Tags: personal trainer, how to choose a trainer, whether personal training is needed, fitness trainer, fitness
More recently, work with personal trainer seemed to be exclusively a privilege of the "famous and rich".
Nowadays, more and more clients of fitness centers and clubs prefer to train with their "training consultant".
- is someone who can make you feel the difference between a great workout and "so-so" before the class even starts.
is the one who motivates you, plans your workouts and makes them safe, effective and enjoyable.
We are sure that you want your personal trainer to be as qualified as your dentist or lawyer. In other words, he had an education in the field of physical culture and health-improving activities, knowledge and experience, plus personal qualities compatible with yours.
According to a recent IDEA survey, trainers provide the majority of clients with an extensive list of services, including nutrition advice, fitness testing, "weight management" programs, "healthy lifestyle" advice, and more.
To help you find a personal trainer, this guide has been developed.
You are provided with specific questions regarding potential candidates, the answers to which will help identify your coach. We recommend asking at least three candidates and then making your choice.
Define your goals, objectives and budget.
Frequency - Are you just looking for a one-time consultation on a training program, or do you want to establish a long-term partnership?
For a modest fee, most trainers will perform fitness testing and design a workout program that, like a tailor-made suit, will fit your needs.
Location - where do you want to train?
You can work out in a fitness center (club) near your home or office, or if you prefer, a trainer can come to your home.
Budget. Cost* of personal training per hour.
If this cost seems high, remember that you are investing in your most valuable asset - your health.
*Note: Discounts are often given when purchasing multiple workouts, when training more frequently (three times a week instead of two), or when training with multiple clients at the same time.
The following questions will help you assess the qualifications of a personal trainer and determine if his or her knowledge and experience will suit your needs.
What is the education and training experience? Are there any diplomas (certificates) of educational institutions?
To properly develop safe and effective training sessions, a personal trainer must be well trained in exercise technique, training psychology, anatomy, and injury prevention.
A diploma of 4 years of education in the field of physical culture and health activities or an appropriate certificate, or both together, is evidence of coaching basic knowledge of conducting quality training sessions.
What is the level of coaching experience? Does he keep up with the latest in research and training technique trends?
Fitness is a rapidly growing industry and you need to be able to rely on your trainer's up-to-date knowledge of exercise, healthy living and fitness in general.
Does he know about first aid?
It is extremely rare for extreme situations to occur during training, but it is best to be sure that if you need urgent help, your trainer knows exactly what to do.
Are the results of your preventive examination or doctor's recommendations necessary?
This information about physical condition or old injuries is needed because all of these can affect your performance in the training tasks and programs that the coach designs for you. Before providing you with an effective training program, a "quality coach" needs to know all relevant details about your health, including any medications you are taking. For example, in one of the fitness clubs, a personal trainer suggested that I do an exercise on a simulator without asking if I was taking any medications today. However, the instructions for this simulator say that you can’t use it in case of a recent medication (including aspirin, which I took that day). If you are under medical supervision for certain reasons, your trainer will discuss with your physician what is relevant to your participation in training.
Are there any reviews from other clients about the trainer's knowledge and abilities?
People hire a personal trainer for many reasons, including weight loss, cardiovascular fitness, marathon or triathlon training, injury or illness recovery, and more. It is important to find someone who has the training knowledge and experience they need. To you. By asking for feedback from other clients, you help yourself evaluate whether the trainer has the knowledge and experience to properly meet your needs.
Will your workouts be recorded, progress recorded and health data updated periodically?
Your coach will help you set realistic goals - "minimum program and maximum program" - and evaluate the achievement of these goals accordingly.
He or she will help focus your efforts on areas such as:
body weight, body fat, body size, cardiovascular training, strength and endurance.
From time to time, updating your medical records of your health, the coach will adjust your training as necessary to reflect your new abilities.
What is the cost of training? Are there any discounts?
The trainer you have chosen is most likely a fairly experienced professional with a higher specialized education and expects an appropriate monetary reward.
