The Top 5 Red Flags When Picking a Personal Trainer

With the rise in fitness and, more importantly, online fitness, there has been a huge influx of personal trainers. This makes it inherently more difficult to find the right personal trainer for you – and worse, which ones are just scams. However, everyone always talks about what to look for. However, knowing what to look out for can be equally important – and perhaps even more. 

Top Red Flags For Personal Trainers

With the rise in social media, the floodgates have been opened. While it has allowed information at the click of a button, it’s also allowed anyone and everyone to market their “fitness classes”. 

Mixed with marketing, it is easy for new trainees to be duped into getting a less-than “high-quality” trainer.

Of course, there are the obvious things, such as having no proof of past work or clients. However, there are other signs to look for.

1. Be Extra Cautious With Trainers At Big Box Gyms. 

This one is tough. Initially, we were going to say stay away, but that’s not entirely fair. Not all trainers at chain gyms are bad, so we changed it to be “extra cautious”. 

Regardless, there are several reasons why you should either avoid trainers at gym chains or exercise extra caution.

• Low Level of Requirements: Most big box gyms have very low standards for their trainers. All a trainer needs is a certificate – that’s it. As a result, these places are generally full of beginner trainers. 

• Making Money Is a Top Concern: Making Money isn’t wrong and is obviously a significant part of a successful career. However, you should make money because you’re a good trainer who gets results, not because you can sell a lot of classes. Most of these establishments operate on a retention model, or on how much money a trainer can bring in. Furthermore, they often run sales that encourage quantity over quality. 

• Good Results Aren’t Necessary: These gyms attract a large number of people due to their popularity. A personal trainer manager will then assign new clients to a trainer. This means the trainer doesn’t necessarily need to build a reputation in the same way an independent trainer does.

So, while this doesn’t mean all these trainers are bad, we all started somewhere. Just be extra cautious. If you sign up for a lesson, ask if you can choose the trainer or if you can see their achievements.

2. Use Of Excessive Jargon

Using jargon isn’t always a bad thing. A word here and there is fine. However, it shouldn’t be a 5-minute presentation. If it is used, the trainer should explain its meaning.

When excessive jargon is used, it generally points to one of two types of trainers;

1. New trainer: These trainers will attempt to use technical jargon and explain complex mechanisms to impress the client. It’s not inherently wrong, and most trainers go through this phase. It simply suggests they lack experience. 

2. Scammers: These are trainers who use jargon to intentionally make themselves seem as though they have advanced knowledge. They’ll use these terms to try to sell a “secret” tactic they know or convince you why they’re better than others.

The physiology and principles of building muscle and strength can be explored in-depth. 

However, new trainees don’t need to know the scientific explanation. A quality trainer should be able to explain these concepts in a way that a beginner can understand – this is the essence of effective teaching and applies to fitness as well.

3. A Marketing Campaign Based On Themselves 

A common online trend is to see a person lose a significant amount of weight and then offer their services as a trainer – if they can do it, anyone can do it! 

Of course, they may just be really fit. Their entire campaign is video following them through their day and lifting weights.

This makes sense at first. However it’s common to hear people say they became a trainer because they like fitness or because of what fitness did for them – they then eventually discover they don’t actually like teaching others fitness.

They discover that “doing” and “teaching” are very different things. 

This is because numerous factors distinguish losing weight from teaching others to lose weight.

• Not everyone is the same. Training yourself is relatively easy, as you have a clear understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. You simply need to motivate yourself, which can be a challenge at times. However, a trainer needs to know how to train people they don’t know. They’ll have to navigate around injuries, mobility issues, scheduling conflicts, and provide exercise alternatives. 

• Dealing with people. In personal training, you need to deal with a ton of people who all have different personalities – some good and others not so much. To be a good trainer, you need to be able to deal with people. Not everyone is a “people person,” and that’s fine – but if you’re not, you’ll likely dislike training others.

