Finding a Good Trainer, and How to Avoid the Bad Ones. Part 1

A LOT of folks get ripped off by personal trainers and athletic coaches.

We all know people who have used the services of trainers. Some have had awesome results and others have gotten screwed over. Stuck in contracts with really sub par personal trainers who have no business training themselves let alone anyone else!

So, without further ado.....

1) Education
- The most important factor in finding a trainer isn't what they know, it's what YOU know. Do your homework; Know about WHAT you're about to embark on. READ SOME SHIT- find out what's bullshit and what's real, effective exercise. Know what your goals are, and what you're willing to do to get there.

Look at it this way: You're about to drop a TON of cash on someone's expertise- shouldn't you at least know what you want?

As a bonus, it's very well possible that, in doing all this homework, you'll come to understand that, so long as you have the motivation, achieving and maintaining a general level of fitness really isn't that hard, and that basic fitness training doesn't require a $60/hour personal trainer, and that your ton of cash is best spent on some quality workout gear.

AGAIN, KNOWLEDGE IS YOUR GREATEST ASSET.

2) The Great Divide
- Most folks don't understand that there are two types of mainstream trainers; those who are sales-driven, and those who are results-oriented. For one, the sale is what's important- there are quotas to be met, after all. Once you get the sale, the slower the results, the more lessons you are likely to get. All a sales-driven trainer NEEDS to do is get JUST enough progress to get you to keep buying more lessons. Actually getting you to your goal is simply bad business, because then you stop buying lessons.

The other end of the spectrum is the results-oriented trainer, more commonly known as "The Network Trainer". For this trainer, efficient customer results- and therefore satisfaction- is the best way to make more money, because the trainer is aware that a happy client will tell their friends/neighbours/business colleagues/etc about how well they've done, thereby generating a "network" of people who know how good the trainer is, and who will want to use them. This works especially well with suburban housewives who socialize in consistent groups. If one drops 30lbs in 8 weeks, her friends WILL notice.

One cares about short-term profit, the other about growing his business. One will milk you for everything you're worth, while the other will get you your desired results ASAP, and send you off with a stack of business cards, a good experience, and a simple request to "tell your friends".

Which one do you want?

3) Babysitter/Nanny/Doctor/Dentist.... Trainer?

I'll take, "People You Don't Just Hire Randomly" for $500 please, Alex.

Really, does anyone just randomly pick a doctor or babysitter out of a phonebook?

Of course now- YOU DO YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK, AND PICK THE BEST ONE AVAILABLE.

Now, the big question is this: If you're about to put your physiological health in someone hands, why the fuck would you stroll randomly into a place that is BLATANTLY trying to sell you an image, and take whatever "trainer" they thrust at you?

This person could be a week out of the 2 day "Personal Training Certification Seminar" the company has thrown them into, and not know a bloody thing. Hell, Goodlife Fitness, Canada's "leading fitness" corporation allows folks to train clients WITHOUT YET HAVING COMPLETED THEIR TRAINING. When I took my CAN-FIT-PRO PTS cert course, there were five-yes, FIVE- as yet un-certified folks (in a class of TWENTY-FIVE) who already had clients. ALL of them couldn't coach or train their way out of a paper-bag, and ALL had a client list of active people they were training.

What people fail to understand is just how big of a shit-fest the Personal Training business is. Its about sales, NOT results. Therefore, it attracts people who talk a good game, but VERY seldom have any real skill at anything other than selling you the goods. They are, as their moniker suggests, the "Used Car Salesman of the 21st Century".

Knowing that about the industry, WHY THE FUCK would you let them thrust a trainer OF THEIR CHOICE- one that's about to be in control of your physiological well-being- YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH- into your lap?

4) YOU are in charge

You know when you start with a trainer, and have that first meeting? When the two of you sit down, discuss your goals, set up a plan, and the trainer tells you an estimate of how much this will cost?

