What Personal Trainers Can and Can’t (and How to Choose the Right One)

Should you hire a personal trainer? This is a question people often ask themselves when they’re new to the gym and feel clueless, or when they’ve been working out for a while but feel like they’re not making much progress. The truth is that you don’t need a personal trainer, but you may find one useful , depending on what kind of person you are, what motivates you and, importantly, how much money you have.

Ironically, even though people seek out trainers expecting them to be exercise experts or give nutrition advice, these are not necessarily what every trainer is good at. Good coaches typically have excellent communication and people skills, such as motivation and goal setting. So let’s talk about what you can and can’t expect from a coach.

What are personal trainers good at?

Any half-decent personal trainer will excel at the human aspect of training. If you show up to the gym not knowing what to do, they will be friendly faces showing you around, discussing your goals, and motivating you to keep coming.

I mention this first because not all personal trainers are great athletes or even great coaches. But if clients keep coming back to a particular trainer, you know they have a knack for making people feel welcome and motivated.

A personal trainer is right for you if you need:

• Goal Setting : A coach can help you figure out what your goals are and how to start working toward them.

• Responsibility : Knowing that someone will miss you (and you may be charged a cancellation fee) can make you want to show up.

• Structure : The trainer will give you something specific for each session so you don’t feel rushed.

• Recommendations for healthy habits . Coaches can talk to you about nutrition, hydration, and other healthy habits you can incorporate into your life.

• Getting to know the gym . If you’re nervous about going to the gym, going with a trainer can make it a lot easier.

• Exercise Instructions for Beginners : Never squatted? Your trainer can show you how to do this.

What personal trainers aren’t always good at

While it’s tempting to view personal trainers as experts in all things fitness (and many of them probably like to be perceived as such), the truth is that their experience and knowledge are often less extensive than you’d expect.

Some trainers are excellent at coaching exercises or guiding you toward specific training goals, but there are plenty of trainers who have taken the certification test without any real knowledge of how to make someone stronger or fitter in the long term.

I’m going to list some things that your coach may be good at, but many coaches are not. If any of this is important to you, be sure to ask a coach about it before you decide to hand over your business to him. You may find that you need to make some effort to find a trainer who is really good in these areas, or find a completely different type of professional.

• Detailed or extended exercise training . Most coaches can’t teach the deadlift the same way a powerlifting coach can, or the kettlebell snatch like a kettlebell coach. Some trainers have learned outdated rules (e.g., “knees shouldn’t go over your toes when squatting”) and never bothered to unlearn them because it doesn’t really matter to their primary fitness client. Once you’ve learned the basics, it may be time to move on to a trainer who can provide more specialized knowledge.

• Programming for Long-Term Success . Many trainers want to keep you busy during the session, but don’t necessarily plan for the long term. If you want to achieve specific strength or performance goals, or spread out your training over seasons, you may need to find a trainer who specializes in this.

• Meal plans or detailed nutrition consultations . Trainers are not nutritionists, and a trainer cannot tell you exactly what to eat. (Depending on your state, this may also be illegal.) While they may discuss the benefits of eating more protein, they shouldn’t prescribe you a specific diet—which many of them will try to do.

• Teaching you how to use the gym on your own : You may have the idea that you will “finish” the workout someday, but some trainers don’t necessarily want you to do that, or they may not stop you, but they don’t push you either. from the nest. If it’s important to you to ever do this alone, pay attention to what your coach is doing for you (finding equipment, loading weights on the bar, choosing exercises) and ask questions so you understand what’s going on.

• Treatment or prevention of injuries . A strong body is a resilient body, so it’s not a problem if, say, your trainer gives you extra work to strengthen your shoulders, knowing that you’ve had a shoulder injury in the past. But this is no substitute for seeing a physical therapist (or other health care professional) to treat your injury or medical limitations.

How to find out if a personal trainer is qualified

Most personal trainers, especially those who work at large gyms, have earned certifications such as ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT or NCSA-CPT. (“CPT” stands for Certified Personal Trainer). All of these certifications are similar in many ways; here’s an explanation of what trainers actually learn when they earn one of these certifications . (I am ACE-CPT certified, so I speak from experience here.)

