1. Certifications

There are tons of personal trainer certifications out there. Many only require a bare minimum of exercise knowledge and some are even open book tests to gain a certification. Be wary of many trainer certifications and ones that gyms offer as their own in house certification process. Since most of these aren’t accredited, so they have no real pass/fail rate. Accredited certifications are to the same standard as many college exams. The gold standards of personal trainer certifications are American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association. A lot is based on what your goals are, since each association has its own mission statement. ACSM is more medical and rehab based, where NSCA is more athletic and sports performance based. Those looking for a general fitness goal and are beginners, the American Council on Exercise is also an accredited certification with an emphasis on overall general health. All of these certification also require CPR and all offer liability insurance for their members, which is another question you should ask a potential trainer.

2. Goals, Evaluation and a Plan

Since most initial trainer sessions at major gym chains are just a sales pitch to either soft or hard sell a trainer package. They’ll usually never really give any real information that you can use long term, since they want you to feel you need them long term. If you find an independent trainer or one that does work through a chain that will give you a free consult where your goals and health history are evaluated are the best starting points. By having your general condition evaluated, you also get a baseline to gauge future progress against. A good trainer will also be able to set you up on program that has specific goals and teach you how to workout and this should be able to be accomplished in a 6-8 week period. In that amount of time, you should see real results from a program tailored to your needs and goals and have gained a good amount of confidence in working out on your own.

3. Trainers aren’t doctors.

Even though most physicians have limited exercise and diet knowledge outside the hospital and rehab world, a trainer isn’t legally allowed to dole out such information. Good ones can give you solid suggestions, but should always encourage you to seek your own doctor’s advice or provide some solid research backing their suggestions that would allow you to determine for yourself if it’s a good thing to try. A good trainer will have some rapport with health care professionals and be able to refer you to individuals legally able to give you advice on nutrition and to address any possible health problems that might impact your workouts.

4. Record, record, record.

In order to truly gauge progress and see tangible improvements, a good trainer will have a workout plan laid out and record all weights used in the workout. It creates a step by step record that will show your strength improvements. The majority of improvement in the first few weeks of working out with weights is the improvement and adaptation of the nervous system, which shows mostly in strength increases before there are any structural changes in muscle size. Without any physical record of weights, rep schemes or set volumes, there’s no way to know if your strength is increasing or when the training volume or intensity should be changed.

5. Best Body Doesn’t Equal Best Trainer

Don’t choose a trainer solely on body and looks. There are a lot of genetic wonders out there and many who use short cuts to get a great body. Many feel that they can use their training methods that got them their body can be easily applied to anyone else and that how they look alone gives them credibility. Many trainers have other career ambitions and just doing training as a side income. It’s best to find someone who has a passion for their job and takes the effort to keep up on the most current training methods out there that apply to a diverse clientele. A professional bodybuilder will know how to train to be a professional bodybuilder, and if that’s not your ultimate goal, their training style may not apply to you.

6. There are no Guarantees

Don’t buy into guarantees of weight loss or muscle gain in certain amounts of time. Many of these types of programs promoted by trainers push diet and supplement programs that are add-ons to the trainer package to increase sales. There’s also usually a commission given to the trainer to sell such programs and products. The trainer’s goal should be to teach you how to exercise properly and give you the information and motivation to help you reach your goals, not peddle products.

For products and services to help you Get Fit and Stay Fit visit us online at www.Fitzz.com