What are the hours of the classes?
If you are busy at work all day, you can probably train either in the morning, or at lunchtime, or in the evening after work, i.e. during the hours most requested by customers. If you are not busy, then you may have more flexibility in terms of training hours. In any case, don't feel "boxed in" and if you need to reschedule your scheduled training time, be sure to ask the coach what hours he is free to practice.
Will the coach help you achieve reasonable goals, not unattainable results?
An illiterate trainer will promise, for example, that you will get rid of extra 10 kg in 1 month.
It is essential for both your health and your motivation to set realistic, achievable goals. Reality and achievability prevent disappointment and annoyance, increase the chances of success. This is a proven way to keep you on track to reach your goal.
Is there an exchange of information with health and fitness professionals such as doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, etc.? ?
In order to provide you with the best possible service, a qualified trainer should use recognized sources of information on specialized topics and areas.
What is the coach's communication style with clients?
A "quality coach" will never make you feel like you don't know or can't do anything and will always support you with positive, not negative motivations.
The trainer must listen carefully to determine your goals and needs, understand them and clearly explain to you the program that will be developed.
He or she must also invite you to contribute to the program. Be ready to write down the rules of execution and fundamental points next to the exercises of the program.
In conclusion
Know that while personal trainers are business people, most of them are in the profession because they care about the well being of their clients and want them to succeed.
The trainer should ask you questions about your lifestyle, including eating habits, smoking and drinking, etc. ultimately affecting your health.
The trainer must take steps to tailor the program to your unique needs and establish a comfortable relationship between you.
You should be free to raise and discuss questions or concerns you have at any time.
Pay close attention to the character of your trainer. Make sure that your personality type suits the behavior of the trainer, i.e. energetic or calm, assertive or soft.
Gender is also important: some people like to train with a trainer of the same sex as them, while others prefer a trainer of the opposite sex.
One last thing: You will get good results if you enjoy working with your trainer.
We hope you will use this guide and find the right coach for you.
Good luck and stay active!
At the beginning of training, many decide what is better - to contact a trainer or to do it on their own? everyone can, but most people do not know and the exercises cannot repeat them correctly, which means they risk injury. A personal trainer will draw up a training program, show the exercises and control your technique of their implementation, which will help you avoid injuries and achieve results.
There are various formats of working with a personal trainer: individual lessons, training for two, classes in a small group. In addition, classes with a trainer can be held 3 times a week, or 1-2, and the rest of the days are independent.
In recent years, online coaching services have been gaining popularity. This option is suitable for experienced people, since you will have to work on the program yourself, and the equipment is controlled through video recordings (calorizator). The advantage of online services is their lower cost, the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of the trainer and the feedback from his clients. Remember that the requirements for the professionalism of an online trainer are the same as in the gym.
It is difficult for a non-specialist to understand whether a professional is in front of him or not. In many fitness clubs, trainers are recommended by the administrator, or their portraits with all the regalia hang right in the lobby. Whether a trainer suits you can only be determined during training.
The professional always begins the session by clarifying the goals of the client and conducting a preliminary assessment of his physical condition. Then he conducts an introductory briefing, telling the client about the rules of safety and behavior in the gym, shows how to use power and, demonstrates the exercise technique and checks its implementation.
A qualified coach must:
- Ask about your well-being, training experience, health restrictions;
- Discuss with you long-term and short-term training goals, draw up a rough plan for achieving them;
- Monitor the achievement of goals;
- Draw up a training program;
- Before starting the exercise, prepare the necessary equipment;
- Learn to use simulators;
- Show and explain each exercise;
- Control how you perform the exercise;
- Make changes to your training program.
A professional will not anticipate your goals, overburden you, get distracted during personal training, and distract you with empty "life" talk or rash promises. This is what non-professionals do. A real trainer (calorizer) will teach you independence, give you knowledge about the training process and help you develop the skill of safe training, so that later you can competently train yourself.
