Hiring a Personal Trainer

 Hiring a Personal Trainer

Nowadays hiring a Personal Trainer is not just for superstars and the mega-rich, it is accessible for everyone. People have different motivations for hiring a PT, but on the whole it makes sense to seek advice from experts if you are serious about improving your fitness and health. On average PT can cost in the region of AED 250+ per hour, but this will vary from Trainer to Trainer and from gym to gym, and often is dependent on how many sessions you book. It is important when you decide to go down the route of personal training that you do your research and get the most out of your investment. Here are some tips to hiring a Personal Trainer to ensure you have a successful experience;

1) Do your research!
Make sure you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for by hiring a trainer. Talk to people who have or have had Personal Training sessions. Signing up for a series of sessions requires commitment, so you need to give yourself the best chance of following it through.

2) Decide where and when you want to train
There are many options for training environments; at home, in the gym in your building complex, at a private gym, in the park, etc. Pick the one that is going to suit you best bearing in mind your busy schedule, proximity to work or home, preferences for indoor or outdoor, public or private. Decide also exactly when you want to train. Some people prefer early mornings, others the evenings, afternoons, etc. Don’t decide to commit to a 6.30 session if you know you have never been an early morning person, you are just setting yourself up to dread the session and potentially drop out.

3) Shop Around
Get recommendations from friends, colleagues or people in the industry. If you are hiring a trainer at a private gym, then talk to a few Trainers first, you don’t have to have the first person they allocate to you. You should meet and have a short interview with your potential trainer first, after all you are going to be working closely with this person, so you have to be able to communicate with them and feel comfortable potentially sharing quite personal information with them. Trainers come in all different varieties; male, female, young, old, different body shapes and sizes and different styles. You need one to match your personality; you are unlikely to respond positively to an old school ‘army type’ guy, if you hate being shouted at and prefer the gentle encouragement approach, and vice versa.

4) Check their credentials
All Personal Trainers, regardless whether you are hiring them within a gym or privately, should hold a personal training qualification and you are within your rights to ask them about it. Some of the globally recognised PT certification and examining bodies include: ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), ACE (American Council on Exercise), NSCA (National Strength & Conditioning Association), ISSA (International Sports Science Association), YMCAFit UK, REPS (Register of Exercise Professionals).

5) Complete a PAR-Q Form.
The PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) is a basic screening tool which is the bare minimum that any Trainer should do with any new client prior to agreeing to take them on for exercising. Be wary of any gym or any trainer who does not ask you to complete one before working out with them. The questions in the PAR-Q are all standardised health related to establish if it is safe to begin training and covers physical symptoms which could be made worse through engaging in exercise or could pose a risk to health, eg, heart problems, musculo-skeletal problems, injuries, pregnancy. If you do happen to answer ‘Yes’ to any of the questions in this Questionnaire, it doesn’t necessarily mean you cant work out, it just means that you should check with your GP first to get clearance from him that you are fit to start a new exercise regime.

6) Establish expectations and rules to training
You will need to commit to some kind of a schedule with your Trainer, so it is important to discuss expectations from the outset. If it is just a one off ad-hoc session, then this is not so important, however if you are undertaking a series of sessions which is the most common way that trainers are employed, then you need to know what to expect. You should establish rules on timings, ie, what happens if you are late? Or need to cancel a session last minute? Or if you want to discontinue a series of sessions booked? What are the payment terms? What happens if the Trainer cancels a session, etc. It is better to establish this at the beginning than get in to dispute when situations occur. Some good organised Trainers and gyms will have a Terms and Conditions document for you both to sign so you are clear on this.

7) Get a thorough Assessment and Set Goals
Before you start your training, both you and your Trainer should be clear on what you are working towards and what your current fitness levels are. If possible, you should also discuss realistic time scales and expectations when you discuss your goals and your Trainer should be able to help you with setting these. By making achievable and realistic goals, this will help to motivate you and will show you your progress over time, which is again another great motivator. In order to set goals, you have to establish where you are at when you start, so assessment is crucial. This should include; taking some vital statistics (height, weight, BMI, Body Composition, measurements, etc) and it should include some base line fitness tests (strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, stamina). Your trainer can then use these to set appropriate workout schedules and you can both reflect back on these when discussing your progress.

8) Communicate!
Your trainer is there to help you, be honest with him or her! If there is something you don’t like about the training sessions, or if there is something you particularly enjoy, tell them so that they can adjust the regime accordingly. If you are struggling with your diet or with compliance, they may have some tips and tricks to help you. Also, if you don’t understand any exercise or terminology or if you want to know why you are doing what you are doing, then ask them to explain. PT is about education as well as everything else. Most trainers are also as keen for you to achieve results as you are, as you are the product of their hard work and your results reflect on them as a professional, therefore mostly they will be very happy to help you in any way to achieve your goals, just ask!