Choosing a good Personal Trainer - and avoiding the sharks.

Whatever your health and fitness needs or goals, the undeniable fact is that a good Personal Trainer will help. They may not be miracle workers but they will be able find the best, safest and most effective way to help you realise your goals. Unfortunately there is also now an increasing number of cowboys and sharks who will happily take your money without making any effort to even find out what your aims were...

First things first, I am a Personal Trainer. My friends are Personal Trainers and in my time in the industry I have also met a lot of very, very good Personal Trainers. This article is in no way a rant about Trainers.

But nowadays it is impossible to ignore the fact that there are unfortunately more and more people coming onto the market for whom Personal Training or Fitness Training is seen as a way to make a quick buck. Easy money, with no comeback and very little regulation.

You only have to pick up any fitness or health magazine and you will see the adverts, promising that you too can make good money doing a job you enjoy. Work your own hours. As long as you have the money to pay for the course, plus a spare couple of weeks to study, we will make you into a successful Personal Trainer! And its there that the problem started.

A good PT should be someone who 'lives the dream'. Who loves fitness, sport and training people to succeed. Who has made a decision to be the best that he can and to share his knowledge and experience with others, in return, hopefully, for a half decent wage.

You only have to walk into any of the mainstream gyms and watch the Trainers at work. Of course there will always be exceptions and as i said at the very beginning, there are some extremely good PT's out there; but no matter where you are you will often see the same. Personal Trainers who are at best unprofessional and at worst plain dangerous.

But then some of the blame must also lie with the gyms themselves. Managers now are set such high revenue targets that the focus has changed from recruiting a team of settled, experienced and professional trainers to just getting as many trainers in as they can, taking the £100 each per week that they pay in rent and hoping that no-one gets seriously injured. They no longer have the time or inclination to check whether the Trainer is actually right for the job.

And this will only get worse. There are now academy's springing up around the country churning out Trainers week on week with more and more firms happy to take their rent with the unfounded promise of huge earning potential. The lifespan of a Personal Trainer in the UK is apparently only 6 months, so finding a good, experienced Trainer gets harder and harder every year.

So where do you start? When looking for a Trainer you must check out their qualifications. Before booking that first session, please check that they do at the very least have the necessary qualifications to be working. They should be registered with REPs (The Register Of Exercise Professional) at Level 3. They should have their own Public Liability Insurance and they should be happy to show you copies of their qualifications and certificates. They should be first aid qualified and be happy to talk about their experience or previous clients. If you have a specific requirement or medical condition, make sure the trainer understands and is educated in this area.

Your Trainer should also be happy to offer a free trial session. The purpose of this session would be to give you the chance, as a potential client, to see if you and the Trainer get on. To go through your goals and to give the Trainer a chance to assess your fitness level and to discuss how by working together, you will achieve those goals. There should be no pressure or obligation. If you for any reason do not feel comfortable or confident with your trainer, you just won't get the results you are looking for. If it doesn't feel right, walk away.

If you do decide to book your Trainer you should also be very clear what you expect from them. A Personal Trainer should be professional at all times. Punctual and prepared for each session and you shouldn't be afraid to speak up if they are not. They should not answer their phone, text or speak to other people during your session! This is your session and their focus should be totally on you.

Ultimately the best way however to find a reputable Trainer will be by speaking to other people. Speak to other clients, ask around. If someone has achieved their goals by working with a Personal Trainer they will be very happy to talk about it!
Deciding to work with a Personal Trainer really can be life changing, but please make sure you take the time to find the right one.

Liam is an Advanced Personal Trainer and Extreme Kettlebell Instructor based in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. His website, www.liamobrien.co.uk is also home to Pontefract Kettlebells (www.pontefractkettlebells.co.uk), Yorkshire's only dedicated kettlebell equipment supplier.

He is qualified as an Advanced Personal Trainer and Extreme Kettlebell Instructor; a member of REPs (The Register of Exercise Professionals), holds a current First Aid Certificate and has full Public Liability Insurance.

He works alongside GP's and other health care professionals in ante and post natal fitness and also with local schools to help develop a healthy and active lifestyle in children and to tackle childhood obesity.

Liam OBrien Personal Training.
Personal Fitness and Kettlebell Training covering Leeds, Wakefield and West Yorkshire.
http://www.liamobrien.co.uk