This type of certification doesn’t guarantee that the trainer is good at their job—in fact, you can get it without setting foot in the gym at all. Taking the CPT test shows that you have a basic understanding of the ethical and legal limitations of your work, and that you have at least a passing knowledge of body parts and exercises.

I would consider this CPT certification as a minimum and be more interested in their other certifications if available. Many require hands-on training and/or skill in performing the exercises rather than just being taught them. (For example, my USA Weightlifting Level 2 certification required me to spend hours in the gym training and being coached by other trainees; my IKO Level 3 Kettlebell Certification required me to perform a certain number of repetitions of an exercise called a “long circuit.” in a timed test.)

Apart from all this, if you are looking for a good personal trainer, certifications will simply show you what a person has taught himself. You want to know what they have done for other people . That’s why the best way to find a coach (or a coach of any kind) is to start with clients. If someone in your gym is having great results and is happy with their trainer, ask who it is!

Ultimately, if a trainer has a ton of experience, gets good results, and gets along well with their clients, I wouldn’t worry about getting them certified. Conversely, if the trainer doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing or you just don’t get along with him personally, his certifications shouldn’t change your mind. Judge a coach by what he does, not just by what he knows.

Personal trainers are expensive (and the contracts can be a scam).

Before you can come to a conclusion about whether a coach is worth it to you, you need to talk about money. There are no cheap personal training sessions at the gym. So everything I’ve discussed above needs to be considered in terms of how much it costs and whether you can reasonably afford it.

Personal training can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 per hour, and that’s on top of your gym membership fees. Make sure you are satisfied not only with the price, but also with the terms and conditions that come with it. Some trainers require you to sign up for a minimum amount of training to start, or a certain number of days per week.

Some larger gyms offer personal training as an add-on to your membership and try to sell you training packages and free classes. (If your gym offers a “free estimate” or “free workout” when you start, it’s probably intended as a sales pitch for personal training.) Don’t be tempted to sign up for a personal training package without fully checking out the details and meeting. the trainer you will work with.

And always, always read all the fine print in any contract you sign. Make them sit there while you read, even if the salesperson seems impatient. One fraudulent but common trick is to tell you that you can cancel the order at any time if you change your mind, but then realize too late that you can’t actually cancel, or that penalties or time limits make it impossible to actually get your money . back.

However, there are many trainers out there whose terms are reasonable and who provide services that many clients feel are worth the money. If you can’t afford the full price of gym equipment but want some guidance without spending money, look into these options:

• Semi-private or small group classes , where you pay less because you share time with others (and receive less personal attention)

• Spaced classes – for example, attending once a week or once every two weeks, and training on your own the rest of the time. They may (or may not) charge extra for assigning you workouts between classes.

• Online personal training , which can include workouts you do on your own, with a review at the end of the week or month. Offers and prices vary widely, so be sure to get a clear understanding of what services an online trainer provides.

When is it worth giving up a coach and doing sports on your own?

I would recommend not hiring a personal trainer if you are motivated, curious and courageous enough, and if you are willing to own any results you give yourself – good or bad.

The process of figuring out your own fitness journey can be part of the fun. You can try different types of exercises and different schedules without worrying about whether your trainer will approve of them. You’ll also save a lot of money, which you can spend on training equipment or other expenses, such as group classes.

Just keep in mind that no one person will answer your questions. You can Google the question and get a dozen different answers. You may become so paralyzed by indecision that you never get started. You might run into some very minor problem – a little soreness or a stressful week that throws a wrench into your gym schedule – and you won’t have anyone to talk you down and tell you that there’s actually nothing wrong with you. just try your best and keep going.

Many people do a great job training on their own. If you think this might be you, give it a try. But if you’ve been thinking about it for a while and haven’t gotten started, or if you’re always prone to falling off the fitness wagon, consider whether you might need some outside help. This could be a personal trainer, but it could also be an online powerlifting coach or a friend who meets you for a run every Thursday. Think about what you need and assemble a support team if necessary.

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