9 Signs of A Great Personal Trainer

This summer marks the start of my 6th year in the fitness industry, and over the course of my career I’ve had the privilege to meet and work with some amazing health and fitness professionals.

Unfortunately, for every true fit pro I meet, there are about 10 duds.

Maybe even 20.

Perhaps 50.

And I don’t mean to say that in a condescending way.

Thing is, the fitness industry does not have clear and standardized educational or certification requirements to start practicing.

Which means that pretty much any Joe off the street can walk into one of the larger health clubs in the country and start training just about anyone, even your 80 year old grandma.

It’s scary. Very scary.

And although there has been a push by serious fit pro’s to advocate better standardization, it seems like it is still a while down the road before any nationalized system is implemented.

Until we get there as an industry, there are some clear signs of a great and successful personal trainer that I’ve learned from my own personal experience from managing personal trainers.

1. Approachable and personable. This, I would say is one of the most important qualities of a great personal trainer. So much of our interactions as trainers relies on connecting and talking with people, that having an engaging personality is key to success. Yeah education and certifications are important, but I’ve met numerous personal trainers with a laundry list of certifications, that couldn’t hold a conversation with a wall.

2. Attentive and engaging during sessions. A great personal trainer is fully involved with the client during the session. Great trainers not only know how to keep someone’s attention, and get them to do things they typically wouldn’t do on their own, but they are also very attentive to the needs of the clients. Be wary of the trainer that is more focused on the clock, the cute guy/girl that’s on the treadmill across the room, or even their own reflection in the mirror.

3. Educational background and continuing education. Now, just because someone has a 4-year degree in Kinesiology or Exercise Science, and has 5 different certifications, doesn’t automatically make them a great trainer. Pretty much the only advantage of having a 4-year degree is that it looks good on paper. Some of the best trainers I’ve worked with had absolutely NO experience in personal training, but they were great with people and they were perpetual learners. Great trainers, though some may not have 4 year degrees, are constantly learning and growing as professionals to help better themselves and their clients.

4. On-time and prepared. Being consistently late or ending sessions early is one of the most unprofessional habits of trainers I’ve seen over the years. A trainer that comes on-time to sessions and being fully prepared shows that the trainer takes your time as a client seriously.

5. Healthy and fit in appearance. The fitness industry is a very image driven field, and although you should never judge a book by it’s cover, being fit and healthy in appearance is a good sign that your trainer actually cares about his or her own health. Pay close attention to your trainer while they are off-duty and scope out whether you see him/her workout and the kinds of workouts they do on their own. Great trainers practice what they preach.

6. Happy and successful clients. Another sign of a great personal trainer are happy and successful clients. Next time your at the gym, notice how the clients act while working out with their trainers. Are they having fun? Do they looked bored? How does their form look? Have you noticed results in their clients? Would you want to workout with a trainer if their clients look the same way they did a year ago?

7. Note taking. Trainers work with numerous people on a daily basis and which means that we have to keep track of reps, sets, exercises, scheduling, and payments for every single person we see. Unless your a professional card counter, trying to keep track of all these numbers is a very difficult feat. Keeping track of client’s progress through detialed note taking helps great trainers remember what you did the last session to make sure you are always moving forward.

8. Energetic. No one wants to work out with a lazy and tired trainer. Period. Most people really need the motivation and extra push that a trainer can provide to successfully stick to a fitness routine. And the busiest and most successful trainers are usually the most energetic.

9. Great communicators/listeners. Most of what we do as trainers actually has very little to do with fitness and more to do with listening to our clients and helping them sort through their hang-ups and insecurities. Being a great communicator really involves being a great listener. And some days, we’ll end up doing more listening than training, so it’s important for a trainer to able to effectively communicate with people to help motivate them.