If you're smart, this is, at the very least, the SECOND meeting with that trainer, and at least the fifth or sixth time you've sat down with a trainer in general.

NEWSFLASH: YOU are in charge. Hiring a trainer is YOUR choice. You are- quite literally- putting your well-being in their hands. They can, if they're a retard or a moron, fuck up your shit.

The first meeting, YOU interview them, then you thank them for your time, get up, and walk the fuck out the door. No sales pitch, no contract to sign, no bullshit. This is not the time for them to pitch you on their rate plans, how they can work out a payment plan that is right for you, or how much towel rental costs. THIS is YOUR TIME to find out if the person in front of you is a competent trainer who can get you what you want in a slick motherfucker with no training who wants your cash.

5) Ask The Right Questions

So, you're at the first interview, and you are in charge.

What in hell are you asking this person?

Well, here are 8 basic questions that would be helpful in figuring out your potential trainer:

I) "I have this stubborn belly-fat that won't go away- Can you help me get rid of that? And how will you do this?"

- The opener, the dummy-shot, and the easiest way to get rid of the salesman and the idiots. We all know that spot-reduction is a myth, but you'd be surprised just how often it's used as a sales pitch by cash-driven thieves looking to sell clueless people on the idea that they can get you a six-pack. It's STILL being used on infomercials, to great effect (Ab-Circle, anyone?)

PLUS, It makes you look stupid and un-informed, and will cause trainers to under-estimate your knowledge, giving you the advantage.

If you get anything other than "Spot-reduction is a myth-Its all about a clean diet and hard-work", be VERY wary. If you get "Of course- We'll strengthen your core, and it'll burn out in no time!" Immediately stand up, AND WALK THE FUCK AWAY.

II) How long have you been training?

- Experience isn't everything; someone who's been a shitty trainer for 15 years is STILL a shitty trainer. However, if they've been in the game for awhile, they're either solid skill-wise, or VERY good at selling their bullshit. Either way, its a solid first question.

III) Do you have a University degree in Physiology, Exercise Science, Human Kinetics, or a related field?

- Its not the mark of a good trainer- My degree is Psychology, and I chose training as a career after college- and I know MANY elite trainers with only a high-school diploma, but what it DOES show is that the person in front of you is interested enough in exercise and physiology to have invested a LOT of time and money into studying the field they're currently in.

IV) Do you have an athletic background (Did you play sports in college, or highschool? If so, what were they?)

- Other than the obvious, this will tell you a LOT about the person in front of you. Dedicated high-end athletes seldom make good coaches and trainers, at least when they're young; it takes a certain "me-first" mindset to excel in sports, because you have to put the demands of your sport ahead of the rest of your life. In terms of training, that means YOU come second to THEM. I see a LOT of trainers who believe that how ripped or muscular they are translates into how good of a coach or trainer they are. In reality, it's a matter of WHAT you know and WHETHER you can apply it to your client. One's physical appearance is actually irrelevant- in fact, it may be argued that a trainer that plays several high-level sports, trains everyday, and is concerned exclusively with how he or she looks isn't fully concentrating on you, and getting you the results you want.

So, while its certainly beneficial for a trainer to have a ripped, muscular physique (and NO ONE is willing to listen to someone who obviously can't or won't take care of themselves), its not a requirement to be a capable and effective trainer, nor should it be when you sit across from this person.

V) Show me your certs.

- EVERY trainer should be able to give you a detailed background of both their primary education, AND their continuing education credits, AND provide proof of certification. One of the most common things I hear trainers say is "Clients don't care about what certs you have."

My response to this is that "NOT ENOUGH clients care about what certs I have."

I WANT a client that is interested in my education. It shows me that the client is wholly invested in finding the right trainer for them, which means they're wholly invested in getting the results they want. When someone asks me for my certs, its a pleasant surprise. Conversely, if I'm a bad trainer who's only done the minimum for continuing their education, it will unnerve the fuck out of me if someone asks me what I've done, and all I can say is "CAN-FIT-PRO online courses".

