trainer is taking at least 5-6 extra courses or certifications per year. These can be internet based as well if the source is reputable. The important thing is continued learning.
Specialization:
Many great trainers will take their practice to a new level by seeking certification in use of specialized systems or training methods. My area of specialization is the Circular Strength Training system. There are those who specialize in kettlebells, stretching methods, olympic lifts, or any number of focused areas of expertise. Again, this demonstrates passion and drive. But it is important to match your trainer’s skills with your goals and interests.
Portfolio:
Some trainers keep portfolios or websites where you can view feedback and testimonials from former clients. This can be a valuable link in the paper trail.
Resume:
This is another often overlooked element that a client can ask for. Even if a trainer is new to the field, his or her total life experience can give you an excellent idea of what you can expect from them.
Yes, it is relatively easy to look good on paper. But you have to start somewhere. The paper trail allows your logical side to go to work for you. However, you also have to tap into your intuition when assessing your fit with a trainer.
The Intangibles
Walking the Talk:
Does your trainer live the lifestyle he proposes? I don’t think a trainer has to look like a fitness model. I do think a trainer has to look healthy, move well, move often and be able to perform everything he might ask a client to do. You cannot lead someone where you have never been!
Value System:
Whether conscious or not, everyone has a value system. A trainer’s value system guides his or her approach to training and greatly affects compatibility with a given client. I can’t stress enough the importance of personal fit when it comes to matching value systems. I would not take on a bodybuilder as a client. Technically, I could do the job. But the value systems just don’t match. I hold health and quality of movement at the top of my training hierarchy. A bodybuilder holds physique at the top of his training value system. It just doesn’t fit.
Communication Style and Skills:
The manager of one of the facilities that I am involved with once told me that he felt I was the perfect fit for them because I am not a “cheerleader” type trainer. My more low-key approach fits perfectly with their clientele. Neither communication type is wrong, but it has to fit with the environment and especially with the trainee.
Confidence and Leadership:
To me this goes a long way towards indicating the capacity of a trainer to put his or her theoretical knowledge into practice. If the trainer is confident and leads the way, chances are he has a good handle on his material.
Systematic:
A great trainer has a system. There can be a thousand different great systems, but you should be able to sense that there is method behind the madness. Does he have a coherent interview process? Does he assess you and your needs? Does he build and explain a logical program around what he learns? These are good questions to ask yourself when determining if your trainer has a system.
Professional Allure:
This may seem trite, but a trainer who takes care of his physical presentation is probably more likely to care about his business, and by extension the success of his clients. Does he have a uniform, or at least a standard and tidy way of dressing? Is he or she well groomed? It matters.
These things may help you get a handle on how you feel about a potential trainer. Please do not discount your intuition on this matter. Generally, it will be quite accurate.
What do you want from your trainer?
We’ve talked about what a great trainer can do for you and how you can start getting a feel for a trainer’s worth. But you also need to take a few minutes and examine yourself and your own motivations for wanting to hire a trainer.
There are many reasons to hire a trainer. None are right or wrong, but they are all very personal.
Babysitter:
There are some who just want to be walked through every step without needing to ever worry about any of it. This does not mean these people don’t take their health seriously though. They show up to every session and usually enjoy it. But they have absolutely no desire to do it for themselves, ever. That’s fine! I like to do handyman work like plumbing and wiring. It takes me a long time to figure out a project and do it, but I get pleasure from it. Most people would rather hire a professional. Same deal.
Taskmaster:
Some people just want their butts kicked. They love to push hard but don’t seem to be able to do it for themselves. I have a few of these clients and it is really fun to work with them. I spend more time reigning them in than trying to motivate them. But the catch is that they wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t there.
Instructor:
Others want to learn to do it themselves. They are there to absorb the techniques, protocols and methods so that they can implement them on their own once the relationship with the trainer is over. One of my favorite clients ever is in this category. I worked with him over the internet for three months and then watched him soar. We are still good friends and I love following his progress.