• It Can Get Monotonous. Any job can get monotonous over time. As a trainer, you find yourself answering the same questions over and over. At the same time, writing programs can start to feel repetitive. Now, different individuals do have unique issues – but there can only be so many. If a person doesn’t love teaching, this can drain their passion. 

In fact, this is one of the more common pitfalls in the world of personal training – hiring someone based on their looks. 

Whether or not a trainer should be “fit” is a completely different question. However, regardless of where you fall on that issue, it doesn’t mean that being fit makes you a trainer.

4. Use Sales To Sell Or Is Too Cheap 

As Sailor Jerry said, “Cheap work ain’t good and good work ain’t cheap.”  This is true in any field, even fitness. 

Now, sales are a part of the industry, so this isn’t absolute. However, if their work is significantly cheaper than others or they always seem to be having a sale, you should be cautious.

Again, this is not absolute, especially for quality trainers who are new and are trying to get their first customers.

However, if you find someone who has been training for 10 years yet offers a price that’s 50% of other trainers, they’re either shooting out cookie-cutter programs, OR they are having other people make the programs. 

Good trainers know their worth and aren’t going to undersell themselves. 

5. Sells A Secret

If you see a fitness influencer say they discovered a secret, or even that there is a secret, run.

Who exactly is holding these secrets? Is this like the fitness section of the Illuminati? 

This claim has been made over and over, but we can guarantee to you that no one has ever explained one of these secrets to you. No one has ever heard a fitness secret and let it slip out.

Here’s the reality. It is true that on the physiological side of things, there’s actually a lot we don’t fully understand, at least on the cellular level and precise mechanisms.

However, on the application side of things, we know quite a bit. For example, we may not know exactly why a muscle grows, but we know that consistently applying progressive overload will build muscle. 

If their campaign is based on having a super-secret that they’ll tell you after you buy, we can tell you that it is a lie.

Tips On Finding A Quality Personal Trainer

Finding a quality trainer is tough. Everywhere you look, there are an endless number of trainers offering services, most of whom claim to be the best. How do you know which one is right?

Finding the right personal trainer can be a bit of a challenge. It may take some time and effort on your part to conduct research but it’s a lot easier when you know what to look for as well as warning signs. 

What To Look For In A Quality Personal Trainer

Here are the key factors to consider when selecting a personal trainer.

1. A History Of Training With Evidence Of Accomplishments. Ask the trainer for their history. They should have demonstrable proof that shows they can help you – or at least matches with their price point.

At the same time, they should have some sign of accomplishment. This can be seen through an award, video, or pictures. And no, this does not mean “transformations” – actual pictures and videos of them coaching. 

2. Not Too Pushy. This is a bit nuanced as sales is a part of the job (and many top trainers hate it). With that said, a trainer shouldn’t hound you or use sales tactics to make you feel bad about not signing up.

While they should certainly address concerns you may have, or try to address uneasiness, pushing sales should not be relentless. 

3. They Fit Your Goals. This may come as a surprise, but not all trainers excel in every aspect of fitness. If you want to improve your basic health and functionality, consulting a specialized bodybuilding coach may not be the best fit for your needs. 

Do some research about the trainer and look at two things;

1. Past clients

2. Training methodology

These two things should give you a good idea of whether they’re a good fit for you.

4. They Ask You Proper Questions. If a trainer simply asks you, “What are your goals?” and then writes you a program, they’re probably not legit. Writing a personalized program requires significantly more in-depth questions.

In addition to your goals, they should ask;

• How long have you been training for?

• What is your training experience? What type of equipment or what exercises have you used?

• Do you have mobility issues or injuries?

This is in addition to basic information, such as your age and weight. These questions are the only way the trainer can create a program that’s truly personalized for you.

How To Know If The Personal Trainer Is Right For You?

After you’ve done your research, how do you know if you have the right personal trainer? In reality, you won’t know right away. It will take some time working with them to see if your personalities match, the level of service, and if you are successful in the program. However, by doing a little research and looking for the signs above, you can make the process a lot easier.