If a trainer balks when you ask what certifications and Continuing Education Credits (CECs) they have, or has none, WALK THE FUCK AWAY. EVERY trainer should be proud of what they've taken, and every trainer should pore a significant amount of their free cash into expanding their abilities. It's EXACTLY like a hairstylist- its not just an option, IT'S FUCKING VITAL.

Oh, and because you followed point one and DID YOUR HOMEWORK, you're going to know whether or not the certs the trainer has are bullshit and worthless, or quality and money.

VI) "What is your opinion of Functional Movement?"

- Welcome to the great separator. You've done your homework, and if you've spent ANY time at all in places of repute, these words will have come up. Basically, its training the body to move the way its designed to- movement patterns, screening, analysis and correction, and a whole host of other things. At its most basic level, it's how to squat properly. However, for you, as either a sports athlete or just an Average Joe trying to get fit, it will tell you a LOT about the person sitting in front of you. Someone knowledgeable in functional movement and its applications will, by the very nature of understanding functional movement, know their shit, although whether they can apply it in training is a whole other ballgame.

Basically, what will happen is this: You will ask the question, and one of three things will happen:

A) You will get a blank stare, an uncomfortable silence, and/or some sort of derisive snort.

B) You will get a glimmer of recognition, followed by confusion, and a bunch of bullshit.

C) The person across from you will either a) Nod, and inform you that its a valuable tool, at which point you ask when the person would teach you to squat ("Early" or "Right Away" is the only acceptable answer) or they will begin talking, spewing forth a great gush of cool shit concerning hip drive, posterior chain development, and a whole bunch of other stuff that your homework will only marginally prepare you for.

One of these is acceptable, the other two are not. For general fitness, understanding how we are designed to move is integral to getting you generally fit. If all you want is big arms, then not so much. But, if you intend for healthy movement to be a part of your everyday life, its important that your trainer know how to teach you to move properly.

BTW: Core stability is NOT functional movement. Its a bullshit buzzword that now encompasses everything from Zumba to Sports Conditioning. If all a trainer talks about is Core Stability or conditioning, unless the person happens to have "Chek Exercise Coach" as one of their education certifications, RUN THE FUCK AWAY.

VII) What facilities have you worked at?

- This is a great way to get a solid understanding of where someone's been, and why they are where they are. Good trainers get hired by good institutions. Depending on where you live, this could be a University gym, a well-known strength & conditioning facility, or a good micro-gym/Crossfit facility. VERY rarely is it a mainstream facility.

If a trainer is at a mainstream facility, and is good, there could be a few legitimate reasons why, such as the facility he was at closed, or she works at both places, or he's there because he knows his skills set him apart from everyone else, and he gets all the high-end clients and sports types and makes a ton of cash doing it. Its even possible that the person used to own a facility, and got tired of the stress (but be careful here; its also possible they lost the facility because they are a shitty trainer). You could also have yourself a young up-and-comer on your hands, a highly-skilled and serious trainer who needed a way to get his feet wet and a foot in the door. At this point, you're going to have a good idea of what's going on, and looking at the whole picture should be enough to decipher that mystery (asking might work, too).

VIII) References, please.

- Lastly, if you like what you've seen, ask for references. They can be faked easily (friends, relatives, people who owe you favors) but, since you've done your homework, its easy to devise a few simple questions to ask those references that will tell you whether or not they're full of shit.

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BTW: Take notes at the interview.

Then, go to a different gym- or find another trainer at the same gym- and interview them. And again. And again. Then sit down and compare. If you haven't found one that suits your needs or quells your fears, keep looking.

Why the fuck would you invest several thousand dollars on someone you're not 120% sure will be right for you? Take your time, and do it right.

Now, let's say you find a trainer, and are willing to give him a shot. DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT, by into a long-term training contract.

