Custom Fitness Plans

Unless you've got a recommendation from a friend, finding and deciding on a personal trainer takes a great deal of time and energy. Even when you have the best referral from someone you trust, you still may not be as compatible with the trainer as your friend is for a range of reasons.

As a personal trainer in Scottsdale, Arizona, I've spent a lot of time around personal trainers. I've watched many training sessions, many good and some not so well.

Keep these points in mind when you are deciding on a personal trainer:

Don't strictly judge a custom fitness regiments trainers capability to aid you in getting you fit by his or her body alone. That should perhaps be qualified by mentioning that simply because a trainer's body is statue-like, it will not necessarily mean they understand how to get you there also. Alternatively, if a so-called trainer is extremely out-of-shape, do not think two times about walking away.

It's challenging to know in advance, although the initial meeting should tune you in: will the trainer really listen to you? To what actually motivates your fitness goals? Are they concerned about what your preexisting injuries are? You will need to know that they are going to respect your intensity threshold when you adjust to getting back into good shape. A trainer who really listens will probably be less very likely to get you injured also.

Take into account that all certifications are not equal. Just about all personal trainers have opinions about what certification is the top qualifier. And more often than not, it's the one they have; I chose the American College of Sports Medicine certification because it's the test that frightens would-be personal trainers the most. Since my college background is in English, I needed to make certain that I had among the most respected certs around. The test feels like a mid-level college physiology final. The ACSM typically requires a few months of preparation. Then again, you'll find other certifications that a trainer could get in weekend. My personal top-2 most respected certifications will be the ACSM and also the NASM.

Make certain that the trainer's gym is close to you. This might seem obvious but it can really make life -and results- difficult. You do not need the added stress. Your sessions will suffer if you are consistently late.

Personal trainers are just personal trainers. Unless they have other education, they're not expert nutritionists, qualified chiropractors, MDs or naturopaths.

Do your personalities mesh? Make certain they do. As with people in general, some trainers are very self-absorbed. You can end up listening to your trainer rambling on and on about their personal life while you are pushing yourself to finish that last exercise. Which really can happen. Will they create personalized workouts for you? It's a wise decision to take the individual up on a free session or consultation first.

Professionalism is very important. This really is especially true as a result of the closeness that could develop between clients and their trainers. You will need to feel like your trainer is respecting the confidentiality of your relationship.

By the end of it all, be aware of: there is no magic personal fitness workout formula, and a decent exercise routine is not usually rocket science. It's my feeling that personal training is just a little more of an art than a science. You may be mostly confident that if you have selected a personal trainer that mostly knows what they're doing, you should make much more progress than you imagine possible... that is if you show up regularly.