How To Pick A Good Trainer

[icruz2u]

I've just started researching this stuff...I mean the whole weight lifting thing. Could anyone give advice on how to find a good trainer. I actually want someone that trains kinda of tuff. I guess a trainer that feels a sense of accomplishment through helping others. Are they out there? How much should I be paying?

[trnurbdy48]

Finding a trainer is a very personal issue. I can offer some recommendations though. When you go to your gym, ask for a list of trainers then find them in the gym and watch their behavior with their client, the routine that they're putting their client through. If you find a trainer that you think might be good for you, ask them how long they've been training, what certification(s) they hold, what their philosophy is. Ask for a client referral. Fees will be anywhere from 25-150 an hour. The usual is about $50.00 an hour. I charge $50-75 depending on what the client requires.........rehabilitative, aquatic, etc. I'm a Core Trainer. I hold a BS in Kinesiology. The most important aspect of hiring a trainer is whether or not you feel they will motivate you. Personality plays a large part. On your first day with your new trainer, she will ask you several questions, and if she's worth her salt, will put you through a diagnostic routine. This is perhaps the single most important aspect of beginning training. We look for distortions in the upper, middle and lower extremities through specific movements. If a trainer does not put you through a diagnostic, drop her like a hot potatoe. What a trainer doesn't know can lead to serious injury! Ask if they hold a current CPR certification. I hope this has helped and good luck!

[egoatdoor]

Here are a couple of threads from last year on personal trainers:

http:/forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?threadid=146805

http:/forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?threadid=164462

In the first one, look at my August 7 reply on what to look for in a trainer. One of the biggest problems I see with 95% of the trainers I see in my gyms is that they do not explain the WHYS of the particular program for the client and they do not provide their clients with goals, written programs and logs to track their progress. Thus the trainee remains forever ignorant and dependent on the trainer. This is a very expensive way to pay for a babysitter.

[trnurbdy48]

Hi Ego. Each of my clients receives a weekly log of what they have done. They must also supply me with a weekly log as to diet, any exercise performed outside of our time together and what their goal for that week was and if it was met. Eaxh and every step of their program is explained as is every exercise. The problem is, 95% of the clients aren't interested in the why's and wherefores, only the results. But that 5% make it all the more worthwhile.

[egoatdoor]

Originally posted by trnurbdy48
Hi Ego. Each of my clients receives a weekly log of what they have done. They must also supply me with a weekly log as to diet, any exercise performed outside of our time together and what their goal for that week was and if it was met. Eaxh and every step of their program is explained as is every exercise. The problem is, 95% of the clients aren't interested in the why's and wherefores, only the results. But that 5% make it all the more worthwhile.

You are gladly the exception to the rule. However, I think understanding the whys is important so that eventually the client will become self sufficient, which unfortunately creates a financial conflict for the trainer.

I think the way you handle things goes a long way in getting results, which is something I have yet to see in any of the trainees in my gyms after months of p t sessions.

[trnurbdy48]

I know Ego! On a personal note here, my first trainer gave me nothing! I would ask questions, he would evade, I would ask that he write down what it is we did on a given day, he would say ok and then not produce. When I moved and had to leave this trainer, I went with almost no understanding of anything! But, he taught me more than any other trainer! He taught me exactly what not to do! Now, my motto is, "motivate, educate, terminate". I do not want a client forever! I only want that client for as long as they require to gain the knowledge they need to go it on ther own. It's about a total change of lifestyle...........this, they have to achieve on their own. I have my own life. But I do understand completely what you're saying!