One of the most important decisions that you can make is an investment into your physical health. If you’re like most, then you’ll require a bit of guidance on this journey. With this in mind, you’ll find that it’s in your best interest to hire a personal trainer.
But before you plunk down the money, it’s crucial for you to know if you’ve selected the right trainer. Here are five questions you should ask to ensure that you’re hiring the right trainer.
1. Is your trainer encouraging the right diet?
The right diet for you is the one that’s designed for your specific weight-loss goals. If losing weight isn’t your goal, then think about what your goal is. Is it weight gain through muscle mass? Is it creating lean muscles for a specific sporting event? Different training goals will shape your body in different ways. Therefore, you’ll require a diet that allows you to reach your goals.
Health and proper nutrition are also key. This is especially true if you’re dealing with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, auto-immune conditions, or gastrointestinal conditions. All of these will determine what types of foods should be included into your diet, along with the quantity and the frequency of the foods you should eat.
2. Does your personal trainer’s style match your fitness goals?
Does your prospective trainer specialize in developing weight lifters? Does your trainer have experience training marathon runners? Does your trainer specialize in helping people lose vast amounts of body fat? Is he or she capable of allowing you to develop lean, tone muscles through yoga or Pilates? Your trainer’s specialty will guide the type of results you can expect.
Also, think about different trainers and their personality style. Do they operate like a drill sergeant barking you through a boot camp, or do they function more like an integrative, holistic guide, offering quiet and gentle instruction? You won’t show up for your sessions if you’re feeling intimidated or bored by your trainer. Just like any important relationship, it’s key for you to find a trainer’s personality and style that matches your goals and your desires.
3. Does your trainer truly care about you?
There’s nothing worse than working with trainers who make their trainees feel as if the training sessions are all about the trainer. At the end of the day, you are a paying customer.
Experienced trainers should perform an initial health survey before beginning their first session. This ensures that they can design a training plan that complements and boosts your health. The last thing that needs to happen is for your trainer to design a program that causes your health to deteriorate in any way.
4. Is your trainer setting you up for success?
It’s unscrupulous for trainers to promise you results that you or they can’t realistically fulfill. It’s also key for them to institute proper expectation management. They can’t allow you to expect to achieve the same exact results a previous client has.
Your results will depend on a variety of factors that are unique to your biochemistry and physique. Make sure that your trainer isn’t making wild and grand promises that he or she couldn’t possibly keep.
5. Does your trainer make you feel like a revenue stream or a human being?
Finally, you should never be made to feel by your trainer that you’re simply a source of income. It’s dehumanizing, and it’s highly unprofessional. When you take the journey to work with a trainer to transform your health, you should feel like your trainer is taking that journey with you.