Buy 3 lessons.

Those 3 lessons are step 2. This trainer has passed the interview, now you're going to see if he can actually apply what he knows. Tell him/her you want a broad overview/sampling of what she's capable of, as related to your needs/goals. If they don't understand what you're talking about, tell them directly you're finding out if they really do know their shit (this will aggravate bad coaches, and earn the respect of good ones), and ask them to explain how they'd go about a workout with you, and to coach you on some basic moves. If they lead you to the machines, tell them no, something that involves actual coaching, like the squat. If they lead you to the smith machine, begin to worry, and tell them "no, teach me the air squat/squat basics." If they can't, you have your answer, and can move on.

If the lessons go well and- having done your homework- you can tell that the trainer is competent, buy something a little longer: Say, 10-20 lessons, depending on how often you plan to go. What you want is to cover 60-90 days, depending on what kind of shape you're in (longer if you're unfit, shorter if you're fit). The trainer will get you a program, and start you on it.

Now, after 60-90, you'll have either reached your goals, or you haven't. If you're still interested in having a trainer, you enter Phase 3; Adaptation and Evolution.

The last component of an effective trainer is whether or not they can adapt to your progress and keep you from stagnating/plateauing. For general fitness, a very good trainer will cycle the training so well that adaptation is impossible. Its the principle of constant variation, and its still a new concept to most in fitness.

If you get to a plateau, and your trainer can't effectively adapt your program to get you past that, its time to find a different trainer, because the one you have currently has reached the limits of their abilities. There's nothing wrong with that- after all, they've gotten you this far- and they should be happy that they've fulfilled what they were hired to fulfill, and should be able to recommend someone else to you.

Then the process begins again.

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5) If a trainer comes to train in dress pants and a polo, he's not ready to train you.

- I get that places have dress codes. But how a gym dresses their staff directly reflects their approach to training. A facility that has their training staff dress in gear that is inappropriate for getting dirty and demonstrating exercises conveys the message that they'd prefer their training staff to look good rather than to properly show people stuff. AND, since they don't want their staff coaching people, you can safely assume that the folks they aim to hire don't put training- and your needs- first.

I once saw a male trainer dressed in khakis, a polo shirt, and patent leather shoes train a client. He carried his blackberry with him, was looking at it more than his client, and never once demonstrated an exercise. Now, I'd give this person the benefit of the doubt if it was perhaps an elite athlete that was being trained in a program they were clearly familiar with, but the client was an obese woman struggling on a machine circuit.

Some of the best coaches I know train their clients in shorts and a T-Shirt, and some of the best powerlifting coaches I know teach in hoodies and cut-off jeans. Hell, Dave Tate's customary work attire is a hoodie and track pants, and Louie Simmons wanders around in a ripped and dirty T-Shirt.

They ALWAYS get dirty.

If your trainer is dressed like a salesman at Best Buy, RUN THE FUCK AWAY.

6) You are the focus

- When I'm training a client, the building could come crashing down around me, and my focus wouldn't waver. Hot women, a big lift, dropping weight, the PA system, or a guy dropping dead behind me- nothing matters unless my client mentions it, THEN- and only then- will I acknowledge it. If one of my other clients see me, and ask me something, I'm polite but curt; I'll apologize the next time I see them. If they're dumb enough to interrupt in the middle of an exercise, they get the "Just a Minute" finger until the exercise is completed, then they get the curt and polite "Go away till I'm done" response. I've NEVER had a client be angry with me for that, because all of my clients have my undivided attention, and they KNOW.

Once, I had a fellow trainer interrupt me to complain about the noise (we were doing ball slams)- He received a stern "Fuck off- I'm working here, shouldn't you be too?" without my eyes ever leaving my client.

Any trainer you pick should always give you their full, undivided attention. Having a phone or anything else is with them is just rude, as is talking to others, staring at hot people, or watching TV.