Coach:
Still others want an ongoing mentor. This can be on a weekly, monthly or even longer basis. They are able to motivate themselves and work on their own, but they enjoy having someone to nudge them in the right direction when needed. This is probably one of the most rewarding situations for a trainer, because it really represents a long-term relationship and allows for truly significant transformations on many levels for both the coach and the student.
These are broad categories of course. You may fit into more than one. Or I may have missed yours. The point is you need to figure out why you want to work with a trainer in the first place.
-CST Head Coach Brandon Jones
In the end, what you really want from your trainer is the results he or she can deliver. And those results depend on everything we’ve looked at up until now. Let’s finish with a quick and dirty guide to practical things you can do in picking a great trainer.
5 Tips To Pick Your Perfect Trainer
1. Use First Hand Observation
Ask for a trial session. Pay attention to the questions you are asked. Is the trainer trying to understand you and your needs? How does the trainer make you feel during the session?
2. Ask Questions
Don’t be shy to ask lots of open-ended questions. Get a feel for his or her training philosophy and approach. Determine his breadth of knowledge. Will he be able to take care of all your wellness needs? Nutrition and mindset are as important, if not more, than sets and reps. Does the trainer make an effort to break down the answers and make him or herself understood in plain English, or does he resort to jargon and scientific terms to impress you? If it’s the latter, he may actually be hiding a fundamental lack of understanding. Jargon is a great BS detector.
3. Make Sure Your Trainer Takes Notes
Even a very intuitive trainer should be making basic notes on what is going on during a session, what he notices about his client’s movement and anything else that is going to help in keeping the client on the right training track.
4. Use Your Compass
Do you feel like you are moving towards your goals? Is the path your trainer laid out clear and logical? I like to use the haircut analogy. Have you ever been half-way through a haircut and started to get a feeling that things were not quite right and that your haircut was going to turn out badly? Well, don’t just let them keep cutting your hair; figure out why you don’t feel right about it.
5. Ask What Your Trainer Is Reading
This may seem silly, but it can lend a lot of insight into your trainer. If he tells you about books related to training, psychology, anatomy, nutrition, wellness, etc, you’ll have a pretty good indication that he is passionate about his field. The novels or other non-fiction he reads may tell you how compatible your personalities are. And if they say they don’t read… Well, I’ll leave you to reflect on that one.
In my entirely biased opinion, a trainer can and should play a valuable role in anyone’s training and wellness plan. The trick is to find a competent trainer who shares your values, understands your goals and leaves you consistently looking forward to the next session.
Thus, enjoyment is your final metric in the choice of a trainer. Health and fitness should be viewed as an integral part of your overall lifestyle. And as such it must contribute to your overall sense of happiness and well being. A great trainer will be able to wrap the entire process into a package that provides a positive experience and leaves you energized and excited about your training. If you manage to find the right trainer for you, the results can truly be exceptional.
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All excellent suggestions, Adam.
Best regards,
John Sifferman
Posted by: John Sifferman - Real World Strength Training | December 05, 2008 at 09:38 AM
Adam,
Thanks for the post! I am just starting my journey as a personal trainer and your post gave me some great ideas of things I haven't thought of to help further develop my practice.
Cheers,
Jason Socci
Posted by: Jason Socci | December 07, 2008 at 11:58 AM
John -> Thanks for dropping by! How are the Mills going?
Jason -> I'm glad the post sparked some ideas for you. Having dealt with you in the past, I know you'll make a great trainer.
Cheers,
Adam
Posted by: Adam Steer | December 07, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Adam,
Great stuff for potential clients to know and trainers to think about. Someone has to help keep quality of service in the training industry to a higher standard, may as well be people like you from inside the field. Trainers are a great and essential tool for most people when used correctly.
Mike OD
Posted by: Mike OD - IF Life | December 08, 2008 at 11:49 AM