A personal trainer is not always a nutritionist. Well, if he received additional education. If he does not have such an education, then he does not have the right to make up a diet for you, but can only confine himself to simple recommendations.
All people are different. For some, an introductory briefing is enough to get used to the gym, and someone needs a mentor. For most people, 2-3 months of regular training with a personal trainer is enough. During this time, you can understand the exercises for different muscle groups and the components of the workout. You will not learn how to write training programs, but you will acquire valuable skills that will allow you to.
Another important tip, if you choose a trainer in your gym, then do not rush to buy the entire package of personal training. Pay for one workout to make sure you're in front of a professional. If you are looking for a trainer online, then make sure of his professionalism by reading customer reviews and online publications. Whichever option you choose, only 50% of success depends on the coach, the remaining 50% depends on you, your motivation and compliance with the recommendations.
At the request of the Challenger, the instructors in the gym explained who should be entrusted with their health, money and free time, and who - well, just by no means.
Iskandar Radjabov
Personal trainer of the "Family Wellness" club, candidate master of sports in kickboxing:“Communication and only communication is the main criterion for choosing a coach. Only during a conversation can one determine his knowledge. The coach should also know everything about you - injuries, pain, general health. From how frank you are, the result will depend directly. There can be no constraint between the coach and his client - they must communicate freely and trust each other.
I first ask clients about their injuries and chronic diseases. I look to see if they have problems with the musculoskeletal system - scoliosis, hernia, joint problems. It immediately becomes clear what the client can and cannot do. After I ask him some general questions, I ask about his lifestyle, work. Clients most often ask me about how often and how long I play sports, what I eat and why I started working in the field of fitness.
Of course, you can ask your neighbor in a fitness club how he works with this or that trainer. But in most cases, they will simply recommend their coach to you. It is better to ask the clients of the club about what success they have achieved during the training.
The trainer should not give each client the same tasks. From time to time he must change the program. Today, training gives results, and in a few months there will be almost no result from the same program. This is very important to consider.
Imagine a situation where there are two coaches in the gym with exactly the same knowledge, but one is always smiling, energetic and tactful, and the other looks sloppy, always not in the mood. Who will you choose? That's the same.
In fact, the appearance and even the body of a coach is not always an indicator. I know many competent specialists who do not have a sculpted body. So still, you should not attach too much importance to the appearance of the coach.
Evgeny Klyukvin
personal trainer network Pro Trainer:Alexander Kolesnikov
professional boxing and kickboxing trainer:“Choosing a personal trainer based on their appearance is fundamentally wrong. A coach may have prominent muscles, but not master the technique or tactics of training. Many coaches who are currently working have neither physical education nor medical education, although this is an important factor. My clients had cases when past trainers “swinged” their muscles to an unnecessary level - they pumped their shoulders or legs.
A martial arts coach can look like anything: a person aged or young, a man or a woman - the main thing is that he is close to you in spirit. Why do you need a coach who does not ignite you, does not inspire you to exploits? This is our work!
Personal liking may not always coincide with good coaching skills, so you should not choose a trainer that you liked in the gym. It happens that former athletes who do not have a special education come to work in fitness centers. In their work as trainers, they rely on the knowledge and experience gained from their teacher. This is also not entirely correct.
You need to talk with your future coach several times, watch him in the gym, see how he builds his classes, communicates with clients. And then draw a conclusion.
At the first lesson, you must be asked about the state of health. If a person is all right, I personally usually give him an average load and, based on his well-being and feelings after training, I build a further plan for our work. It is not necessary to take personal lessons in the first week - walk around, work out, take a closer look, and then, after weighing all the facts, make a decision.
In any serious undertaking, it is important to have a competent mentor. Sports are no exception, because only the knowledge of a professional will help you achieve maximum results. We will tell you how to choose a trainer you can trust with your fitness.
