There are over 500,000 personal trainers in the world . Just like any other industry such as doctors, chiropractors, or dentists, the abilities and quality of the trainers vary greatly.
The training industry has come a long way in the past 20 years and even in the 7 years that I have been a trainer. I wasn’t the brightest bulb on the tree in college, but I did realize some things early on when it came to the limitations of personal training.
1. It is expensive and only about 10% of the population can consistently afford to pay $400-$800 per month on a trainer. Sure everyone can afford a couple sessions, maybe even 10 or 20, but I don’t want to just give a person a workout, I want to be there for at least a few months to make sure they are making changes in all areas of their life, and be there when obstacles come up and develop great relationships.
2. Since the trainer generally doesn’t workout with the person, just standing there watching the client workout isn’t very inspiring to many clients and isn’t as engaging.
This is why I created Fit Fun Bootcamps and MamaTone, I wanted a program that everyone could afford and that people could do for a long time (our average client stays at least 10 months). Plus instead of having the trainer watching, the person is surrounded by their peers all working out together to build camaraderie.
Now I am not saying personal training isn’t beneficial. It can be amazing! My girlfriend is a full time trainer, most of my friends are trainers. I was a one on one trainer for 5 years before I became so booked that I couldn’t take on any more clients. If you can afford it, or if you have a special physical limitation that requires drastic modifications, a trainer is necessary and awesome. Also some people just don’t like working out in groups and would prefer the intimacy of just the trainer. That is totally cool.
Before I share with you how to find a good trainer, check out a very funny example of a bad trainer. Unfortunately this video is quite accurate at portraying many of the personal trainers in the world. I hope you enjoy the video and laugh a little bit. This is really funny for trainers, hope it is funny for non trainers too. 
So how do you find a good trainer?
1. Ask your friends who are in the similar demographics and have similar goals as yourself who they have worked with.
2. Find a trainer who has had a lot of success working with people similar to your goals.
3. Try a session out with a few different trainers. Personality is huge, so you might train with an amazing trainer, but just don’t mesh with their personality.
4. You need to feel comfortable around them.
5. They must inspire you towards greatness and not let you give up when things get tough.
6. They should be certified. A 4 year degree in some form of Kinesiology is even better.
7. Experience is great, but a newer trainer can also be good too. Hey we all have to start somewhere.
8. Find the trainer that is the busiest and hardest to work with, they are usually one of the better trainers. Training is a career that it is impossible to scam or trick people with. If that trainer has a lot of clients, chances are they are good, because those clients are constantly paying that trainer money. Now there could be a great trainer that isn’t busy because he or she doesn’t know how to market themselves, but generally a busy trainer is a good sign.
Question of the day: For those of you who have had trainers or maybe even taken some classes with trainers, what have you looked for when selecting a trainer?
“Well, that’s because they suck. I don’t want to train people who suck.”
That’s priceless. Hehehehehehe….
I can touch my toes too.
I would train them until they throw up. Haha! Love it. If you’re really hot you must be a good trainer!
Kill, slicing & bleeding to death. The good points were lost on the dumb ending!
Haha, that was funny.
What makes a good trainer……someone who is not afraid to take the time to really find out who their client is, what makes them tick-not just the size they are or the condition they are in……someone who has the guts to call the client out on what they see or hear during the workout, or more importantly what is not being done or said.
Like so many of you I am blessed to have team Maher/Brockman fighting the good fight with me-quality caring professionals who make all the difference.