I have been personal training for 8 years.  I started out interested in triathlon coaching and volunteered to help start a women’s triathlon club at the gym I was working at.  The pursuit of this interest eventually led to personal training as well as coaching.

Why did you become a personal trainer?

The decision stems from my fascination with how the human body works as well as my passion for athleticism.  Fitness was a very natural career progression for me.  I became a personal trainer because I liked working individually with people to achieve their athletic goals.

Do you have to have a college degree in medicine, athletics, sports medicine or anything like that to become a trainer?

After achieving a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I took a year long program designed for personal trainers at a local community college.  Then I was certified through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine).  After someone in my life was affected by cancer, I became a cancer exercise specialist.  In addition, I am a USA Triathlon certified coach.

What kind of certifications and training should a trainer have?

Every trainer should have a certification.  The gold standard is a certification through ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine).  There are also several good certifications out there.  Trainers with even more knowledge will have a degree in kinesiology or related field.  Overall, trainers should be a sponge and be constantly learning because the fitness industry is constantly evolving.

With that said, certifications measure a trainer’s general knowledge, but they do not usually measure how effectively they apply this knowledge.  In my experience, the best trainers have a confluence of knowledge, passion, experience and skill.

What do you like about being a trainer?

I could go on and on answering this question so I will give what I like best.  The best part of being a trainer is watching a client reach the finish line (either literal or metaphorical) and exceed what they thought was possible.  I am truly inspired by others every day.

What makes a good customer?

A great client shows up on time with a great attitude.  They take training seriously while having fun.  They ask lots of questions and are eager to learn.  Often times, these clients have a sense of themselves as someone who is capable, hard working and ready to rock at whatever they put their mind to.

What makes a bad customer?

A bad client shows up late with a terrible attitude.  They do not take training seriously and they don’t have fun.  A lot of times, I find that there is a block to achieving goals in life.  They have a difficult time because of how they talk to themselves.  Often times a shift in thinking at a basic level needs to happen.  As a trainer, it is important for me to take these people from that place in their mind of, “I can’t” and “I’m not worth it” to “I can” and “I am worth it”. To a certain degree, everyone does this type of thinking.  Overcoming it is the key to your success so watch how you talk to yourself.

What should people look for in a trainer?

People should look for someone that has knowledge and experience with helping others achieve similar goals to your own.  To give an example, I don’t train body builders.  I have very little experience in this area so I refer those people to trainers that are great at that.

Second, you should look for someone whose personality is a good match for yours.  This is more important than you might think.  A trainer will influence your fitness decisions and you will trust them to guide you to achieving your goals.  Analyze your interactions with others and figure out if you respond more to male or female influence.  Think about it.  If you go to your workout wanting someone to be more of a cheerleader and you get a drill sergeant instead, this personality difference can make or break your experience.

Lastly, I want to mention a mistake that I see people make.  They hire a trainer because they want to look just like them.  These people believe that if they do the same exercises as their trainer, they will look exactly the same.  For example, one woman I knew had a short pear shape and she desperately wanted to have slimmer hips and thighs.  This was a possibility for her, just not in the way that she thought.  She thought that if she hired a tall trainer with a long lanky physique who had much different proportions than her, she could look just like her.  She slimmed up and her proportions changed slightly, but she wasn’t happy with her trainer because she was unable to attain the same proportions as her trainer.  The lesson here is that everyone is different.  Don’t base your decision on achieving your trainer’s body shape.

How should people go about finding a good trainer?

Treat this as if you were hiring someone very important for your business.  You wouldn’t just go with someone without interviewing them first because a friend said that they were good.  Talk to potential trainers.  Notice I said trainers because you should be talking to more than one.  Trainers can be found at the gym, online, in the phone book and teaching group exercise classes.  Ask them about their experience.  Ask them about their training philosophy. Does it match with what you are trying to accomplish?

To get the most out of hiring someone to help you achieve your athletic goals, take the time to think about what you want.  What are your athletic goals?  What kind of trainer do you want?  Be specific and then go find what you are looking for.  If you find someone amazing, then great.  If not, move on to another trainer.  We understand that not every trainer clicks with every client out there.  I’ve even recommended other trainers to a client on the initial interview because I think that they would be better suited with that other trainer.

What can a trainer help with?

A trainer can help you effectively achieve your fitness goals.  This should be their priority.  Any trainer that is great will listen to what you want to do and make it happen.  Your goals can be wide and varied.  I’ve seen people base their goals on any number of things such as improvement of athletic performance, one session to learn a specific skill, improvement of body fat percentage, a specific event they would like to accomplish, recovery from injury or illness into a more fit state, a lifestyle change and of course the most common one, body weight.

Trainers can also help you set and achieve goals that you didn’t think of previously. For example, I trained a breast cancer survivor that wanted to be able to do a 3 day walk for breast cancer.  During our first interview, I noticed that she lacked range of motion in her shoulder joints from having a double mastectomy.  We made a goal to improve her range of motion, stability and strength in her shoulder joints which gave her the freedom to reach the cans on the top shelf at home.  She also appeared to stand taller because it helped her posture.

What can’t they help with?

Trainers do not provide internal motivation.  They do not wake you up in the morning ready to go do strength conditioning.  The motivation comes from inside you.  Keep this in mind.  If you do not find your internal motivation, your trainer will never be able to really motivate you.  Remember this phrase and use it: “Yes I can.”  Repeat it to yourself.

Also, trainers are there to help you with fitness and not true medical issues.  Although there are health benefits to exercising, a trainer can’t help you with treatment of an injury or overcoming diabetes.  This requires the knowledge and expertise of a doctor or physical therapist.  For example, if the cancer survivor I mentioned previously had a frozen shoulder, I would need to refer her out to a doctor and a physical therapist.

As for nutrition advice, I have worked with some amazing registered dietitians.  Dietitians have at least a master’s degree in nutrition and are qualified to give advice about diet.  Trainers are not.  Unless there is an RD behind their name, you may get misinformation.

What’s the most common mistake you see people make when it comes to exercise?

Too fast, too much, too soon.  This is the most common error I see.  Someone gets gung ho to accomplish their goals and they want to see results as quickly as humanly possible.  I’ve seen people at all levels make this mistake, from professional athletes to the average couch potato.  I’ve been bit by this bug before too.  It is human nature.  Enthusiasm is inspiring to see and fun to have.

However, if you are making a change in your lifestyle, you will burn yourself out if you go too fast, too much, too soon.  Think about the change in terms of a long race.  The strategy for endurance is slow and steady.  If you have never run a mile before, you will not make it very far if you run at 10 mph.  You may even get injured and not be back to running for several weeks.  If you want to hit the ground and keep on running, take it one slow step at a time.  Set some short term goals and keep working steadily toward them.  Then after some time has passed, you will look back at yourself in amazement for sticking with it.

Anything else you want to pass on to our readers?

We are all athletes!  Whether you are a cancer patient struggling to get up and down from a mat on the floor or a Ironman triathlete, the activity that challenges you is your sport.  Quit comparing yourself to others and know that what you are doing today can be better than what you did yesterday if you challenge yourself a little more each day.

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Thank you Chris for the information and for all the help you’ve given me in the past few years, you’re the best marathon coach an aspiring runner could hope for

If anyone has follow up questions for Chris, please post them in the comments and I’ll do my best to get them to her.