Fitness is entangled with questions that are not so easy to answer for beginners. One of them concerns the role of the coach in shaping the desired body. Do you really need the help of a trainer in the gym? The answer is unequivocal: his help is needed, and not only for beginners, but also for professionals.
Firstly, the trainer can competently demonstrate the correct technique for performing exercises both on simulators and with free weights. Proper technique is the guarantor of safe training. For the same reason, training with a coach is much more effective, because you do not have to learn from your own mistakes.
Secondly, training with a mentor has a tremendous motivational effect. A competent coach has knowledge of psychology, and therefore he will immediately find your weak points, forcing you to work with a vengeance for the result. The help of a coach as a kind of sports psychologist is required even by professionals who are faced with a decline in motivation.
Choosing a fitness trainer is not as easy as it seems at first glance. There are several rules and criteria, following which you can find the best mentor.
Choosing a fitness room
It is necessary to start choosing a trainer in a fitness club by choosing the fitness club itself. Finding a gym is not easy on its own, but it will help to significantly narrow the circle of your search for a sports mentor. If you choose a good fitness club, then the question of how to choose a personal trainer will disappear by itself.
If the help of a professional is really important to you, look for a gym where the subscription price will be higher than those prevailing in your city. As a rule, expensive fitness clubs do not hire people whose professionalism will have to be doubted. You can read how to choose a hall for your future sports victories.
Information about the trainer
Having decided on the gym, you can begin to study its coaching staff. Fitness clubs that value their reputation place all information about trainers on the website or on a special stand. Pay attention to their education, experience, awards and certificates.
Having met the trainers of the hall in absentia, you should see their work with your own eyes. Take a closer look at how the trainers you like work with their clients. It’s good if they don’t just walk around the hall with a supervisory look, but carefully monitor their clients and take notes. Such unremarkable little things can say a lot about the professionalism of a coach.
Customer Experience
Do you want to know the whole truth and make a truly right choice of a trainer in the gym? Chat with fitness club clients who train with a trainer you like. It is advisable not to disturb them during classes, but to come up after training so that communication is better.
Undoubtedly, people are pleased when they are interested in their opinion, and therefore you will definitely get answers to your questions. If the coach is not as good as it seems, then his client will definitely let you know.
Trial lesson
If your membership to a fitness club provides for a free trial visit, then be sure to use it. Immediately choose the coach who inspires confidence in you. Try to establish a good relationship with him from the very beginning of your joint work, so that later classes are as comfortable as possible.
In addition to the work of the coach, you have to pay attention to the work of other staff. Sometimes the rudeness of administrators and the laziness of the attendants can spoil the impression of even an excellent fitness club in all respects.
See how friendly the employees are to make sure you're making the right choice. It is worth paying attention to the cleanliness both in the hall itself and in the locker rooms. The trainer should not supervise several people at the same time, unless it is a group activity.
Take the minimum course
Even when you have found your mentor and you are no longer interested in how to choose a fitness instructor, you should not relax. Do not buy a subscription for more than a month, barely getting to know the coach and the gym. At first, be prepared to analyze everything that is happening.
As your subscription expires, think about whether you would like to change your choice. If you are satisfied with the result of your searches and see good results, feel free to buy a subscription for a longer period.
Feel free to change coaches if you don't like something
Obviously, first impressions can be misleading. Even a well-established coach at first may not be the best option.
Do not trust your coach unconditionally. Learn information about training on your own on specialized sites, communicate with other athletes. If what the instructor tells you is fundamentally at odds with generally accepted sports norms, then this is an occasion to take a closer look at the mentor.
If you understand that the coach is spinning you up for additional expenses, instilling the need to consume sports nutrition, purchase additional tasks, then beware. A coach who pursues exclusively material gain in his work is not the best choice. Don't be afraid to change coaches if you don't like them.
Style Outcome.
