How to Find the Right Fitness Trainer?
Finding the right personal trainer for yourself is not as easy as going to the market to buy the juiciest fruits. Even if your friend has had success with a particular gym trainer, it is not necessary that he or she might work for you. Finding the right personal trainer for yourself requires much more than checking their credentials, available time slot, previous experience and their fee. So here are some pointers that you must consider before hiring a personal trainer for yourself.
1. Get your goals straight
First of all, you need to figure out your goals. Having realistic goals is also equally important. You cannot expect to lose 10 kgs in a month and definitely cannot put this burden on your personal trainer. You need to know that a personal trainer acts like a motivator and an exercise guru who keeps on giving you an impetus before you reach your goals. You need to keep in mind that fitness cannot be achieved overnight. Find a trainer who is clear about his objectives and believes in making a potential partnership with someone who is realistic in his or her goals, else the partnership won’t last long.
2. You can also consider going virtual
Now suppose you have found a trainer who is very good but is unable to align his schedules with yours, then that doesn’t mean that you need to go hunting for another one. There are many who have achieved success with a personal trainer online. Spot a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant who is ready to give you online sessions at a time, which is convenient for both of you.
3. Decide where you want to train
There are many gyms that come with some perks. Some offer multiple locations, class options, gender timings, tons of equipment and some even have certified chiropractors and nutritionists. If you have a place nearby, it is the best option. Talk to them if they offer entry in various branches. You can also talk to your trainer about alternating between home and gym if you want to do cardio and weight training on some days and other forms of exercise on other days at your home.
4. Do your homework properly
Finding the right personal trainer is all about proper research. You need to take Google’s help and some referrals from friends to short list some potential trainers. Next, you can consider meeting them in person or through video calling to see if you are comfortable with the trainer. A personal trainer is someone with whom you will be sharing a lot of your intimate details and so it is very necessary that you are able to make a connection.
5. Ask them questions
Once you have scheduled a meet or a call with a potential trainer, feel free to ask all sorts of questions you have in mind. Cover areas like their personal training styles, information and experience on nutrition and diet plans and what to expect from a session. Also, verify the trainer’s credentials. Ask about their specialties such as some are really good in physiotherapy too, which might help you recover from an injury. In this first call, you need to also fix the fees per hour, number of classes given in a month and such other details.
6. Share your Intimate Details Relating to Fitness
Your personal trainer is going to work on your body for the next few months to get you the desired shape, weight, body mass index or strength and stamina. He or she needs to know your earlier trials with fitness. Tell them about your weaknesses, favorite foods and also past injuries. Telling them about your favorite food will help them plan your diet chart accordingly. Likewise, informing them about your past injuries or surgeries will prevent them from making you do a particular exercise.
7. Get set and go!
Now that you have booked your first trial with your trainer, you need to ensure two important factors so that you both start on the right foot. Firstly, you need to do a light workout on your own a few days before your session to warm up your body and secondly, you need to prepare yourself properly the night before by drinking plenty of water and sleeping sufficiently to have a well-rested body. Your trainer will make you do some light exercises for the first week or few days to warm-up your body, so you need to be patient and go by his strategies.
8. Know when to walk away
Regardless of the fact that your trainer seemed perfect at first, there might be instances that you are not comfortable with him after your second or third session. Or perhaps, if you feel that you are not getting your desired results, it is time to re-think on your decision. Before bidding goodbye, it is advisable to at least have a heart to heart talk with your trainer. You can tell them that you are not happy with the results. Perhaps, they would change your diet or the exercises. Everyone deserves another chance. Even after another trial if you are not happy, it must be time to end your personal training relationship. Remember, you are the one who is paying and looking for results. If you are not happy, it is time to bid goodbye and look for another trainer.
Finding the right personal trainer is a crucial step to total fitness. You might feel that you can follow a fitness regimen on your own and also aid it with a diet chart found online, but this doesn’t work out always. The reason is that once you have paid money to someone, you feel motivated to continue and the second reason is that these trainers are highly trained and experienced. You could be following the wrong diet or could be doing your exercises wrong. A personal trainer can guide you correctly and also ensure that you reach your desired goals.
For more information on health, nutrition and wellness keep reading Indian Fitness Mantra!