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HOW DO I FIND A TRAINER???

You can’t swing a dead cat in California without hitting 27.4 personal trainers! It takes about two days to become certified to be a personal trainer, yup, two days and you are certified to train anyone. I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty nervous if my doctor or chiropractor was working on me after two days of training. So how do you choose a personal trainer?

1. Make sure that your trainer at least appears to be in good shape! I certainly do not expect a trainer to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger body builder type, in fact, that is often the worst choice you can make when choosing a trainer, but I see trainers every day with beer bellies and fat percentages that Babe the pig in the city would envy! If they can’t stay in shape, how can they help you get in shape.

2. Make sure your trainer doesn’t smoke! Even if you smoke, you certainly know how bad it is for you. I find it difficult to believe that anyone who really believes in health and fitness would be a smoker. The smoking man is great on the X-Files but I wouldn’t hire him as a trainer.

3. How long has your trainer been training for? Although there are some excellent new trainers out there, the longer your trainer has been training, the more people and experience he/she has with routines, medical conditions and numerous other concerns. On the flip side, I know a number of very poor quality trainers that have been doing it for years successfully, although I can not figure out how they stay in business.  

4. How aware of current training techniques is your trainer? This is a tough one. You went to a trainer because you wanted the latest and best information available about fitness and nutrition. Unfortunately it is difficult to figure out if your trainer is on top of it all unless you have had other better (or worse) trainers in the past. The science and bio-mechanics of training has changed and advanced so much in the past 5 or 6 years that an outdated trainer will be giving you information and techniques that may have worked for him and his buddies in years past, but is not correct or safe.  Being current in the science of training is imperative. Many of the exercises we used to do ten years ago have been proven to be very damaging on the joints and cartilage. This is why an experienced but outdated trainer is not doing you any favors with his "tried and tested" routines. A trainer is much like a doctor, accountant or an attorney. If they do not stay current, they are not worth a dime regardless of how many years they have been in business.

5. Does your trainer give you "the creeps"? My ultimate pet peeve is the trainer that is improving his/her personal life by scamming, fondling, or otherwise groping a client. It disgusts me to watch trainers that hide their little gropes and flirtations under the guise of assisting the client with form or positioning. A good trainer will touch you at times but if you are feeling uncomfortable about how they are touching you remember the good old saying, If it walks like a duck, It’s a duck!

6. Does your trainer utilize form and function? This is probably the easiest way to figure out if your trainer is worth your time and investment. If your trainer has you forcing, throwing or heaving weights around, dump him! I see trainers every day having clients do bicep (upper arm muscles) curls. The trainer will have them lifting a weight that requires the client to heave the weight up arching their lower back and getting lots of momentum going to get the weight to the top. The last time I checked there were no bicep muscles in the lower back! Yes heavy weights are the answer to getting bigger and stronger but there is absolutely no benefit in throwing a weight around. I promise you that you will not find professional body builders in the gym tossing weights around like this. Most injuries in training come from improper form. I listened to a client in the gym inform their trainer that their knees hurt while performing an improper set of squats or a hack squat. The trainer in this case answered, "no pain no gain"! This particular trainer is in great shape and really motivates her clients. She is motivating them right into surgery and rehabilitative therapy!

7. Be comfortable with your trainer! A good trainer will get to know some very intimate aspects of your life and your personality so make sure you are comfortable with them. They should be well aware of your medical history and they should have asked you about it before they trained you. A good trainer will cost you at least $50.00 per hour in Southern California but do not be surprised if you meet many trainers that charge $75.00 to $150.00 per hour. Most trainers have certain locations that they prefer to use when training clients so be aware of the additional fees, such as memberships, that you will have to pay. These fees are not uncommon so don’t feel like you are being cheated. Your trainer most likely pays an additional fee of up to $1000.00 per month to bring his/her clients to training facilities and health clubs. Training with a personal trainer is fun and extremely motivating! A good trainer can help you realize more gains and a higher level of fitness than you ever thought possible so do a little research when choosing a trainer and really go for it!

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