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Do dreams of rock hard abs and buns of steel
have you thinking about hiring a personal trainer? If so, you’re
not alone. About 5 million Americans work with personal trainers
on a regular basis and if you ask them why, the top three reasons
are: motivation, safety and individualized instruction.
Certified
personal trainers are professionals who design exercise and nutrition
programs specifically catered to the needs and goals
of their clients. Most personal trainers will help you lay out
your fitness goals, design an exercise program that will allow
you to achieve your goals and teach you the proper form and technique
you need to sculpt your body with minimum risk of injury. Plus,
a trainer will motivate you and make you accountable to someone…making
it that much harder to skip your workout.
Before you run out and find yourself a personal
trainer, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Do you
have a specific workout routine that if followed will allow
you to reach your goals? Do you know what equipment you should
be using to get the results you want? Do you know how to
operate those machines properly in good form? Are you seeing
results? If you answered “yes” to all of those
questions, you may not
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need a personal trainer, it sounds like you’re
doing pretty well on your own. If your answers included any “no’s”,
or if you have a really hard time with motivation and staying
interested in your workout routine, you would benefit from
a few sessions with a personal trainer.
All personal trainers must be certified by
an accredited professional health and fitness organization,
but there is a wide range of variables in educational background,
cost, health philosophies and more.
Finding a Personal Trainer
There is no shortage of personal trainers out there, about
62,000 are currently working in the U.S., so you need to
really make the effort to find the trainer that’s
right for you. You want a trainer that has been educated
by a reputable agency. Four great certification programs
are ACE (The American Council on Exercise), A.C.S.M. (The
American College of Sports Medicine) and AFFA (Aerobics
and Fitness Association of America) and NSCA (National
Strength and Conditioning Association). Be careful, not
everyone who is a certified personal trainer has a degree
in exercise science. Not all certification programs require
a health/exercise degree as a prerequisite to the program
and recent studies at UCLA show that trainers with a bachelors
degree in exercise science, coupled with certification
from a reputable certification program, were the most knowledgeable
on nutrition, exercise prescription and technique. Trainers
who relied on experience alone received the lowest test
scores.
Good places to find trainers are Health Clubs, the Internet
(try www.acefitness.org), recommendations from friends and
perhaps even your doctors office (your physician may have
an affiliation with trainers he or she is comfortable recommending).
Do not choose your trainer based on physique, the perfect
body does not necessarily mean the trainer has proper credentials
or experience. You want a trainer with the proper amount
of education and several years experience. You don’t
want to waste your money, or wind up with a medical condition
because you chose someone who wasn’t qualified.
When you find someone you like, here are some questions
to ask. They will help to determine the trainers experience
and whether you will be compatible.
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Trainer Interview Questions
1.) Do you have a degree in exercise science? Why did you
choose this field?
Most personal trainer certificate programs require a degree in exercise science,
a few do not have the prerequisite of a degree. You want a trainer with a degree
a passion for health and fitness. Insist on someone who enjoys helping others
achieve their fitness goals.
2.) Are you a certified personal fitness trainer? Through
which program?
You don’t want a trainer who breezed through some rinky
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dink
program just for the certificate. You want an experienced professional
with an exercise science degree and a certificate from a reputable
program.
3.) Do you have liability insurance?
To protect their clients, and themselves, against personal injury and property
loss, a personal trainer is required to have liability insurance.
They should be able to show you proof via an insurance card, or certificate of
coverage.
4.) Can you give me references?
A good trainer should have no problem giving you a list of clients that would
be more than happy to talk to you. Check them out. Talking to people who
have had positive experiences with your prospective trainer will go a long
way in assuring you that you’ve made the right choice.
5.) How long have you been training?
You can never be too experienced. You want someone with at least a year, or
two, under their belt, someone that has references and can show you how he
or she has helped his clients achieve results.
6.) What is your style of communication?
If you’re not going to respond well to a drill sergeant, you don’t
want to hire one. If you need someone to call and harass you about missing
sessions, you want a trainer with the right personality to do that. You know
your strengths and weaknesses; you want a trainer that is going to compliment
those.
7.) What hours
are you available to work with me?
It’s important to make sure your schedules gel. You don’t
want a trainer that’s so busy that you’re going to have a
hard time booking sessions.
8.) What are your rates? Do you offer any
discount packages?
Trainers can charge from $20 an hour to $100 or more, the average is
$30 to $60 an hour. You can expect the rate to
be directly related to their level of experience. Many trainers
will discount their per-session fee if you are willing to commit
to a series of sessions, so don’t be afraid to ask for
a deal.
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9.) What is your cancellation policy?
Get all cancellation policies, billing procedures, extra fees and such in writing.
10.) Do you require a health screening?
You need to share any and all health related issues with your trainer, including
medications you are taking. If you are under a doctors care, your trainer should
discuss any concerns directly with your doctor. Likewise, you should check
with your doctor before beginning any exercise or diet plan.
12.) If I was to sign on with you now, what would be the
next step?
This is where you want the candidate to say “we’ll start by understanding
what it is you want to achieve, then we’ll establish goals, design a
plan and start tracking progress”…that kind of thing. If the trainer
wants you to hit the weights without a discussion about your health status,
desired goals, current size, etc., that should be a big red flag.
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Getting Started
Part of your trainer’s job is to help you establish attainable
fitness goals and a plan on how you can achieve those goals.
If this doesn’t happen,
something isn’t right.
You and your trainer should discuss your physical
history including such topics as past injuries, smoking, high cholesterol
and back problems as well as past and present exercise habits.
During your first official session, you trainer should do
a fitness assessment, which includes documenting your weight,
body composition, strength test results and heart recovery
rate. These figures are necessary in determining progress
and tracking success.
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If your trainer is doing all of these things, congratulations,
you found yourself a winner. If not, ask why and see what happens.
If you don’t like what you hear, consider continuing your
search until you find a trainer that you click with.
All and all, you’re putting your quest for physical fitness
into someone else’s hands, and you’re going to pay
them handsomely for it. You owe it to yourself to find that qualified
person that presses all the right buttons and makes you feel comfortable,
inspired and ready to take on the world. And remember, it doesn’t
have to be forever, once you’re on your way, a good trainer
will give you a program you can follow for weeks to come. When
you get bored with that program, or revise your goals, you can
go back and work with your trainer until you’re ready to
go at it alone again. |
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