Let’s Talk About: Personal Trainer & Client Relationships
Finding the Right Personal Trainer for You
Hiring a personal trainer is a big deal. There are many factors that need to be taken into account, do they have the correct qualifications, do they understand how your body moves, do they have the relevant experience, do they motivate and support you, but most of all, is that personal trainer someone you can see yourself spending time with over a period of weeks or months, opening up about your life and sharing some pretty intense details.
If not then maybe they’re not right for you. Much like friendships and other relationships you may have, chemistry with your PT is important.
Where do you start and what are some green flags?
Do your research!
Do you have any friends who have used a personal trainer or know any PTs who they would recommend? Is there a PT board at your gym? This can be a good place to start, as there is already a level of confidence there. Most personal trainers, as standard, will have a Facebook or Instagram page some will have a website, so do some digging! This can give you a real insight into the type of people they train, what motivates them as a trainer, and how they can help you with your fitness goals!
Do they post or share client successes?
While some clients don’t want their photos on the internet, understandable, does the PT post client feedback, do they praise their clients online, do they promote the people they work with? While this isn’t always a sure fire way to know it can give you an insight into how they work with clients.
Do they post or share content to help you specifically?
This is very important, a personal trainer may post about preparing clients for body building competitions, if that’s not what you want, while they may be highly rated, their training style might not be for you, unless you want to prepare for competition! If a PT states they work with only women aged 45+ and you are 25 they are not for you. Never be afraid to ask if the trainer doesn't state this clearly though, you know what they say about assuming...
Do they offer a consultation or discovery call?
Booking a consultation and having a chat before committing is a fantastic idea. This is as much for the PT as it is for you, meeting them in person or on a call can give you an idea of the “vibe”. This gives you the opportunity to ask as many questions as you like, and these are normally not part of a paid service, because it’s a ‘get to know you’.
If you’re already working with them, do they make you feel good about yourself?
Having a personal trainer who makes you feel bad about yourself isn’t going to help you improve, a PT should be supporting you to achieve your goals, they should not be telling you to be a certain weight or size! There are hundreds of health metrics and many are not weight and size related. If your goal is to feel healthier and fitter, then they should spend time setting goals with that in mind. If you do have a specific weight goal in mind they should try to understand why that’s your goal and not shame you if you don’t hit it!
Do they offer to switch things up if you’re bored or had a bad day?
While consistency is key and there does need to be a level of repetition, if your PT knows you're recovering from being sick, pushing you for personal bests (PB's) the next day isn’t taking into account your body and energy levels.
If you’re getting bored or hate certain exercises in your workout and you’ve raised this to your PT and they don’t change things up a bit then they might not be for you. Again repetition and consistency is the best way to achieve results, however, squats aren’t the only quad and glute exercise, bench press isn’t the only chest exercise etc. There is always room to maneuver and you don’t need to do exercise you hate because your PT says it’s optimal!
In conclusion
Finding a PT is not always the easiest thing to do, it may take a little time to find the right person for you, it’s called ‘Personal’ training for a reason, it is personal to you! Taking the first step can be daunting but the right PT will make you feel at ease and comfortable in their presence, remember fitness goals are most likely not going to happen overnight, it requires the right kind of person who suits your personality and who knows how to motivate you over a long period of time, think 3 months minimum.
If you have been following me for sometime or maybe you’re new here, but think I might be the right person for you then please feel free to reach out via any of my platforms, website or socials.