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Then you may want to invest your time into hiring a personal trainer to help you accomplish your goals.

But:

Before you fork over your hard-earned money to a trainer, you want to be sure they can answer the following questions:

1. Are They Certified?

This should be the first question you ask. Since personal training is an unregulated industry, there could be people posing as trainers who don’t have any certifications. And this could pose a big problem—especially if you get injured during a training session.

A basic certification shows they have the knowledge, they know how exercise impacts the body, and they can design a program according to the goals you have in mind.

Some certifications to look for include:

· ACE

· ACSM

· NSCA

· NASM

· USA Weightlifting

There are plenty of others, but you want to make sure they are governed by a major governing body for fitness and health.

2. Any Specialty Certifications?

A specialty certification means a trainer can work with a specific group of people, to accomplish a goal they may have.

For example, a weight loss coach may carry a specialty certification geared just for weight loss. If you have a specific goal, like marathon training or powerlifting, then finding a trainer who specializes in this form of training would be ideal.

3. Any Recent Client Success Stories?

If you’re going to hire a trainer, it’s important for you to know they can get you the results you’re looking for.

One way to show you this is through client success stories. A trainer who is really good at their craft, should have a ton of success stories they can share with you—so you know they can do what they say they can do.

By showing you their success—they are showing you they can help you reach your desired goal, whatever that may be.

4. Can You Contact Their Former Clients?

Talking to their clients may be one of the best ways to see if a trainer is going to be a good fit for you.

You can find out what they liked (or disliked), how the trainer worked with them , did the trainer explain things clearly, and most importantly, did they work with them to discover their goals, and help guide them to accomplishing them.

The more you know about a trainers’ style, and the way they interact with a client, may be the tipping point between you hiring them—or you looking for another trainer.

5. How Do They Track Progress?

A trainer should be working to help you reach your goals. But how do they measure your overall success? Most trainers should offer an initial fitness assessment before you start training with them.

They should look at strength, body fat percentage, weight, and other factors before building the most appropriate program for you.

And once you start training, periodic checks on body fat, weight, or other factors deemed necessary to accomplish your goal, should be done. If they aren’t tracking your progress, then it may be both a waste of time, and money—especially if you’re not seeing any changes from their training.

Personal trainers work really hard to help their clients accomplish their desired goals. But, before you hire a trainer to help you, you need to know the right questions to ask so you can be sure it’s a good fit for you. Although there are many different questions, these are the 5 most important questions to ask before hiring a trainer.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt CPT

Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt.