Chiswick Fitness Studio

What should a personal trainer do for you exactly? After all, you’re giving them your hard earned cash and you want your investment to count.

Here’s a list of the things to consider when looking for a personal trainer to work with, and a checklist of aspects to keep front of mind during your work with your chosen trainer.

Things to consider when finding and sticking with a personal trainer

  1. Qualifications. What are the trainer’s credentials? Have they studied sport science or physiology for example? Do they have sport-specific qualifications relevant to your needs?
  2. Experience. How much experience does the personal trainer have training people like you?
  3. Location. If the trainer needs to travel to you, check that this is OK with them now and for the foreseeable future. Do you both agree on where to have your workouts? The gyms? The outdoor areas? Your home? Does the location come fully equipped, or does the trainer provide the equipment?
  4. Availability. This may sound obvious, but make sure the trainer is going to be available as fits your schedule more often than not.
  5. Duration. If you’re not planning to train on an ongoing basis, but have shorter-term goals in mind (in relation to an event such as a wedding for example), is this OK with the trainer?
  6. References. Can you speak to two or three clients to find out more? Can you observe them in action?
  7. Attitude. Does the trainer dress the part, or turn up in jeans? Does he/she make a concerted effort to get to know you and your goals? Are they intent on their client for 60 minutes, or are 15 minutes of that time spent on the phone (allowing for the fact that you’d also like them to answer your own calls when you want to arrange a workout)?
  8. Likeability. If you don’t warm to the trainer, leave it there. Actually, if you fancy the trainer, leave it there!
  9. Insurance. Ask to see current certification.
  10. Money. How much does the trainer charge and what are the terms? For example, how many sessions does he / she want you to pay in advance, and do the sessions this payment covers have an expiry date? Will the trainer accept payment by bank transfer or do they prefer cash-in-hand?

Things to consider during your training programme

  1. Goals. Has your trainer taken the time to understand your goals, and indeed clarified them if they were orginally a bit vague?
  2. Motivation. Does your trainer pay as much attention to your mind as your abs!? If your motivation is slipping, a change in trainer is better than a cessation of training.
  3. Variety. Nothing gets you reaching for the phone to cancel a session quicker than the prospect of a stale routine. Variety is the spice of fitness.
  4. Progress. You shouldn’t expect to review progress every session, but once a month or every other month is sufficient time to take stock of the situation. That’s assuming you’re working out more than once a month of course :-)

Changing trainers

We hope you find the trainer that is right for you first time. But people do change trainers if things aren’t working out after a few months or so. In fact, people change trainers after a few years too just to make a change to their fitness regime. You won’t be the first or last person to leave one trainer for another, so just thank your trainer for their attention and diligence and explain that you want to try something else. There’s no reason to leave it hanging, after all you’ll likely bump into each other again in the gym or at the sports field.

Chiswick Fitness Studio