Quote Originally Posted by marni View Post


Everyone of them sat down with at the beginning and had me outline my goals, more muscle? where and what type?, coordination?, balance? weight loss? lean muscle gain vs fat loss etc. Not in specific numbers but more along the lines of where are you now and hwere would you like to be?

marni
+1 - you want somebody who will work towards your goals, not his/hers.

Find out what certifications they hold.The gold standard is ACSM. ACE is good, as is NCSA. I would also want to know how long they've been doing personal training & an estimate of how many people they've trained.

If you can watch them train somebody else, that is ideal. They should be paying attention to their client - not the activity in the aerobic room. You'll also get an idea about how they train - do they yell & push their clients or are they more circumspect?

As a personal trainer, I see some PT's put their clients in unsafe situations because the client isn't ready for the level of training they are undertaking. For example, I see rounded backs during deadlifts. This tells me that they've either received incorrect or no exercise instruction and/or they're lifting more than they can handle. I also see PT's putting their clients through grueling workouts where their form begins to suffer and the possibility of injury increases.

OTOH, there are some PT's that are fantastic. They do primarily full body exercises with sensible weights and their clients have good form. More importantly, I see their clients losing weight, gaining muscle and returning to the same PT week after week.