Dallas Acworth Personal Trainer

Dallas and Acworth Personal Trainer Mike Whitfield shows you how to choose a personal trainer.

Choosing a personal trainer can be a daunting task.  It can also be intimidating.  Unfortunately, it can be easy for people to become certified and start training people.  I’ve seen some crazy stuff over the years as a fitness trainer.  I’ve also seen people get hurt.  It comes from a lack in education and trying a “cookie cutter” approach.  It’s time to delete the cookies.

Ha-ha... hilarious

Anyway, I wanted to help clear some of the confusion when it comes to selecting a personal trainer.   Some trainers who have a 4-year degree in exercise science and numerous certifications may not connect well with people and can come across as very intimidating.  If you don’t connect with your trainer, you will end up not showing up to your appointments and dreading your workouts.

Not cool.

I’ve gotten 4 certifications including a nutrition certification, but to be honest, I don’t even use the nutrition certification.  Yep, I said those words.   I have used an array of nutrition approaches with different clients because we are all different.  That’s a post for another day.

What to Look For When Choosing a Personal Trainer:

1) Be sure they are certified – There are a million different certifications and they all have their pros and cons.  It’s hard to distinct between them all, but c’mon, they need to be certified by some legitimate certifying agency.  Be bold and ask them, “who are you certified with?”.  If they are not certified but feel they can train people because they are ripped.  Walk  away.  I once had someone come in the gym and introduce themselves and tell me that they have a great body and can train people.  Yep, seriously.

2) Ask for referrals – Do they have a track record?  Ask them if they can provide some testimonialsor someone they can talk to so that they can get some feedback on how much it rocks to work with them.  That way if it doesn’t rock, you can find out and look for someone else.  I am biased, but our trainers rock.  I have gotten to know them for quite some time and they connect with their clients.

3) Are they good with people? – It’s simple.  If they chew gum and look around while you introduce yourself or tell them your struggles, they are not the right trainer for you.  This goes the same for trainers who text during client sessions.  Yes, that crap exists and it upsets me.  By the way, if you don’t even get to meet the trainer before any appointments are set.  RUN.

This should help.

Get lean… or big…. or whatever.

Mike Whitfield

Mike Whitfield is a Dallas and Acworth certified personal trainer and has been seen on the blogs of the AJC, Times Union, Men’s Health and others.