should i get a personal trainer? how do i know who's good?

[rdy99]

I have read there are a lot of bad trainers out there. I want to get a trainer because I get pain when i bench and press, and I can't do squats because my lower back hurts and I was hoping a personal trainer can help me find alternative exercises.

I want a trainer to just get me started. I don't want consistent lessons, I just want a couple lessons to guide me on the right path, then i'll be on my own.

What kind of gym should I be going to? How do I know if my trainer is good or not?

[ericzimmerman34]

Look for a trainer with a college degree and a certification such as NASM's CES or NCSA's CSCS for your issues. Avoid trainers at places such as fitness connection and LA fitness. I would go to 24 hour fitness (I'm biased because I work here however I've worked at many gyms and am impressed with the trainers here) or lifetime. Other places such as Equinox would be even better. Tell them your problem and situation along with what your wanting and expecting. You can usually go online at most gyms websites and review the trainers along with their qualifications and again makes sure they have what I previously stated.

[schmedes2]

Look for a trainer with a college degree and a certification such as NASM's CES or NCSA's CSCS for your issues. Avoid trainers at places such as fitness connection and LA fitness. I would go to 24 hour fitness (I'm biased because I work here however I've worked at many gyms and am impressed with the trainers here) or lifetime. Other places such as Equinox would be even better. Tell them your problem and situation along with what your wanting and expecting. You can usually go online at most gyms websites and review the trainers along with their qualifications and again makes sure they have what I previously stated.

While I mostly agree with this, specifically avoiding, say, LA Fitness and preferring Equinox is like saying "Big box gym trainers are bad, but trainers at big box gyms are good." Any trainer anywhere has the potential to be either fantastic or terrible a la schrodinger's cat; you won't know until you open the box up. If you want a good trainer, interview them. You can talk to the one's at your gym about your problem and how they would handle it, or check out google for independent trainers and ask them for a consult.

Specifically to your problem, when benching, you want to retract your shoulders blades by imagining you have a pen between them and you want to hold that pen in place with just your shoulder blades. Also, literally try to pull the bar apart with your hands. Lastly, don't bring the bar straight up and down; the bar starts above your upper pecs and will come down to mid-sternum/solar plexus area. It will move at something like a 10-15 degree angle. These three tips will help keep your shoulder blades from becoming impinged in the movement, which leads to pain. Also, look into myofascial release with a tennis ball; lay a tennis ball on the floor and literally lay on top of it and roll around until you find knots in your upper back/shoulders and relax onto them. When I injured my shoulder, my hand literally spasmed from laying on knots in my shoulders. Pretty awesome!

For the squat, are you doing high bar or low bar? If you don't know the difference, you're probably doing high bar which is fine. Just be sure to widen your stance to just slightly wider than shoulder with, turn your feet our slightly so your toes are pointed at a 30ish degree angle and try to press your knees out as you come back up. Make sure your core is extremely tight; pull your belly button into your spine and then tense up like someone is about to punch you. Lastly just bring your legs to about parallel.

[KyleAaron]

"Ask about their certifications" is a PT's answer, it's the answer of someone who themselves has never paid for a PT. Qualifications don't matter, the best strength coach I know has none at all, didn't even finish high school, the two worst trainers I know have university degrees.

Actual clients look for other things. A trainer must demonstrate competence, establish trust and rapport. Molly Galbraith addresses the competence aspect in this article. Note that much of it is stuff you can only find out by trying the trainer out for a while. Someone could present well initially but turn out to be a dud, or seem very laid-back and quiet but after a bit you realise they're watching and assessing and tuning things up as they go.

- Do they ask questions about your medical history and training history, pain, injuries, etc before your first training session?
- Do they assess the way you move before/during your first training session?
- Can they pinpoint specific issues you might have (weaknesses, imbalances, postural issues) during your assessment?
- Can they explain WHY you are doing the exercises you are doing and how those exercises are benefitting you and preparing you to progress to other exercises/movements?
- Do they ask you how you feel during the workout? Do they ask you how you feel doing certain exercises (i.e. “Does that feel OK? Do you have any pain doing that? Can you feel a stretch in your hamstrings when you hinge back like that?”)
- Can they modify an exercise on the fly if you: aren’t able to do it, aren’t using the correct muscles groups to do the movement, the movement is too hard, the movement is too easy, or the movement causes pain?
- Do they cue and correct you when you are doing movements incorrectly or sub-optimally?
- Do they continue to challenge you and give you more difficult progressions as you get better?
- Do they modify your workout based on how you are feeling that day?
- Can they answer your questions in a way that you can understand them as opposed to trying to sound really complicated in order to mask the fact that they don’t know they answer?
- Do you feel better after working out with them for a while? (i.e. less pain, better sleep, improved posture, more energy, feeling stronger, less winded, etc)
- Do you look better after training with them for a while? (i.e. less body fat, more muscle, better posture, etc)

While the list above is not an exhaustive list, it’s a pretty good starting point for most people when looking for a good Trainer.

[Phil_Jr]

Find somebody who is doing or has done what you want. If you want to body build, find a bodybuilder. If you want to crossfit, find a crossfit guru. That's what I would do

[KyleAaron]

Eric Cressey's never played baseball.

[ericzimmerman34]

Any trainer does have the potential to be fantastic or terrible however places like equinox are a lot more selective in hiring more qualified trainers and attract the more qualified trainers. Also without looking at peoples form and background its unlikely those are the causes of pain in the lifts.

While I mostly agree with this, specifically avoiding, say, LA Fitness and preferring Equinox is like saying "Big box gym trainers are bad, but trainers at big box gyms are good." Any trainer anywhere has the potential to be either fantastic or terrible a la schrodinger's cat; you won't know until you open the box up. If you want a good trainer, interview them. You can talk to the one's at your gym about your problem and how they would handle it, or check out google for independent trainers and ask them for a consult.

Specifically to your problem, when benching, you want to retract your shoulders blades by imagining you have a pen between them and you want to hold that pen in place with just your shoulder blades. Also, literally try to pull the bar apart with your hands. Lastly, don't bring the bar straight up and down; the bar starts above your upper pecs and will come down to mid-sternum/solar plexus area. It will move at something like a 10-15 degree angle. These three tips will help keep your shoulder blades from becoming impinged in the movement, which leads to pain. Also, look into myofascial release with a tennis ball; lay a tennis ball on the floor and literally lay on top of it and roll around until you find knots in your upper back/shoulders and relax onto them. When I injured my shoulder, my hand literally spasmed from laying on knots in my shoulders. Pretty awesome!

For the squat, are you doing high bar or low bar? If you don't know the difference, you're probably doing high bar which is fine. Just be sure to widen your stance to just slightly wider than shoulder with, turn your feet our slightly so your toes are pointed at a 30ish degree angle and try to press your knees out as you come back up. Make sure your core is extremely tight; pull your belly button into your spine and then tense up like someone is about to punch you. Lastly just bring your legs to about parallel.