How to choose a trainer in the gym is not an easy question, it requires a lot of time. However, if you manage to find that mentor who will multiply your efforts with his professional knowledge, then you will not regret the efforts made to find him. Find an instructor to ensure that each workout takes place in a comfortable environment and brings maximum results.
So you've made the decision to work under the guidance of a personal trainer. And this is the right decision, because a personal trainer will make your workouts complete. Benefits of training with an instructor:
1. Work for the result. Working with a trainer, you will achieve your goal in a certain time, which cannot be said about independent training.
2. Ensuring control. A personal trainer will not allow you to be lazy, not to complete the required number of repetitions, to rest for a long time between sets. As a result, training will become more effective and productive, and discipline will increase.
3. Correct technique. The trainer will show you how to do the exercises correctly, set the technique.
4. Avoidance of injuries that occur as a result of non-compliance with safety regulations.
5. Individual training program. It is essential to achieve your goals. Specific exercises, the number of approaches, repetitions, weight - all this is determined for you by the coach. The program is compiled taking into account your initial training, features of the figure, physical capabilities and health status.
6. Recommendations on nutrition that is necessary to achieve your goals (losing weight / gaining muscle mass, etc.) A personal trainer can draw up a nutrition program and advise on your issues.
7. Increasing fitness and nutrition literacy. In the course of training, you will learn a lot of new things, dispel myths that will be useful to you in the future and help you avoid mistakes.
8. Support your motivation. The coach will not allow you to abandon training, because. interested in your result.
9. Psychological support. The trainer is ready to listen to you, give advice regarding training and nutrition.
10. Trainings are held by agreement, at a convenient time for you. If necessary, it is always possible to call and reschedule the training.
But he will do all this on condition that he is a competent instructor interested in your result. How can he be so worthy to recognize? Do not rush to buy a subscription to personal training from the first trainer you come across. It is better to take a trial lesson, and then it will become clear to you whether you are on the right path.
Do not trust an instructor if he:
Didn't ask you about your goals and medical contraindications.
Instead, he took you to the nearest machine with instructions: 3 sets of 20 reps.
Does not keep any notes in a notebook.
Did not fix your initial weight and volumes.
Not attentive to you, does not listen to you, instead he talks a lot and not to the point.
Does not count the number of repetitions and approaches.
He does not show the technique by his own example, only in words.
Does not control your performance, does not correct errors
Constantly distracted by the phone, answering calls, messages or accessing social networks.
Excessively strict or rude, does not take into account your well-being, raises his voice
The whole lesson talks about himself, his achievements, awards, the volume of his biceps, record weight on the bench and squat.
Doesn't look like a fitness trainer. Namely, if he has a pronounced excess weight or vice versa, it would not hurt to gain muscle mass. The appearance of a coach is his calling card.
Signs of a good coach:
He is interested in you. He is interested and important in your training goals, and he can also help you decide on them.
He listens carefully.
Constantly fixes something in his notebook.
The phone is used only as a timer.
Answers in detail, but clearly to your questions.
Asks you about your diet and eating habits.
Told me to come to the next class with a nutrition report for the last few days.
Controls your every move, keeps score.
Tactful and respectful, but at the same time demanding
He is in great shape, you would like to be like him
The results of his wards are impressive and inspiring
What questions should you ask a coach?
- About his education and experience. Ideally, it should be the highest sports. It is quite acceptable and non-sports higher education, subject to the passage of highly qualified training. Specialized courses, seminars, trainings. It is also very good if the first education is medical.
About the existing achievements, both of him and of the wards. If he is a multiple winner of various competitions, that's great. However, at the same time, the success of his clients is measured in their transformation, under the supervision of such a titled coach. If the instructor cannot boast of cups and medals, but at the same time his wards are changing for the better before our eyes, then God bless them, cups. Your goal is to transform: lose weight or pump up, and he will help!
When will you get the first results from training? An adequate trainer will not promise you mountains of gold: minus 20 kg per month, but will honestly say that with proper nutrition and training regimen, the first results will come in 3-4 weeks.
