5 Core Qualities Of Excellent Personal Trainers
Finding excellent personal trainers is not an easy task. But if one meets all these requirements, then he/she is the best option for you.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a personal trainer to help you through your fitness journey, chances are, you’re spoilt for choice.
The personal training and fitness industry has grown massively, presenting more training options, styles, and trainers to choose from.
Some trainers work from the gym, others can meet you at home, while others specialize in specific categories.
Hiring the right fitness trainer can be a daunting task if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Before you embark on your search and your ultimate fitness journey, here is a checklist of the core qualities you should look for in a personal trainer.
If you do find one and you can’t check off all or most of the qualities, it’s safe to say that your search should still be on.
How To Find Excellent Personal Trainers
Here are five core qualities of excellent personal trainers:
1. They Are Educated And Certified
An excellent personal trainer requires more than the knowledge of using gym equipment and performing exercises correctly.
They need to be knowledgeable on physiology, anatomy, nutrition, human behavior, among other important topics surrounding health, fitness, and wellness.
Their personal training career should start with getting educated. This equips them with knowledge and also lays a firm foundation for their personal training career.
But they should also be in a continuous process of educating themselves and taking on other wellness training such as life coaching, counseling, fitness technology, and others.
This helps them become well-rounded and able to deal with physical fitness and client wellness issues. It also allows them to educate their clients on nutrition and other health matters.
2. They Are Patient
The road to physical fitness is a long journey, and the results won’t show overnight. There’ll be days of frustrations, setbacks, and obstacles along the way.
Excellent personal trainers are patient and understanding of the process. They won’t rush you or expect your progress to be similar to that of other people.
Some people struggle more than others in finding the right motivation, while others take longer in gaining training momentum. A personal trainer understands your unique struggles and takes a meaningful role in inspiring you to overcome them.
Instead of judging you, they’ll be patient with you through all phases of the training.
3. They Are Approachable
Being approachable as a personal trainer is extremely important. This means that they’re friendly and easy to talk to.
When looking for a personal trainer, you need a person you can freely talk to, ask questions, or seek clarifications on certain issues.
Choose a trainer you feel comfortable with and can relate to on a personal level. They should be willing to make changes and create better exercise plans to meet your comfort level and keep you motivated to train.
The last thing you’d want is to train with a person you can’t approach or be honest with.
4. They Listen And Communicate Effectively
Another core quality of an excellent personal trainer is being a great listener and communicator. In listening, they will understand their clients more deeply when it comes to their struggles and how they perceive the training program.
A personal trainer who shrugs you off or cuts you mid-sentence is not a good fit. They should be genuinely interested in what a client has to say.
Also, while a trainer may be certified and knowledgeable on fitness and training, but if they can’t communicate this knowledge to their clients effectively, then the training becomes ineffective in general.
A good personal trainer can convey any information in an easy-to-understand method to their clients.
Good communication is for relaying instructions at the gym or during training. It should also reflect other communication channels such as phone calls, emails, or text messages.
5. They Walk The Talk
People learn better through actions than words. If a personal trainer struggles to perform the tasks they’re asking you to do, this could signify a problem. If they are eating what they’re telling you not to, this is a very bad sign.
Excellent personal trainers have a reputation for taking great care of their health. In finding a personal trainer, you’re looking to change your lifestyle towards better health and fitness.
Personal trainers who give you instructions that are contrary to their actions may not be the best influence for a healthy lifestyle.
They don’t need to have a magazine-cover physical appearance, but they should generally be healthier and fitter than ordinary people.
Conclusion
Finding a personal trainer with all the core qualities discussed here can be a huge task to take on, but it will be worthwhile.
Your choice should especially be a person who is certified to train and upholds professionalism.
They should be someone you can approach openly, and someone who listens and communicates with you effectively.
These qualities and many others not mentioned here, such as being relatable, reliable, and passionate about what they do, are critical when choosing a personal trainer.
